Every academic year, millions of college students change institutions before degree completion, confronting the challenge of validating credits across colleges. Despite state-level efforts to legislate strategies for smoother transfers, actual credit recognition relies on non-state-regulated bilateral partnerships that are more (i.e., articulation…

Southeast Pennsylvania 4-H Extension educators identified a need for professional development in order to further develop current urban 4-H programs. The expectation was that increased awareness and knowledge would lead to increased skills competency in planning, implementing, and evaluating urban 4-H youth development programs. An interstate…

States and local education systems hold the primary responsibility for delivering public education in the United States. During the past several years, the quality of the American education system has become national policy priority, replete with school reform efforts designed to hold all students to high standards, increase student achievement,…

In response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) was formed to answer oil spill-related scientific questions. However, peer-reviewed scientific discoveries were not reaching people whose livelihoods depended on a healthy Gulf of Mexico. GoMRI and the four Gulf of Mexico Sea Grant programs partnered to…

Career and Technical Education (CTE) is an essential strategy for transforming the country's education system. Unfortunately, most learners lack sufficient access to knowledgeable industry experts who can link what is taught in the classroom to what is applied in the real world. To support states in addressing this lack of access, the Center on…

A survey administered in the spring of 2013 by the Center on Education Policy (CEP) inquired into the implementation of Common Core State Standards at that time. Based on self-reports by state officials, the survey found that curricula aligned to the common core were already being taught in at least some districts or grade levels. All states…

In conjunction with the adoption and subsequent implementation of the "Common Core State Standards for Mathematics" (CCSSM), state-led consortia are developing next-generation assessments aligned to the CCSSM. This paper discusses the progress and plans of two main coalitions of states--the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for…

The purpose of the "State of the Literacy and Essential Skills Field" report is to provide an environmental scan showing the state of Literacy and Essential Skills (L/ES) across the country, from the perspective of the Canadian Literacy and Learning Network (CLLN) and its national network of partners, both within and outside the Literacy…

The Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) is a regional tuition-reciprocity agreement that enables students from WICHE (Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education) states to enroll in participating two- and four-year public institutions at 150 percent of the enrolling institution's resident tuition. WUE has been operating for more than 20…

This paper examines how Head Start and state pre-kindergarten programs can work together to better serve young children and their families. It focuses on two of the several models of early childhood education, acknowledging that these programs are just one piece of a fully integrated system of early care and education for children from birth until…

This report describes the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) and its activities. WICHE was created to expand educational opportunities for citizens of the West and to provide educational programs, research, and policy analysis to augment the capabilities of the individual member states. Each state pays the same amount of…

This report describes the activities and operations of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). Over the past 12 months, WICHE member states have faced the toughest financial times in recent memory. Higher education in member states, as in the rest of the country, has been hit hard, with midyear budget cuts, reduced…

Overcoming the challenges of educational discontinuity that arise from the migratory lifestyle is the central focus of the Migrant Education Program. This chapter describes Project SMART (Summer Migrants Access Resources through Technology), a national distance learning program for migrant students that addresses such challenges by coordinating…

The Arizona Adult Literacy and Technology Resource Center and the University of Tennessee's Center for Literacy Studies undertook a collaborative project to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of regional sharing of resources and expertise in field of adult education and literacy education. The project's goals were as follows: involve a…

Describes the development and function of Western Governors University, a virtual university, and its implications for the role of the community college. Recommends that community colleges continue to develop the capacity to provide electronic instruction. Suggests that partnerships between virtual universities and community colleges will be…