Environmental factors currently affecting today's community colleges either will cause irreparable damage to their fiscal health and organizational structure or contribute to their rebirth--transforming systems and processes to meet current and future challenges successfully. Community colleges are facing challenges on many levels: (1) In 2003,…

Even as the United States extends a free public education to all children, it rigs the system against the success of some of the most vulnerable by taking those who arrive at school with the greatest needs and giving them less in school. Low-income and minority students, in particular, get less of what matters most; these students get the fewest…

This memo provides an overview of the fall 2001 planning process covering the 2001-2003 years for Mount Hood Community College (MHCC), Oregon. The paper also provides guidelines for the 2002-2003 budget. Some of the MHCC goals, and their key indicators, are as follows: (1) knowledge-based workforce to meet student and community needs--key…

Using data from national surveys, Illinois' higher education enrollment and funding patterns are compared to other states. Conclusions are drawn regarding the state's investment in higher education. (Contains 9 tables, 3 charts and 9 endnotes.)

California's loss of capital gains and stock options revenue during the recent economic downturn was one of the worst in the nation, and the resulting fiscal crisis led to reductions in State appropriations to the University of 15% over the past four years, while enrollments grew by 19%. This article examines the effects of this reduction in State…

This report describes fiscal year 1998 grant allocations made under the Illinois Higher Education Cooperation Act (HECA) to support programs and projects involving cooperation among higher education institutions. A total of $16.59 million was allocated. Projects recommended for grant funds include 3 new and 12 continuing interinstitutional…

The California Community College's (CCC) funding over the past two decades was examined in order to assist the 2005 Task Force of the Chancellor's Consultation Council develop strategies to address the challenges of the future. Findings comparing 1995 to 1975 indicated that: (1) CCC general revenues have tripled, but this increase is less than…

This brief summarizes data from a 1994-95 survey of the states on special education expenditures in the U.S. and analyzes other extant cost data that adjust for inflation and consider rising special education enrollments. The study estimates that the 1995-96 national expenditure for special education was about $32.6 billion (compared to $19.3…

This report describes the activities of the Manitoba Universities Grants Commission, which was established in 1967 to advise the provincial minister of education on the amount of financial assistance which should be provided to Manitoba universities by the government. The commission is also responsible for allocating these funds to the…

This digest of a full report of the same title critically examines the cost controversy in higher education to better understand the types of financial strategies that can help resolve the crisis in college costs. A look at why these costs are so controversial finds that rapid rise in tuition, public debate about educational expenditures and real…

This report examines performance and spending of the New York City Public Schools, distribution of state education aid to the city, and revenues needed by city schools to meet academic standards. The report looks in detail at: student demographic characteristics compared with national data; resources for educating students in New York City…

A survey commissioned by the National Education Association studied how state legislators, especially those in leadership positions, view the current landscape for higher education in their states. The findings are based on in-depth, one-on-one telephone interviews conducted from July 2000 through February 2001 with 64 house and senate education…

Because school systems throughout America depend on local property taxes for much of their revenue, districts with poor property valuations, especially rural districts, are facing fiscal crises. In response to a lawsuit filed in 1991, the Ohio Supreme Court twice decided that the state's heavy reliance on local property taxes for school funding…

This document contains the following "Abbott Opinions": (1) "Early Childhood Education"; (2) "Adequate School Facilities"; (3) "Supplemental Programs and Whole School Reform in Elementary Schools"; (4) "Supplemental Programs in Middle and High Schools"; and (5) "Planning Programs and Budgets…

This paper examines the financial problems of California's community colleges caused by reduced local property tax support. In 1978 California voters enacted Proposition 13, a constitutional amendment that reduced taxes on real estate. The proposition's immediate effect on community college funding was a statewide, fifty-percent reduction in local…