Online charter schools are one key subset of the K-12 online education landscape, which also includes state virtual schools, district-level online programs, private providers of both individual courses and entire schools, and others. As of late 2010, online and blended charter schools existed in more than 20 states, serving more than 100,000…

In this article, the author offers his reflections on the American economy and its "slow, gradual, and tedious" recovery. What the American people are experiencing now is not one of the ordinary recessions that have been experienced since World War II. What they have seen is a bursting of a bubble in the credit markets and in financial…

When the Antioch University board of trustees announced in June 2007 that it was suspending the operations of the historic Antioch College as of June 2008, the college's faculty, staff, students, and alumni mourned. Then, as Mother Jones recommended, they began to organize. Their goal was to reclaim the college and its progressive educational…

Since 1967, the Nevada State Legislature has mandated that public higher education institutions compile a comprehensive report on program plans. Therefore, this report is prepared in accordance with state law requiring the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) to prepare a biennial report for submission to the Nevada State Legislature that…

The education market is becoming more competitive and far more crowded. The economic downturn has caused many families to reconsider their priorities, re-evaluate their budgets, and refocus their attention. Once considered one of the dark arts, whose very tenets were unacceptable in a mission-based environment, branding is now widely regarded as…

Over the objection of officials at the statistical wing of the U.S. Department of Education, the independent body that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has approved a policy that significantly narrows the grounds for excluding students with disabilities and English-language learners (ELLs) from the exams.…

This article reports on the situation unfolding at the University of Iowa which is all too familiar: Two athletes are accused of rape. The university botches its response. Heads roll. Few things make university presidents and their top aides more nervous than an athlete accused of sexual assault. Most colleges welcome the exposure that a big-time…

At age 27, the author became a chairwoman of the Board of Directors of a $75-million conglomerate, the largest student-governed business in the nation. At Associated Students UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles), four undergraduate and four graduate students serve on the board, which oversees the several bookstores, dozens of…

This article reports that a pair of university presidents is among the people feeling the heat from the collapse of the investment bank Bear Stearns. Henry S. Bienen, president of Northwestern University, and the Rev. Donald J. Harrington, president of St. John's University, in New York, were among the 12 members of the Bear Stearns Companies'…

College trustees are stepping up their oversight as institutions seek new revenue sources and as government scrutiny of higher education continues to increase, a panel of management experts said last week at the annual conference of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. Across the country, board members are hiring…

Sweden has recently seen three major political attempts to empower parents through national regulations--the transferal of authority from the state to district school boards, the heavy promotion of independent schools, and the introduction of local school boards at municipality schools. This article provides an overview of these developments by…

Charter schools are "autonomous, publicly funded entities that operate on the basis of a contract between the individual and/or group (e.g., teachers, parents, others) which organizes the school and a sponsor (typically local or state education boards or districts)" (Lavine, 1994, p. 8). Charter schools are responsible to sponsors for their…

The authors have been investigating universities in their own countries for many years and are now turning their attention to exploring alternatives to current reforms. As part of these investigations, they spent two days of interviews and meetings at Mondragon, a town in Gipuzkoa in the Spanish Basque Country. Mondragon is at the centre of one of…

Locally controlled public schools are one of the cornerstones of our nation's democracy, yet many schools are not preparing students for success. Far too many students are not graduating, and many of those who do graduate are woefully unprepared for college or a meaningful career. Successfully initiating and sustaining meaningful improvements in…

"Perspective" is a monthly e-newsletter presenting news and views from Achieve. This issue includes a feature on the U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top (RTTT) competition, which gives states an unprecedented opportunity to build the tools to measure results; guide decision-making and investments; and provoke honest conversations about…