Critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR) provide the essential services that support basic elements of American society. Compromise of these CIKR could disrupt key government and industry activities, facilities, and systems, producing cascading effects throughout the Nation's economy and society and profoundly affecting the national…

The first step to meeting the fundamental aim of any educational institution is to understand clearly what the students need. Needs assessment is a tool educators can use to help meet this goal. Needs assessment data suggest the basis for plans, strategies, and practices that may ultimately lead to school improvement. This chapter reviews issues…

Discusses the importance of determining the educational needs of a group before implementing a program. (JOW)

The Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) program is part of the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) that was authorized under Title VI, Part B of the "Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965" ("ESEA"), as amended by the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" ("NCLB"). The RLIS program provides additional funds…

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative (2008-2011), funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies, was created to build the capacity of community colleges nationwide to develop programming that engages the plus 50 learner. The Initiative supported a pilot group of 13 two-year institutions to develop or expand college…

The purposes of this paper are to explain the development processes of an intensive summer program for English language learners and to discuss course improvement strategies based on the evaluation outcomes. This 60-hr partnership program between local schools and a university was developed to improve the language proficiency of increasing numbers…

This guide for school improvement uses as its foundation the Concerns-Based Adoption Model which describes the changing feelings of individuals as they learn about, prepare for, use, and refine new practices. Seven linear steps are depicted as they relate to the school improvement process: (1) establishing the school improvement project: (2)…

This article discusses University of Central Florida's proactive approach to enterprise resource planning (ERP) and highlights UCF's success with ERP. The article points out that much of this success comes from the strength and management experience of those in leadership positions at UCF, and from the expertise and strong credentials of the team…

This document contains testimonies and prepared statements from the Congressional oversight hearing called to examine the implementation and operation of the Missing Children's Assistance Act of 1984. Opening statements are included by Representatives Dale Kildee and Thomas Tauke. Witnesses providing testimony include: (1) Verne Speirs and…

Considering the acknowledged importance of oral communication competency and the intense interest of communication scholars in terms of its definition, conceptualization, and assessment, a need now exists to systematically apply the communication competency construct to instruction of the university undergraduate. This paper outlines the…

This paper examines some of the theoretical and practical issues confronting educational administrators who must make decisions regarding the implementation of microcomputers in their schools. A conceptual framework is offered for understanding the stages involved in the innovation decision process. Several attributes of innovations are discussed…

To provide information on what innovations are considered to be desirable and promising in the improvement of education, this study analyzes the grant proposals submitted to the BankAmerica Foundation's Educational Initiatives Program from 1978 to 1980 in terms of technical and practical utility. The results of the study show that California…

This article offers some strategies for closing the linkage between initial needs assessment and the implementation of change. Examined are: prioritizing needs through criteria analysis, developing a cyclical implementation/staff inservice plan, and utilizing an analytical problem solving approach to curriculum and decision making. (Author/RAO)

The British Columbia Telephone Company's systematic approach to curriculum development, which relies heavily on the needs assessment step, is described along with its practical applications. This process allows training departments to focus their resources on the design and implementation of education to solve specific performance problems and…

Arguing that "needs assessment" is too vaguely defined, this paper considers the term's location within the planning field, compares two variants of the discrepancy model (classical versus social welfare approaches), and reflects on the assumptions and implications imbedded in needs assessment technocracy. Includes 16 notes and 26 references. (MLH)