Student-staff ratios (SSRs) in higher education have a significant impact on teaching and learning and critical financial implications for organisations. While SSRs are often used as a currency for quality both externally for political reasons and internally within universities for resource allocations, there is a considerable amount of ambiguity…

The purpose of this study was to identify the impact the 1990 amendments to Carl D. Perkins Career and Applied Technology Act within-state allocation of federal funds had on the operational infrastructure of secondary career and technical education (OISCTE) in Virginia. Using the policy Delphi research technique, the researcher identified 161…

In recent years, economic downturn and changes to Indiana's school funding have resulted in significant financial reductions in General Fund allocations for many of Indiana's public school corporations. The main purpose of this statewide study is to examine the possible impacts of these budget reductions on class size and student achievement. This…

The purpose of this study was to determine the services required by students in special education programs and to estimate the cost of adequately funding special education in Taiwan. Questionnaires were administered to 300 special education teachers at the elementary school level to identify the services required. Thereafter, two focus group…

All public institutions of higher education except community colleges and the Texas A&M University System College of Dentistry receive funding for construction and other capital purposes from the Permanent University Fund (PUF) or the Higher Education Fund (HEF) (sometimes referred to as the Higher Education Assistance Fund or HEAF). The…

The Pareto 80/20 Rule, also known as the Pareto principle or law, states that a small number of causes (20%) is responsible for a large percentage (80%) of the effect. Although widely recognized as a heuristic rule, this proportion has not been theoretically based. The article considers derivation of this 80/20 rule and some other standard…

This paper designs a new equalization-aid formula based on fiscal gaps of local communities. When states are in transition to a new local aid formula, the issue of whether and how to hold existing aid harmless poses a challenge. The authors show that some previous studies and the formulas derived from them give differential weights to existing and…

In this paper, I examine how student academic achievements and behavior were affected by a school finance policy experiment undertaken in elementary schools in Israel. Begun in 2004, the funding formula changed from a budget set per class to a budget set per student, with more weight given to students from lower socioeconomic and lower educational…

This document presents the technical appendices accompanying the report, "Funding California Schools: The Revenue Limit System." Included are: (1) Revenue Limit Calculation and Decomposition; (2) Data and Methods; and (3) Base Funding Alternative Simulation Results. (Contains 5 tables and 26 footnotes.) [For the main report,…

In January 2010, the General Assembly passed the Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA), a comprehensive reform agenda seeking to transform public higher education through changes in academic, fiscal, and administrative policies at the state and institutional levels. While the higher education landscape has been shaped by the CCTA, it is also…

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Statewide Survey provides policymakers, the media, and the public with objective, advocacy-free information on the perceptions, opinions, and public policy preferences of California residents. This is the 141st PPIC Statewide Survey in a series that was inaugurated in April 1998 and has generated a…

As Nevada struggles in this difficult time of recession and high unemployment, it is time to acknowledge that only through a robust and adequately funded education infrastructure and, in particular, higher education will the State ever achieve the diversification and growth all Nevadans need. Nevada must make a long term commitment to excellence…

The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-377) was put in place to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve educational assistance for veterans who served in the Armed Forces after September 11, 2001, and for other purposes. The table of contents for this Act is as follows: (1) Sec. 1. Short…

This paper sets out a new budget allocation formula for schools, designed to achieve a more equitable distribution of educational achievement. In addition to needs-based elements, the suggested composite allocation formula includes an improvement component, whereby schools receive budgetary allocations based on a new incentive measure developed in…

English Learner (EL) students in California's schools are numerous and diverse, and they lag behind their native-English-speaking peers. Closing the achievement gap for EL students has been a long-standing goal for California educators, and there are some signs of success. Now that EL funding and curriculum issues are receiving a fresh level of…