There is a need for a common educational core to satisfy the requirements for reproducing a democratic society. Although historically the common schools were couched in the rhetoric of a common educational experience, democratic localism tended to undermine the commonality through a large number of antidemocratic practices. However, recent decades…

Uses of discipline and program cost data by Indiana private colleges and universities are discussed, and cost data are presented. Attention is directed to the immediate and longer range uses of the data, the applicability of the methods to smaller institutions, reliability of the data, and the future of this analysis. The findings were used for…

The matrix structure as an alternative to the departmental structure for colleges and universities is discussed, and the matrix system at Middlesex Polytechnic in England is used as illustration. The major impact of the introduction of a matrix structure is its effect on teaching activities within the institution. The matrix structure formally…

The Stanford Curriculum Study, which provides comprehensive and systematic information about curricular choices of undergraduates, is discussed. The information can promote policy decisions, help departments regularly monitor their programs, and generate a database for research concerning undergraduate education. The study analyzes the academic…

Over 12,000 transcripts from a sample of 1982 high school graduates were collected and analyzed as part of the High School and Beyond Study. The analysis produced four statistics: the average number of years that students took courses in science and mathematics; the percentages of students who had taken three or more years each of science and…

Project CLASS (Coordinated Learning Activities for School Staff) provides a vehicle for local school systems, colleges, and universities to join together in the identification of teacher training and inservice needs and the development and execution of graduate studies and/or staff development programs designed to meet those needs. This document…

The Assessment of Prior Learning Program at Humboldt State University, California, is described. The program enables students to gain at least token recognition, through elective units, for prior learning by taking a course and writing a portfolio that is assessed by faculty and awarded up to 10 additional units. The program began by offering…

Tuition tax credits for private elementary and secondary schools would be bad law, bad economics, and bad public policy. These points are made in this twenty-first chapter of a book on school law. Legal arguments against tax credits are based on a number of court decisions concerning church-state separation, particularly the Supreme Court decision…

Although the completion of an associate degree at a public community college in Kansas fulfills the lower division requirements for universities in the state, transfer students frequently encounter deficits in requirements for specific baccalaureate degrees and/or programs due to the lack of program integration and problems of transferability of…

Since its first year of operation, Coastline Community College (CCC) has granted students credit based on military experience, licensure, occupational training, credit-by-examination, and assessment of prior learning. In spring 1982, a study was conducted to compare the cost-effectiveness of granting credit for experience with that of the…

This report describes the procedures employed in the preparation of a list of courses to be deleted from the credit and noncredit programs of the California community colleges in response to a $30 million deduction from the total community college apportionments. The first section presents background on the 1982-83 budget bill, specifies three…

A review of the objectives for each of the following program components indicated 46 of 75 objectives were minimally met or exceeded: student enrollment, needs assessment, Migrant Student Record Transfer System (MSRTS), Migrant Education Identification and Recruitment Program (MEIRP), language arts and math, monitoring and program review,…

Two major issues in inservice teacher education are: (1) Who is responsible for teaching these professional education courses?; and (2) Are these courses worthy of graduate credit? College faculty members generally agree that institutions of higher learning are obligated to assist practitioners, but universities have been reluctant to offer…

The grades earned by all students registered for credit classes in six Hawaii community colleges during Fall 1980 were analyzed to determine student grade point averages (GPA's) by college program and the distribution of grades in courses offered by the colleges. This analysis revealed that: (1) the credits earned ratio was 71%; (2) this ratio was…

A Study-Service Trimester program combining study with field service and integrated into a normal term of four-year liberal arts education is described. The program is intended to offer students an opportunity to examine and experience the culture of another country and the chance to serve in a practical way, e.g. as teaching assistants, health…