It is difficult to make a clear impact statement about charter schools. Much of the available research is equivocal, and many important questions related to the impact of charter schools remain unanswered. Researchers have primarily examined four general topics with respect to the impact of charter schools; (1) Do charter schools raise student…

In January 2011, the University of Southern California Center for Enrollment Research, Policy, and Practice in conjunction with the Education Conservancy convened a national workshop--a unique experiment meant to consider "The Case for Change in College Admissions." Its 180 participants included university and college admissions officers…

In this hermeneutic study we explore how fictive kinship (kin-like close personal friendship) amongst high school students of color mediated their resiliency, perseverance, and success in a college physics class. These freely chosen, processual friendships were based on emotional and material support, motivation, and caring for each other, as well…

In today's economic environment, it is crucial to create a strong, consistent brand image within a graduate business program. This study examines the perceptions that students at Southeastern Louisiana University hold about its MBA program and the MBA programs of its main competitors. A focus group was conducted to identify competitors and factors…

The current economic climate in the United States and the difficulty employers face in hiring and maintaining a skilled workforce in an increasingly competitive and global economy have generated interest in developing and promoting policies and programs that can most effectively help low-skill individuals gain job skills and move up the economic…

The purpose of this study was to identify and explain the factors that have contributed to the University of Mississippi's slow development of online degree programs compared to its peer and competitor institutions. A total of 10 University of Mississippi administrators ( n = 2) and faculty ( n = 8) participated in face-to-face interviews and…

"Perspective" is a monthly e-newsletter presenting news and views from Achieve. This month's issue commences with a report stating how the number of states that ensure the college and career readiness of their students has increased since Achieve first started tracking progress on the college- and career-ready policy agenda five years…

America's "super-league" of global universities will play an increasingly pivotal role in the 21st century economy. These universities' substantial metropolitan and regional economic contributions are magnified by the role they play in fueling innovation, boosting educational attainment, and engaging with the rest of the world on an…

This paper reviews knowledge management in the context of a franchise business operation, with a focus on tacit knowledge barriers. In a franchise organization, the transfer of knowledge occurs on multiple levels and has an added level of complexity because of the number of partners and relationships. Tacit knowledge transfer should occur…

For many years, debates over telecommunications network policy were marked by a relative lack of partisan and ideological conflict. In the last decade, this has changed markedly. Today, debates over a whole set of issues, including broadband competition, net neutrality, copyright, privacy, and others, have become more contentious. These…

In January, 2010, Iowa Kids Count produced a special report that showed long-term trends in Iowa student reading and mathematics scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the only source for comparative state information on student achievement. The January report showed a decline in Iowa's ranking since 1992, when the first…

Although not a new concept, bullying continues to be a problem in schools across the nation. Bullying involves the intention to hurt the feelings of the victim. Research demonstrates that victims of bullying often experience low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, insecurity, oversensitivity, introversion, and withdrawal from social activities. This…

According to neutralization theory, to justify unethical behavior delinquents often embrace strategies that deflect personal responsibility for their actions from them and toward other persons or contextual factors outside their control. Drawing on neutralization theory, this case study explores how middle school students endorsed comparable…

Historically Black colleges or universities (HBCUs) have long struggled to compete with traditionally White institutions (TWIs) when it comes to breakthrough research. Of the 908 U.S. institutions that received National Science Foundation research funding in fiscal year 2005, only 72 were historically Black, and they took in $294.2 million in…

This article reports on a study conducted in Australia and France that inquired into the meaning and the nature of children's experiences of being in swimming clubs with a focus on the positive aspects of membership that keep them in their clubs. Three-month long case studies were conducted in a club in Australia and in a club in France, employing…