Whether the donations are from once-friendly foreign governments now scorned or from famous entrepreneurs subsequently convicted of fraud, gifts gone bad "are the kinds of things that keep every chief advancement officer awake at night." A tainted gift can put an institution's integrity on the line but doesn't have to with the right…

Soon after news of the child molestation scandal involving Jerry Sandusky, a former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach, broke in November 2011, the development and alumni relations staff gathered for a town hall-style meeting. "The Penn Stater" has tackled controversial topics before: student riots, a faculty member…

Hundreds of middle level and high schools are trying new strategies to improve attendance as an important path to improving achievement; graduation rates; and in many states, funding. Celebrity wake-up calls are just one of the tactics that school administrators are turning to as they look to leverage their own mix of sizzle and substance to…

This historical study identifies catalysts for transformative learning in the lives of three scientist-environmentalists important to the 20th-century environmental movement: Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, and David Suzuki. Following a brief review of theoretical perspectives on transformative learning, the article argues that transformative…

Hakeem, Emily, Jose, and Latisha are all entering preschool in the fall. Their mothers are looking for the highest quality early childhood program they can find. Is there a guide for them to find a five-star program? Are all certified or accredited programs of equal quality? How do these parents and guardians know what defines quality in early…

Education reform advocacy organizations have been working at the state-level for more than twenty-five years, but the last decade has seen a significant increase in their number and in the intensity of their focus and methods. It's no coincidence that as reform organizations proliferate the movement accelerates: the mission of such organizations…

"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) To Be Continued: Congress Enacts Temporary Funding Mechanism to Keep Government Operating Until March 2013; Bill…

The FAFSA application can be completed by aspiring students to access federal financial aid for college enrollment. FAFSA completion rates for AISD seniors were the same in 2011 and 2012, and gaps in FAFSA completion remained among student groups.

Accreditation is among various outside influences when developing an ideal journalism curriculum. The value of journalism accreditation standards for undergraduate programs has been studied and is still debated. This study discovers views of opinion leaders in U.S. journalism programs, as surveyed program directors give reasons for being…

Most universities face similar challenges, so it is with good reason that universities often look to peer institutions to benchmark their branding efforts. Whether across town or around the world, other institutions' brands can inspire ideas. But why not go further? What could universities learn about branding from companies and brands such as…

A recent report published in the United Kingdom proposed the image of "an avalanche" to describe the radical changes affecting tertiary education in many parts of the world (Barber, Donnelly and Rizvi, 2013). Indeed, powerful transformative forces of three kinds--rupture factors, crisis factors and stimulus factors--are challenging…

Stanford education professor Martin Carnoy examines four main critiques of how international test results are used in policymaking. Of particular interest are critiques of the policy analyses published by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Using average PISA scores as a comparative measure of student achievement is misleading…

In the sixties, student-led protest movements transformed university and college campuses across the United States. The 1969 takeover at the City College of New York had arguably the most far-reaching consequences of all of the protests of this period. As the flagship campus of the City University of New York system, City College had a well-known…

Without any doubt happiness among staff in any organization is pertinent to ensure continued growth and development. However, not many studies were carried out to determine the domains that will be able to measure the level of happiness among staff in universities. Thus, the aim of this study is to elicit the domains that explain the overall…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the goals of institutions that are currently developing and delivering Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and to assess the current evidence as to whether these goals are being met. A qualitative study was conducted comprising interviews of 83 individuals across 62 institutions including public and…