The lack of satisfaction with the political process as the means of reaching informed public policy judgments about higher education is seen to be manifested in the intermediate agencies created by every state. Important choices remain between the concentration of authority in centralized governance systems and the decentralization of authority.…

Describes POET (Principles of Educating Teachers), an ongoing statewide effort to improve the quality of Georgia's preservice teacher education in middle school mathematics and science. Explores POET's goals, foundations, processes, and activities and notes what POET staff have learned about statewide teacher education reform. (SM)

Excerpts from the ruling of federal district court Judge Harold L. Murphy outline steps that Alabama should take to desegregate its public colleges, and include comments on why many white students do not attend black colleges, the transfer of programs from white to historically black institutions, and use of scholarships to attract white students…

Survey data are presented on major state policies affecting private higher education, addressing state spending on undergraduate student aid grants, state funding (besides student aid) to private colleges/universities, state policies toward tuition in public higher education, and involvement of the private sector in state planning. States are…

Development, structure, and uses of multi-institutional and statewide student databases at the state level are examined, based on results of a national survey of state higher education agencies. The issue of confidentiality is also discussed. Construction and uses of a multi-institutional system in Colorado are then described, and its advantages…

Institutional responses to the fiscal crisis in American higher education, as well as state and federal initiatives, are pushing universities toward four interrelated structural reforms: institutional differentiation; shift from basic to applied research and development; increased interdisciplinarity; and a shift from department-based research to…

Because their fiscal health depends on having a large base of high-wage taxpayers, states have an economic interest in increasing their citizens' skill levels. In today's global economy, high wages are increasingly tied to the high skills required to function successfully in high performance work organizations. Employer-provided skill upgrading…

This report presents the opinions of the public on aspects of vocational and technical education in Minnesota as expressed in two public hearings. The report begins with an introduction that states the purpose of the public hearings and describes the format of the two meetings--one in the Twin Cities and one in Duluth. The following section is a…

Lack of a comprehensive state policy on state government aid for postsecondary work force training has resulted in duplicate funding and competitive relationships between the vocational high schools and the county colleges in New Jersey. Major attempts by state government agencies and the legislature to influence the future of work force training…

Teens and young adults in Maine are at greatest risk for being either the offender or the victim of violence. At present, prevention activities in Maine are limited and fragmented. This document marks the beginning of a study of incidence and impact of violence among Maine youth. The process involved in conducting this was significantly hampered…

While violent crime among youth has not reached the epic proportions in Maine that it has elsewhere, there are signs that some youths are already involved in a cycle of violence and many others are at risk. The Maine Bureau of Health convened an interdepartmental work group to study youth violence in 1993 culminating in Part 1 of a two-part…

It is suggested that trends in federal and state policy formation are working against the advancement of second language education in Illinois. While the passage of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act at the federal level was a positive step, legislating that foreign language be part of the core curriculum, a subsequent state policy draft excluded…

The Oregon State Plan for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) education was developed by AI/AN communities and educators, the State Board of Education, and the State Department of Education. The plan includes 11 major educational goals: (1) the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) should promote effective education for AI/AN children; (2)…

Prepared in response to a legislative recommendation that the certification of community college faculty by the State Board of Community Colleges be discontinued, this report provides results from constituent surveys, recommendations, and background materials. First, background information is provided on the review, indicating that there are…

Research sought the perspectives of Iowa employers and deans and directors of continuing education regarding training and retraining needs of business and how Iowa community colleges' continuing education divisions could best meet those needs. A survey was mailed to Iowa employers and the deans and directors wrote summaries that described an…