This paper on the education system of Bulgaria is aimed at presenting its structure, current situation, problems and challenges that it faces, and on-going reforms leading to some positive trends in the development of the national education sector. At the moment of writing this paper in the year 2015, we will mark the 1160th anniversary of the…

Higher education is part of a world that is rapidly changing. This observation is discussed in relation to a study by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems and the National Commission on the Financing of Postsecondary Education. Emphasis is placed on policy formulation and implementation at the institutional level. The…

Described is a planning process that integrates program, budget and facility concerns and requirements in a way that provides University of Utah administrators with alternatives that encourage them to initiate controlled change. Outlined are eight strategies and processes that deviate from the traditional total (institution-wide) comprehensive…

In response to legislative mandate, the Office of the Chancellor for California Community Colleges convened a Task Force on Community College Finance to examine and recommend funding alternatives, focusing on general apportionments. This report provides background on: (1) the formation and work of the task force; (2) the conceptual structure…

Some observers of political phenomena are referring to the 1990s as the "age of accountability." Early in the decade of the '90s, articles in periodicals, professional journals and other sources were voicing warnings about increasing public policymaker frustration with higher education and the spreading development and implementation of…

This paper examines the impact on higher education of funding shortfalls that are due to significant reductions of college budgets by state legislatures and that result in trimming of services and laying off of employees. First, an overview of national trends and statistics describes retrenchment as a key institutional response. A look at some…

Between 1983 and 1987, every state in the United States adopted some sort of education reform. This paper presents findings of an analysis of reform activity in the 50 states during the mid-1980s, with a focus on several education and socioeconomic indicators. The conceptual framework was grounded in general-systems theory, which attributes some…

The history of the present allocation model of a Dutch university is evaluated. This model was widely accepted at the start. As budget decreases continued, the model was increasingly criticized. At present it is no longer accepted as an instrument for policy decisions. The details of the model itself have become issues of political interest and…

This paper discusses the cost and purpose of regulation in the higher education sector in the United Kingdom. Higher education is changing fast, facing competition from around the world and offering new economic drive in Britain's regions. Tuition fees bring much needed investment to this growing sector. This means a new challenge for funding…

This paper builds on previous research by exploring how the combination of white in-migration and recent school reform has affected the relationship between the formation, adoption, and implementation of educational policy in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district (North Carolina) and the district's African American citizens. The unexpected…

In 1989, national attention was given to the unusual amount of cooperation and social connections among key policy actors in a major school-finance lawsuit in Kentucky. The case resulted in a judicial ruling declaring the entire state's school system unconstitutional. Accounts of this ruling attributed the unprecedented decision partly to…

This paper examines the way changing notions of "risk" have shaped federal educational policy. Section 1 of the paper presents a broad history of federal K-12 legislation and suggests that these programs have been motivated by different conceptions of "risk." Section 2 offers a portrait of the 1994 reauthorization of the…

Four areas of concern to American higher education are discussed: (1) The impact of the federal government on our national capacity to deliver educational services. (2) The unfinished agenda of higher education responsibilities. (3) Uneven capacities and performances of our 50 states that must be taken into account in devising federal policy in…

Two interconnected problems are implicated in every model of state funding of universities: (1) every decision on norms, parameters and standards creates specific incentives in the system, often in unintended ways and unforeseen directions; (2) every model is an expression of the relationship between the state and universities. (Author/MLW)

Discusses the negative effects of social and economic development on conditions for children and families. Focuses on worldwide cuts in funding of social services for families and the need to change the political culture toward a more sustainable one that allows for proper levels of care, play, and education of children. (JPB)