Growing concern over the complexity of the federal financial aid system and a push toward simplification has led to increased attention toward streamlining the federal student aid programs. Specifically, several proposals and policy papers have recommended consolidating the federal aid programs into one grant program and one loan program, commonly…

The Social Spending Innovation Research (SSIR) proposal seeks to replicate, in social spending, the great success of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program in technology development. The SBIR program funds technology development by entrepreneurial small companies. The program has spawned breakthrough technologies in diverse areas…

Improving the educational outcomes of economically disadvantaged children is a policy priority in the United States, and yet relatively little progress has been made in recent decades. Education reforms that aim to help economically disadvantaged students often focus on improving the quality with which grade-level material is taught, or the…

This chapter summarizes the information shared in the sourcebook and provides a sense of how study abroad staff might further develop and improve the programs offered to their students.

This paper identifies those factors that led to American Association of University Professors (AAUP) representation at the nation's oldest degree-granting Historically Black College University (HBCU). In the span of 18 months, Lincoln Faculty overwhelmingly embraced unionism when the body agreed to have AAUP as its official agent in the collective…

This article explains the process of identifying grant funding sources and writing a grant proposal and attempts to demystify the process as it relates to grant funding in special education and disability services. It offers a series of simple steps to help new or less experienced grant writers in locating funding agencies, reading and…

Adoption of the edTPA as part of new teacher licensing and/or program approval requirements has created heated discussions among teacher educators. Among the discussion topics is the supposition that state-level bureaucrats have been the sole source of the decision to require the edTPA, with little input from the preparation programs. This article…

When the authors were first invited to write these columns, the editors felt it would be an interesting way to give the readers of "CBE - Life Sciences Education" an agency's-eye view of its concerns, workings, and accomplishments. This column is written with that charge in mind. It is intended to inform the community about outreach…

As states release draft Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) state plans for public comment, advocates and other stakeholders have an important opportunity to improve them. The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) is offering a list of questions, which is included in this document, to consider when reviewing state plans. These…

President Obama's Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 budget, released on March 4, reflects the Administration's commitment to helping low-income individuals and vulnerable families access pathways to economic mobility, healthy development, and high quality of life. The budget proposal adheres to spending levels established in the Bipartisan Budget…

This article describes a group of dedicated educators who, in the midst of a constant barrage of attacks, dramatically changed the conversation. It is the story of a union that recognized that, in order to bring about the transformation necessary for the betterment of the entire community, its members needed to transform the way in which it…

This report documents the second year of implementing Cycle-based Budgeting at Jefferson County Public Schools (Louisville, KY). In addition to aligning another $24.3 million new spending with the district's strategic plan, $20.3 million of existing spending was rolled into the process. Next, the challenges faced by the district to review 105…

College is getting harder to afford every year. Debt mounts and jobs, especially in certain industries, don't necessarily provide the financial return they once did. It should come as no surprise to administrators that students and families are feeling the pinch. Rather than ignore the problem, higher education leaders, policymakers, and others…

"Alphabetização" (literacy) of young children involves a school exclusively devoted to the early years, parental participation, and teachers specialized in early literacy. This is the basis of José Carani's proposal for an "escola familia" in the municipality of Cambé (Brazil). This "Note from the Field," based on our…

In 1990 Helon Howell Raines published "Is There a Writing Program in This College? Two Hundred and Thirty-Six Two-Year Schools Respond," in which she reported on her study, via survey and eight follow-up telephone interviews, of two-year college writing programs across the country. Raines asked questions about departmental and institutional…