The Department of Labor is considering changing accounting rules to allow companies to treat training expenditures as investments rather than expenses. Human asset accounting could be a powerful incentive to increase business investment in training. (SK)

Reports that some universities are starting their own venture-capital funds to develop campus companies, or are investing endowment funds with established venture-capital firms inclined to finance potential spinoffs from campus research. Examples cited are from the University of Alabama, Vanderbilt University (Tennessee), University of…

Data from a national survey of 2945 employers showed that those most likely to have formal training programs were larger and had high-performance work systems, capital-intensive production, and better-educated workers. More workers were trained in companies with larger investments in physical capital or new forms of work organization. (SK)

Describes how institutions of higher education are taking a fresh look at socially responsible investing, seeking to grow endowments while taking a stand against unhealthy or unjust corporate practices. (EV)

A group project involves accounting students in hypothetical creation of a stock portfolio after completing financial analyses. The activity develops decision-making, critical thinking, research, communication, and finance skills. (SK)

The conventional wisdom suggests that colleges and universities that are highly dependent on endowment income should be risk-averse because a significant decrease in the value of the fund could potentially prove fatal. This article suggests that a conservative strategy may actually be self-defeating to institutions that rely heavily on endowment…

Describes how, when the Enron Corporation collapsed, Harvard made money while the University of California lost $145 million. (EV)

This paper extends the discussion of the critical line approach using three risky stocks as described in Haugen's Modern Investment Theory, 4th edition. A dynamic presentation of the concepts involved in finding the efficient set, using two EXCEL spreadsheets and an HP-12C hand-held calculator, is provided. This dynamic presentation will enable…

Universities UK's submission to the Government's Spending Review in 2007 explains how additional public investment in higher education will enable the sector to make an even greater contribution to key national policy objectives. These include the major economic challenges for the UK identified by the Treasury. The need to close the productivity…

This paper explores some of the aspects of the relationship between education and poverty as it has been constructed by international organisations and national governments in Latin America. The analysis is carried out from two separate angles. On the one hand, the paper highlights the main failings that underlie the positive and hoped-for…

Based on cross-section data worldwide and time series data in China, the essay is intended to make an analysis of the factors which have impacts on the ratio of public investment in education by using econometric models and then the future ratio may be predicted. Conclusions are as follows. First, the proportion of fiscal revenue to GDP (gross…

Embarking upon a pre-university gap year is an increasingly popular option among British students. Drawing on Brown et al.'s work on positional conflict theory and the increased importance of the "economy of experience", this paper seeks to explore this growing popularity and argues that the gap year's enhanced profile raises important…

The paper discusses report of The Spellings Commission for Future of Higher Education that was set up to look into the issues facing the higher education system in the U.S., outline the challenges and offer recommendations to tackle the problems. Most importantly, The Spellings Commission Report raised the issue of the role of federal government…

Discusses the projected benefits, costs, and rates of return on human and physical capital expenditures for education and condiders alternative areas of educational investment in an effort to determine which specific expenditure areas are potentially most advantageous. (Author/JG)

The Federal Securities and Exchange Commission's new Rule 144 applicable to public transactions in restricted securities is reviewed with the conclusion that maximum benefits to colleges and universities can be obtained only after various areas of uncertainty engendered by the Rule are clarified by the Commission. (JT)