The success or failure of an institution on a Finance or State Chancellor's Office audit can depend upon how well the college has maintained an audit trail, recording the total number of hours and students claimed, budget expenditures, average daily attendance generation, disability designations, and Individual Educational Plans. Adequate audit…

The recent conceptualization of organizations as "open" adaptive systems rather than "closed" systems has lead to increased interest in the relationship between the organization and its significant environmental influences. In order to study the perceived sources of internal (organizational) and external (environmental)…

This paper explores how the idea of community control came about, what the concept is, and some implications it might have for communication practices in school systems. Social and political conditions which led to the idea of community control of education are reviewed. Particular attention is given to the dissatisfaction of minority groups and…

The development and use of program outcomes data can be an important, positive institutional asset as external higher education agencies more frequently require institutions to provide evidence of outcomes in return for resources. Arguing that more and better research needs to be done on the outcomes of community college education, this document…

The National Education Association's Task Force on Testing has stated its opinion that standardized tests are overused. The task force suggests that the application of sampling techniques and a variety of alternatives to current testing practices would accomplish the same purposes. Representatives of the testing industry have indicated that the…

With traditional enrollments declining, unless community colleges adapt to an increasing nontraditional population they may find themselves out of business. The 1977-1982 California Community College Five Year Plan indicates that nontraditional students, now the majority of community college enrollments, are often physically, economically,…

The statewide (Maryland) educational accountability plan described in this report was adopted in 1973 and called for the development and establishment of the following: statewide goals in reading, writing, and mathematics; local goals and objectives in each of 24 school systems in conformance with state goals; a comprehensive and uniform statewide…

The results of a 1976 study, "Measures of Institutional Goal Achievement" (MIGA), based on a survey of 1,150 faculty, administrators, and trustees at 45 American colleges and universities are presented, and implications for the work of college planners and administrators are assessed. Respondents, answering questions about goal priorities and…

In response to the Pennsylvania State Board of Education's request that the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU) and the Pennsylvania Association of Private School Administrators recommend solutions to the problem of unnecessary duplication of academic programs, a one year inventory of postsecondary degree programs in the…

Competency-based education is a model that needs research and development before it can be successfully translated into classroom practices for teaching higher reading skills. Competency-based programs of reading instruction that stress cognitive rather than low-level skills may encounter difficulty in performing a logical task analysis of higher…

Under P.L. 93-647 major changes in the child support enforcement system were mandated. The law became Part D of Title IV of the Social Security Act; thus, the child support enforcement program is commonly referred to as the IV-D program. This comprehensive measure brought into existence a major federal agency to correct the problem of desertion…

Presented is an overview of the operation of the special education systems used in Project SHARE (Sharing High Yield Accountability with Resource Educators). It is explained that the project grew out of a need to provide service for handicapped children in a sparsely populated area and that the only constants are daily measuring and diagnosing,…

Ten selected emerging trends in the field of early childhood education are discussed in this conference address: (1) a reevaluation of the view that early childhood education is a panacea; (2) greater emphasis on planned continuity between kindergartens and the primary grades; (3) increased use of multi-age grouping; (4) need for parenthood…

In Robinson V. Cahill, the New Jersey Supreme Court directed the Legislature to define the Constitutional phrase, "thorough and efficient education," and to develop a system of financing the public schools that would ensure such an education to all New Jersey citizens. As a result of this decision, equal educational opportunity can…

A contrast is drawn between "norm-referenced" grading (on the curve) and "criterion-referenced" grading (including contract). Most teachers incorporate both methods but without always being aware of the logic behind their grading procedures. It is suggested that the academic units of the University of Michigan must continue to…