Reports on the industrialization of Puerto Rico--the social, political, and economic influences, the past failures, recent developments, and the plans for the future. (BB)

Describes the evolution of a state-wide "TV College" system in Connecticut, including centralized administrative development, course selection and evaluation, scheduling, promotion and advertising, fee structures, and budgeting processes. (RT)

Results of a survey of statewide boards for four-year colleges show that the typical new member is appointed, gets little indoctrination, has previous experience on boards, sees finance as the main issue, and gives two to four days a month on board work. (Editor/LBH)

Aggressive campaigns by small groups of citizens have made it nearly impossible to close or merge public colleges, with the result that parochial interests often triumph over the needs of the state as a whole and higher education planning is becoming more political and less logical. (Author/MSE)

Results of a nationwide study of public mental retardation/developmental disabilities spending in the states during Fiscal Years 1977 through 1986 were analyzed and identified trends such as continuing growth in spending for community services, contraction of total spending for institutional operations, and predominance of support for intermediate…

The role of Great Britain's Council for National Academic Awards in relation to other government agencies concerned with the quality of public colleges is discussed, and the public sector's course review process is compared to that of the universities. (Author/MSE)

Fund raising for private colleges has been successful in New Jersey because it no longer focuses on unrestricted corporate gifts as many do but seeks support from a broader variety of sources. State aid gained in this way is a radical and possibly life-saving innovation. (MSE)

Examines the background and development of a comprehensive plan designed to improve library service in Pennsylvania. The ACCESS Pennsylvania agenda is described, together with obstacles to its success, particularly funding problems. The effects of the agenda on special libraries are also discussed. (3 references) (MES)

Presents a plan for the improvement of education in Minnesota, which calls for higher levels and different kinds of learning, greater parent involvement in decision making and school choice, increased teacher involvement in school administration, stable funding, and educational alternatives for dropouts and potential dropouts. (DMM)

Describes how the Illinois State Board of Education built a coalition to help conduct a major policy study that would assess the long-term needs of vocational education. This resulted in a plan in which local school districts will come together in consortium arrangements to study their needs and take the necessary action to move forward. (CT)

Schools of education, whose responsibility is to add skills in teaching to a student's repertoire, cannot remedy inadequacies in basic academic training. The California State University system is developing initiatives regarding student selection and knowledge and practice of teaching in order to improve its teacher education programs. (MT)

The policy-making and policy implementation processes used in Swedish higher education, the most comprehensive recent reform effort, are analyzed to illuminate the larger problem of higher education reform in general. It is concluded that the experiences do not fit the standard models of public choice, nor do they conform to prevailing ideas about…

A system developed for acquisition of information germane to long-range community college planning in North Carolina is described. The three surveys developed for the information system can serve several purposes: (1) to give planners a basis for considering change/expansion of course offerings; (2) to give institutions a means of assessing…

This brief looks at the research on full-day kindergarten and reports how states and districts are implementing this strategy. It also identifies some of the concerns they must address in doing so, and offers policy considerations. It also focuses specifically on findings from seven recent studies--one each from 1988 and 1991, the rest…

The Alaska Department of Educational and Early Development (EED) has developed this five-year educational technology plan based on the recommendations of a taskforce representing education stakeholders throughout the state and has submitted this report to the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education. A state technology…