The need for planning in educational systems may be interpreted as the need to identify, prepare, and devise new or revised procedures through which explicit systemic goals may be realized. Usually such efforts have a specific time orientation. Planning is further related to policy in the sense that policy is a legitimized procedure or course of…

A systems approach to college administration and planning is probably the most valuable tool available for coping with the complex problems facing institutions of higher education today. A system is defined as a set of interrelated elements, units, or subsystems that work together toward a common goal. If a college functions as a system, the…

This report presents the results of a research and development effort for SpeechRater? Version 1.0 (v1.0), an automated scoring system for the spontaneous speech of English language learners used operationally in the Test of English as a Foreign Language™ (TOEFL®) Practice Online assessment (TPO). The report includes a summary of the validity…

Course management systems (CMSs) currently drive educational delivery in most developed countries. Their absence in higher education in most developing countries creates a digital divide between first- and third-world students. Meeting the needs of higher education in Ghana therefore depends on identifying the factors that should inform the choice…

Online learning is evolving into much more than discussions via Blackboard. Today's online learners are spending time engaged in discussions, meeting in virtual classrooms, and combining online and on-the-ground learning, even if they live time zones away from campus. In response, universities are adjusting their curriculum, learning expectations,…

Districts expend a considerable amount of time, effort, and resources providing student performance data to teachers to inform instruction, and examining those data for organizational decision-making. Yet rarely, if ever, are these outcome data connected to what goes on in classrooms. In this experimental study, the author reports on the…

This paper presents the results of a job skill survey of Management Information Systems (MIS) alumni from a Northeastern U.S. university. The study assesses job skill importance and skill gaps associated with 104 technical and non-technical skill items. Survey items were grouped into 6 categories based on prior research. Skill importance and skill…

Mary Rooney, an eighth-grade English and language arts teacher at the K-8 John Welsh School in Philadelphia, spotted a problem. On one of the recent "mini" tests the school administers every six weeks to help students prepare for the state assessments, her classes averaged scores in the 80s, but in evaluating the results, Rooney noticed there were…

Beyond collecting traditional circulation statistics, tracking in-house use of library materials is a significant measure of how patrons use our resources. In our pilot project, Lending Services staff members conducted nightly pick-ups of library materials left on tables, in carrels, in study rooms, as well as books cast aside in the stacks areas…

The European education standards assurance and pursuit of quality in education have been announced as strategic aims of the Lithuanian education system in the light of new challenges the society is facing and opportunities offered by democracy, development of market economy and globalization. One of the ways to achieve the aims mentioned above is…

This study used classification tree analysis to examine who is and who is not willing to use online employer-provided retirement investment advice. Using data from the Retirement Confidence Survey (Employee Benefit Research Institute, 2004), the study focused on who was more likely to use online retirement investment advice when it was available…

The gaps between students' and faculty members' use of technology have widened. Many faculty members today have become so inundated with digital communications from students that it is not unusual for communication protocols and limitations to be specified in course syllabi. Most faculty members have home access to campus resources and use a…

This paper researches the computer languages taught in the first, second and third programming courses in Computer Information Systems (CIS), Management Information Systems (MIS or IS) curricula as well as in Computer Science (CS) and Information Technology (IT) curricula. Instructors teaching the first course in programming within a four year…

"Perspective" is a monthly e-newsletter presenting news and views from Achieve. This issue includes a feature on the U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top (RTTT) competition, which gives states an unprecedented opportunity to build the tools to measure results; guide decision-making and investments; and provoke honest conversations about…

Many human resource managers face a dilemma. They would like to spend more time improving the overall work environment for employees. They want to help their executives save on workforce-related expenses, find and hire better talent, and improve existing talent through training and development. Unfortunately, most days, HR managers are stuck doing…