Many states are looking at effective ways to use financial incentives to encourage students to complete a postsecondary credential. JFF's new report, "Statewide Aid Policies to Improve College Access and Success", originally commissioned by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education's Vision Project, has provided valuable…

Digital games have the potential to create active and engaging environments for learning, supporting problem-solving, communication and group activities, as well as providing a forum for practice and learning through failure. The use of game techniques such as gradually increasing levels of difficulty and contextual feedback support learning, and…

The education sector remains abuzz with cost-cutting expectations despite pressures to increase services. Automation of costly manual tasks could save funds for many of these institutions, specifically in data protection. The IT departments of schools and universities can take advantage of a proven cost-savings opportunity in data protection that…

At thousands of schools and universities, years of economic troubles have led to repeated budget cuts. The reductions typically fall disproportionately on maintenance departments, where cuts are viewed as less critical than those that directly affect classroom instruction. And so nearly every facility manager at an education institution faces a…

This paper estimates the distribution of educational returns by gender for India. While previous studies focus on mean returns, the variance of educational returns has important implications for policy-making and micro-level decision making with respect to education. If the variance of educational returns is large, it can leave large sections of…

Open educational resources (OERs) have the potential to reduce costs, improve quality, and increase access to educational opportunities. OER development and deployment is one path that could contribute to achieving education for all. This article builds on existing information and communication technology (ICT) implementation plans in Africa and…

Surveys and benchmarks continue to grow in importance for community colleges in response to several factors. One is the press for accountability, that is, for colleges to report the outcomes of their programs and services to demonstrate their quality and prudent use of resources, primarily to external constituents and governing boards at the state…

Institutions of higher education are under pressure to be accountable for their expenditures while demonstrating their effectiveness. Through structural equation modeling, a relationship was found between expenditures and the efficiency and effectiveness of an institution, and an optimal expenditure level was found that maximized an institution's…

The Strengthening Families Programme 10-14 (SFP10-14; UK) is a seven-session DVD-based family skills training programme. While the programme has been extensively evaluated in the United States, no randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the SFP10-14 has been conducted in the United Kingdom. This exploratory Phase II study was an evaluation of a…

Although U.S. higher education has faced numerous crises and dilemmas in its history, the situation in which colleges and universities find themselves at the moment is indeed different. Shrinking public subsidies coupled with historic rises in tuitions come at the same time that colleges and universities have been tasked to dramatically increase…

Hopscotch, basketball, or hide-and-seek? Children have many choices at recess, and while making these choices they must consider and make trade-offs. The way they make these decisions is not that different from the thought processes engineers use when making design trade-offs. Engineers have to make trade-offs because a design that meets all…

This article describes how York University analyzed the results from its 2010-11 implementation of the Measuring the Impact of Networked Electronic Services for Libraries survey to measure value of investments in e-resources. The results were assessed through two variables: e-resources used by faculty when carrying out funded and non-funded…

The research is conclusive: Providing a high-quality early childhood education is crucial if we are to reach our state and national goals of educational equity and excellence, preparing children for college and career. The federal government, states throughout the country, and the courts are increasingly recognizing this reality. This report…

The number of students needing remediation upon enrollment in post-secondary institutions has risen steadily in recent years. Concurrently, state legislatures and governing boards are putting pressure on higher education institutions to lower budgets. Under these conditions, developmental education programs are often primary budget-tightening…

This dissertation analyzes a decision system that was used in the early 1900s in the Federated Malay States (FMS) by Malcolm Watson in order to make anti-malaria program recommendations to decision makers in a wide range of ecological settings. Watson's recommendations to decision makers throughout the FMS led to a dramatic suppression of malaria…