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This design brief contains general information on school design; room functions, layouts, and area interrelationships; planning procedures; and costs intended for use by design teams and school authorities when planning new schools and extensions. It covers plan development and design philosophy and presents a series of design guidance notes for the building environment, areas and area limits, school entrances and external circulation, and access for the disabled. Descriptions of school areas needing design considerations are provided with emphasis placed on physical education halls and ancillary areas. Final notes pertain to parking, school yards, landscaping, and entrances and boundaries. Appendices offer a summary of playing court sizes. (GR)

In order to govern the proliferation of community colleges and extension centers in Alaska, guiding principles for their creation and expansion were established. The first section of the report deals with the procedures a community's request for new or additional facilities should follow. It clarifies the role of those officials involved in handling such a request, states the requirement for a needs assessment, and indicates to whom the needs assessment report should be sent for evaluation and approval. The second section describes the minimum criteria a higher education institution should meet in delivering community college services. These criteria relate to enrollment, programs, facilities, and services. The third section provides minimum criteria in the same areas for determining whether or not an extension center should be established. The final section describes in detail the content of the needs study to be submitted by the community to the Board of Regents and the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education. The report should include enrollment projections; a cost-benefit analysis; statements of proposed facilities, programs, costs, sources of revenue, and evaluation methods; evidence of the availability of community and library support; and physical descriptions of the proposed site and service area. An appendix provides guidelines for two-year college learning resources programs. (AYC)

An overview investigation of two U.S. Department of Education college construction loan programs was conducted by a House of Representatives' subcommittee. Both programs, the College Housing Loan Program (CHLP) and the Academic Facilities Loan Program (AFLP), were created by Congress in response to upsurges in college enrollments. CHLP provides loans for such purposes as building new housing and the conversion or renovation of existing structures, while the AFLP allows for the construction, reconstruction, and renovation of academic facilities. Loans under the programs have been at low interest rates (about 3 percent) and long terms (up to 40 years). Study objectives were to determine: the efficiency of the Department's management of the programs, violations of law and regulations by borrowers participating in the programs; the adequacy of the Department's procedures for handling colleges in default on their federal loans, and the advisability of a departmental regulation to allow discounted prepayment of program loans during fiscal year 1984. The 3-month inquiry included examination of program documents and loan files at central program offices, interviews with program staff, and review of audits of delinquent borrowers. A hearing on the programs was also held. Findings and recommendations are included. (SW)

The Ohio State Board of Education is required by state law to "formulate and prescribe minimum standards to be applied to all elementary and secondary schools in the state." This document, the first in a series, presents the revised minimum standards (effective September 1983) established by the State Board of Education for Ohio schools, under the direction of a 34-member advisory committee representing educators, parents, other citizens, and students. The first section provides definitions of key terms used throughout the document. The second section outlines curricular requirements for the K-12 educational program. The third section provides guidelines for allocating educational resources. The fourth section prescribes minimum standards for nonpublic schools, and the fifth defines the "special purpose school," for which it sets minimum standards. The sixth section outlines procedures for beginning a new school and for changing location or ownership of a school. Procedures for evaluation are provided in the seventh section. The eighth and final section outlines minimum standards for the nonchartered, non-tax-supported school. (TE)