This book explains how individuals can contract their way to jobs or careers in the 21st century workplace. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) how the workplace has changed (looking for work instead of a job; hidden employment opportunities; reasons contracting makes sense; making it easier to get hired; the need for…

Ideological arguments are made for open learning, economic ones for distance education. If it can produce similar results to those of conventional education at a lower cost, then distance education has a powerful appeal. With increasing demand for access to educational opportunities at all levels, and often decreasing budgets in real terms for…

In recent years, New York, like most other states, has adopted a set of challenging educational standards that are geared to preparing all students to be capable citizens and to compete in the global marketplace. The state has also implemented extensive Regents testing programs to measure student progress toward meeting the standards. These…

What students do in college matters as much as anything else in terms of their educational success. Educationally effective colleges and universities - those that add value to the student experience - intentionally craft policies and practices that channel students' energy to the activities that matter to student learning. Students who…

Efforts focused on improving quality processes based upon the Malcolm Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence may hold promise for fundamentally improving K-12 education. This policy report examines the information available on improving school quality through implementation of the Baldrige criteria. It provides a snapshot of what…

Properly conceived and implemented new initiatives are essential to improving schools and communities. Such new initiatives usually are pursued as projects, pilots, or demonstrations, with temporary funding and staffing. When the funding ends, more often than not much of what has been developed disappears. Sometimes this is appropriate (e.g., when…

Choosing Higher Options in Community Education (CHOICE) Alternative School is devoted to professional development. This report documents the need for and planning of sustained and supported professional development for 4 staff members at the CHOICE Alternative School in Jamestown, New York. There was no focused plan or vision for staff development…

Fund-raising is one of the college or university governing board's most basic and important responsibilities: The annual fund is the platform from which all other fund-raising activities flow, and the board plays a key role in planning, implementing, and monitoring comprehensive campaigns, which are major efforts, focused on long-range financial…

Battelle Memorial Institute conducted outcome, net impact, and cost-benefit evaluations of six workforce training programs in Washington State for occupations that do not require a bachelor's degree: postsecondary workforce training at community and technical colleges; adult basic skills education at community and technical colleges; Job Training…

This study analyzes the gaps between supply and demand for workforce training in Washington State and recommends strategies for reducing the gaps. Using data from state and national surveys, supply and demand is analyzed in three categories: youth, adults, and adults with barriers to employment, from the perspectives of both employers and…

Presentations at this conference focused on how organizations and individuals are improving their efforts to serve learners at a distance through innovative approaches to competition and collaboration. Rapid developments in technology promise expanded access to education and training resources, but the developments challenge traditional policies…

Now that fewer libraries are being built, it is particularly important to maximize space in the buildings available, and to ensure that library plans are determined by the needs of users. This book introduces the concept of space as a resource available to the library manager, along with stock, staff, and finance, which need managing in the same…

An evaluation was conducted of the Hawaii Food Stamp Employment and Training/Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Program Conformance Demonstration, known as PRIDE (Positive Response in Developing Employment). The impact analysis examined client participation patterns, services, and employment outcomes. A pre-post/demonstration-comparison site…

Texas is developing a return-on-investment (ROI) measure to assess the cost-effectiveness of work force programs. Emphasis is on issues related to conducting cross-program ROI analysis at the level of the Local Workforce Development Board (LWDB) in career or one-stop centers. To make the most appropriate and effective use of ROI, the following…

As year 4 of a 7-year initiative to implement the School-to-Work (STW) Opportunities Act begins, 37 states have received implementation grants and 105 direct federally-funded and over 900 state-funded local partnerships exist. In 1997, technical assistance is available to any of the remaining 13 states ready for full-scale implementation. Notable…