In New York City, where almost 14% of elementary school pupils are foreign-born and roughly half these are "recent immigrants," the impact of immigrant students on school resources may be important. While immigrant advocates worry about inequitable treatment of immigrant students, others worry that immigrants drain resources from…

Today, the amount of space devoted to research at research universities exceeds that of classrooms and class laboratories. This research space portfolio presents important policy and management challenges. As stewards of this portfolio, universities must address issues of funding the construction of research facilities, equipping and…

This paper studies the accounting system reform practised in Greek universities since January 2000, and more particularly at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH). It specifically examines the allocation of resources to faculties by university management based on certain criteria. The AUTH is the largest public university in Greece and…

Academic administrators are frequently asked to make difficult decisions related to resource allocation. Should a new academic program be approved? Should an old program be discontinued? How should resources be allocated between programs? Although resource allocation decisions are based on many factors, administrators must always consider the…

Although the literature reports a high prevalence of psychological distress among the university student population, still very few intervention schemes have been proposed to manage the problem. The authors describe the main sources of inspiration for the psychiatric counseling service established at Padua University (Italy) and how it operates.…

This paper argues that research be recognised as a right of a special kind--that it be regarded as a more universal and elementary ability. It suggests that research is a specialised name for a generalised capacity to make disciplined inquires into those things we need to know, but do not know yet. I maintain that knowledge is both more valuable…

Many institutions of higher education increasingly are concerned with retention and graduation rates. Focusing on private Baccalaureate Liberal and General colleges and universities, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between institutional selectivity and institutional expenditures and retention and graduation rates. Framed…

In this article, the author reports the ripple effects of the energy squeeze due to Hurricane Katrina and other factors that sent energy costs skyrocketing. Energy costs are a good part of why budget growth, which has been steady over the past five years, has been slowing down. The projected change from FY2005 to FY2006 is only 3.3%, compared to…

The White House recommends that $140 million for math and education research be stripped away from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and gives it to the U.S. Department of Education. But supporters of the NSF, including congressional Republicans, vowed to rebuff the plan. In this article, critics charged that the proposed move of the…

Qatar is experiencing previously unprecedented social and economic development, linked to increased participation in the global market. Growing employment opportunities for Qatari nationals require greater attention to post-secondary education and the development of specific high-demand skills. Since the 1970s, Qatar has complemented its…

Qatar is experiencing previously unprecedented social and economic development, linked to increased participation in the global market. Growing employment opportunities for Qatari nationals require greater attention to post-secondary education and the development of specific high-demand skills. Since the 1970s, Qatar has complemented its…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) House of Representatives Passes Education Funding Bill: Legislation Draws Veto Threat From President Bush for…

Economic pressures on universities and the emergence of new technologies have spurred the creation of new systems for delivering engineering laboratories in education, in particular simulations and remote-access laboratory systems. Advocates of simulation argue that physical labs needlessly consume university space and students' time. However,…

The greatest challenge for institutions of higher education in most OECD countries since the 1970s has arguably been to cope with reduced public support. Many institutions responded to reductions in funding, first, by cutting costs and lobbying governments to reverse cutbacks, and then--when it became clear that funding levels would not be…

IMS Learning Design (IMS-LD) is a promising technology aimed at supporting learning processes. IMS-LD packages contain the learning process metadata as well as the learning resources. However, the allocation of resources--whether data or services--within the learning design is done manually at design-time on the basis of the subjective appraisals…