Findings from an Employee Satisfaction Survey conducted in spring 2000 at Austin Community College (ACC) (Texas) indicate that: (1) staff in many areas need customer service training; (2) telephones are not used effectively by many offices; (3) many areas are not able to respond quickly to the needs of college staff; and (4) 18 highly used areas…

This report describes Biblored, the library network in Bogota, Colombia, that received the 2002 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award. Biblored is a network of 19 libraries that attract about 200,000 users per month and serve some of the poorest neighborhoods in Bogota. The network's success in making information and…

Engaged communication disciplines put the professional development of future faculty at the center of their mission. The communication discipline values effective and competent interaction within varying contexts, including interpersonal, organizations, public and mass communication, as well as performance studies. Its practitioners therefore…

This volume contains four sections corresponding to the four categories in which programs were originally submitted to the National Council of Instructional Administrators for its Annual Exemplary Initiatives Awards presented at the annual American Association of Community Colleges held in April 1999 at Nashville, Tennessee. Section 1, "Award…

One potential factor contributing to increased productivity in higher education is the implementation of instructional innovations. A model of the innovation process was tested. Results suggest that formal organizational mechanisms for facilitating the discovery and implementation of innovations are as important to the process as faculty…

Describes school improvement programs established by universities, state agencies, and school districts. All are based on effective schools' research. (Author/JM)

Computer simulation makes it possible for researchers to test the potential effects of alternative school improvement policies. (Author)

Reviews a 1979 report from a Vermont governor's commission proposing future directions for education in Vermont, particularly in regard to teacher training and the educational delivery system. (Author/JM)

Agrees with the recommendation in a preceding article by Gideonse in the same issue that teachers should complete a postbaccalaureate program, but disagrees with Gideonse's advocacy of hierarchically structured teaching teams and an academic rather than a field-based program. (Author/JM)

It is argued that administrators cannot increase their administrative capabilities in isolation from the rest of the institution. The motivation to achieve a high level of competence must be supported at the institutional level. An approach to the simultaneous development of administrators and institutions is outlined. (Author/JMD)

Discusses initial attempts at improving the U.S. educational system and what was discovered when several secondary schools used Ted Sizer's ideas for school reform as embodied by the Coalition of Essential Schools. Reveals Coalition principles work best in schools with simple structures, where student learning is given precedence, the principals…

Highlights changes that have occurred since 1992 at Elm Dale Elementary School (Greenfield, Wisconsin) through the school improvement process. Describes how teachers have become involved in and developed ownership of the improvement process, and how they have learned to analyze data. Asserts that the school improvement process has changed the…

Discusses the development, content, and implementation of a training program for administrative personnel who work in urban settings in the Cleveland City School District. Presents a model, The Leadership Academy, which provides assistance, upgrading, renewal, or retraining to all the district's administrators. (JS)

Discusses the role of teacher achievement and recognition in job satisfaction, and describes a mini-grant incentive model that offers teachers opportunities and incentives for achievement and recognition through increased responsibilities and expanded opportunities for development. The application process, implementation phase, and evaluation…

Three aspects of JITOL (Just in Time Open Learning) are differentiated according to the importance of the social exchanges, the role of the tutor, and the vision of the knowledge building process. The support of professional learning needs research that analyzes needs and problems, informs regulation and decision making, and highlights the…