This article describes the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education, at Teachers College, Columbia University. Launched last year by a pair of economists, the center specializes in calculating and comparing the long- and short-term costs--and probable payoffs--of different educational strategies that promise to improve students' lives. Studies…

This paper examines the cost of the increased provision of higher education courses within further education colleges in England. We believe this to be the first attempt to fit a cost function specifically to the further education sector. Cost functions for a sample of 96 colleges over a 2-year period, from 2000 to 2002, are fitted using a panel…

Purpose of Study: A fundamental question for educational planners and policy makers is which secondary school providers are most efficient in raising student learning for the most youth, given an available level of resources. Considerable attention has been devoted in recent years to the proposition that private providers offer efficient…

Purpose: This study aims to identify the current barriers to sustainability in the bioscience laboratory setting and to determine which mechanisms are likely to increase sustainable behaviours in this specialised environment. Design/methodology/approach: The study gathers qualitative data from a sample of laboratory researchers presently…

To policy planners in developing countries open and distance learning (ODL), because of its cost and delivery characteristics, is and has been a very attractive option for delivering tertiary education. Yet, we have very little evidence on outcomes and the system's effectiveness. Providing some of this evidence is the main contribution of this…

Educational needs assessments (hereafter NAs) are inattentive to cost considerations and are frequently dominated by elite stakeholder groups. In this article I make a case for adopting a cost-utility approach, illustrating the argument with data generated in a NA of central library services in a Canadian school district. Using survey data from…

A substantial amount of controversy surrounds the issue of class size in public schools. Parents and teachers are on one side, touting the benefits of smaller class sizes (e.g., increased academic achievement, greater student-teacher interaction, utilization of more innovative teaching strategies, and a decrease in discipline problems). On the…

This article addresses the context and challenges of small island developing states, focusing particularly on Cape Verde. After a general discussion of the characteristics of small island developing states, several development challenges such as poverty, unemployment and migratory issues specific to Cape Verde are evoked. Despite a period of…

Econometric cost functions have begun to appear in education adequacy cases with greater frequency. Cost functions are superficially attractive because they give the impression of objectivity, holding out the promise of scientifically estimating the cost of achieving specified levels of performance from actual data on spending. By contrast, the…

This article argues that given its structural conditions, development aid bears a particularly heavy burden of learning and accountability. Unfortunately, however, the organization of evaluation guarantees that evaluations will be inconsistent and it creates incentives for positive bias. This article presents evidence from organizational studies…

In a matched-groups design, costs and quality of life outcomes for adults with intellectual disabilities with relatively low support needs were compared between those in fully staffed group homes (n = 35) and in semi-independent living (n = 35). Data were collected on participant characteristics, setting organization, various lifestyle outcomes,…

What to look for when shopping for television monitors. (Author)

Suggestions on how to make inexpensive title cards for television. (HB)

Reduction of storage requirements, purchasing problems, handling, and costs has become a reality through the use of cleaning products in portion-controlled packages at the Chicago Circle Campus and the Medical Center of the University of Illinois. (Author)