Search

This topic paper details how dual and concurrent enrollment programs can help states overcome workforce readiness and postsecondary access and completion challenges and how governors can strengthen these programs by using their bully pulpit, agenda setting authority and budgetary authority to do so. It concludes with a number of examples of how governors are acting to strengthen equity and access to these programs. It also includes a number of resources for interested policy makers.

The Minnesota Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration (MSTED) is testing the effectiveness of subsidized employment for individuals enrolled in the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), Minnesota's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, who were unable to find employment after participating in the state's existing welfare-to-work program. To learn about the program's effects and costs, the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funded a random assignment evaluation of MSTED, in which individuals were randomly assigned to a program group that had access to MSTED services or to a control group that did not have access to MSTED services but could receive other welfare-to-work services. The purpose of the cost study is to determine what it cost to provide MSTED services to a single program group member once MSTED had reached a steady state of operation. The analysis estimates the costs per sample member in three categories: (1) MSTED costs; (2) MFIP costs; and (3) education and training costs. In the first year after random assignment when program group members who had been placed in subsidized employment were still receiving subsidized wages, program group members were more likely than control group members to have been employed. However, by the end of the second year after random assignment when subsidies had ended, program and control group members were employed at similar levels. This study is part of a larger demonstration funded by the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, called the Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration (STED), which is testing various subsidized employment strategies in several locations across the country.

Higher levels of civic and community engagement in higher education are positively associated with students' academic performance and they also build upon citizenship skills such as informed voting. Yet, while these are worthy and important outcomes of higher education, students from disadvantaged backgrounds can have more difficulty navigating civic engagement. Focusing on students at thirteen major public universities in the United States, and utilizing survey data generated by the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Consortium, this study suggest social perspective-taking has a significant positive effect on all students' probability of voting and participating in community service. Students who were asked to identify challenge/solutions to social problems and reflect/act on community issues in the classroom were also more likely to participate in community service. Additionally, Hispanic students and students from lower-income households are significantly less likely to vote and perform community service--findings corroborated by previous research. Females are more likely to vote and participate in community service--findings also corroborated by prior research. Hispanic students and students from low-income backgrounds were more likely to participate in voting and community service if they had increased rates of social perspective-taking. These results suggest that increased opportunities to connect with classmates in the classroom and develop perspective-taking skills (e.g. appreciating the world from someone else's perspective, acknowledging personal differences, interacting with someone with views that are different from your own, and discussing and navigating controversial issues) are potentially quite powerful ways to foster civic engagement among students who traditionally have the lowest civic engagement rates compared to their peers.

A number of English language proficiency exams target grades K-12 English language learners (ELLs) because of the rising need to identify their needs and provide appropriate support in language learning. A good example is the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs (hereafter ACCESS), designed to measure the English language proficiency of students identified as ELLs. Every year approximately two million K-12 ELLs in the WIDA Consortium take ACCESS. After students complete the exam, score reports are provided to relevant stakeholders, including teachers and parents of the students. Because score reports are widely used by stakeholders for many purposes (e.g., placement, reclassification of ELLs), it is necessary to understand how they are interpreted and used in educational and home settings. Such information could be used to understand the usefulness of score reports and also to enhance their quality. However, there is little research on stakeholders' interpretation and use of score reports, especially in the context of K-12 ELL exams in the Unites States. Existing research is limited to teachers' interpretation of score reports (Impara, Divine, Bruce, Liverman, & Gay, 1991; Luecht, 2003; Underwood, Zapata-Rivera, & VanWinkle, 2007). For example, Impara et al. (1991) investigated the extent to which teachers were able to interpret student-level results on a standardized state assessment and the extent to which interpretive information provided on the reverse side of the student score report improved teacher understanding. Findings suggest that interpretive material helped facilitate teachers' understanding of student scores on the assessment. However, few studies have examined how stakeholders actually use the interpreted information. Moreover, very few (Miller & Watkins, 2010) have examined score reports from the parents' perspective. To gain a deeper understanding of the meaningfulness and utility of score reports, it is necessary to examine both educators' and parents' perspectives. The study on which this paper is based investigated how two stakeholder groups--K-12 ELL educators and parents--interpret and use ACCESS score reports. Findings from qualitative interviews offer implications for score report development in general and how to further enhance the quality of ACCESS score reports. In the study, the authors addressed the following research questions: (1) How do K-12 ELL educators and parents interpret the information in an English proficiency exam score report?; and (2) How do K-12 ELL educators and parents use the information in an English proficiency exam score report?

In 2012, five foundations launched the Credit When Its Due (CWID) initiative that was "designed to encourage partnerships of community colleges and universities to significantly expand programs that award associate degrees to transfer students when the student completes the requirements for the associate degree while pursuing a bachelor's degree" (Lumina Foundation, 2012, n.p.), also known as "reverse transfer." Initially, 12 states (Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oregon) were funded to develop and implement these reverse transfer programs and policies, and the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was chosen as the research partner. In late 2013, three states (Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas) were added to bring the total number of states to 15. At least six additional states have legislation, pending legislation, or statewide initiatives related to reverse transfer. This thought paper describes changes that are occurring at the state, system, and institution levels with implementation of reverse transfer in the 12 original states. Using qualitative and quantitative data collected from the CWID Implementation Study, the authors describe efforts related to the optimization of reverse transfer in these 12 states. The authors define optimization as policy and program change at any level--state, system, or institution--that yields the largest number of students who are eligible for and able to benefit from reverse transfer. The initial results suggest that some states are piloting reverse transfer with a limited set of public community college and university partnerships, and others are striving for system-level reforms that eventually may impact all forms of transfer. Understanding what optimization means and how it works is possible because of this variation in implementation approaches among states, and this thought paper explores how states are implementing and optimizing reverse transfer.

Bolstered by the recommendations of the 1998 Boyer Report, US federal agencies have put significant resources into promoting opportunities for undergraduates to engage in research. American universities and colleges have been creating support programs and curricular opportunities intended to create a "culture of undergraduate research." Yet our knowledge about the commonality of undergraduate research engagement--how it integrates into the educational experience, and its benefits or lack thereof--is still very limited. Universities exude the ideal of a pivotal link of teaching and research. We have assumed that personal interactions between active scholars and undergraduates--via traditional curriculum, research courses, working in a lab or doing fieldwork--have positive influences on students' maturation and their overall academic and social experience. The following exploratory study looks at data generated by the 2010 Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) undergraduate survey, an online census administered that year at fifteen major research-intensive universities. In this case study of mostly AAU campuses, we find that while some 83 percent of upper division students (juniors and seniors) students experience one or more courses with a significant research requirement like a research paper or project, many lower and upper division students do not--a disappointing finding that needs to be addressed by these campuses. At the same time, undergraduate research engagement outside of the traditional classroom is a relatively common experience. Among those students we find that research engagement leads to self-reported learning gains across many areas, but especially in the areas of field knowledge, how to present and communicate knowledge, research skills, higher levels of satisfaction, better use of time, and higher levels of non-quantitative skills. Yet not all research activities are created equally. Participating in student research and independent studies contribute much more to the learning gains across all dimensions than merely assisting faculty in research. Among the two research activities, participating in student research course is more effective than independent studies in enhancing student learning. Among the three activities involving assisting faculty research, assisting faculty research as a volunteer without credit tends to be connected to higher level of gains than for credit and for pay. Taken together, it appears that research activities that involve active learning contribute more to student learning. We offer a number of recommendations to SERU campuses, including: 1. We encourage member campuses to explore what are the causes for some students not engaging in a research paper or project and seek a path to have all students have this form of research engagement; 2. Use the SERU database to provide regular reports on undergraduate research engagement, and include those reports in Academic Program/Department reviews; 3. Expand existing efforts so that most, if not all, undergraduates have the opportunity for two or more non-classroom forms of research engagement, perhaps depending on the field of the major and discipline. [The 1998 Boyer Commission Report--"Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for America's Research Universities" is available in ERIC at ED424840.]

This report provides a non-technical overview of the guiding research questions and research design for the ACT-led core research program conducted on behalf of the GEAR UP College and Career Readiness Evaluation Consortium (CCREC). The core research program is a longitudinal study of the effectiveness of 14 GEAR UP state grants on the academic achievement, college going and college retention of low-income and other at-risk students who are eligible to receive grant-funded services. This research program will follow Consortium students and a matched comparison group of non-participants over time using assessment data from ACT Explore®, ACT Plan® or ACT Aspire®, and The ACT®, and college enrollment data from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) to examine differences in the academic growth and educational outcomes of these two groups.

This report focuses on pathways to postsecondary education (PSE), including high school completion, for pregnant and parenting teens. Although birth rates among teens have declined in the United States over the last 20 years, one in seven adolescent females (14.4 percent) is expected to give birth before age 20 with females of color (24 percent of Hispanics and 21 percent of African Americans) more than twice as likely to have a child when compared with white females (10 percent) (OAH 2014). For too many of these adolescents, parenthood marks the end of their high school careers and aspirations for attending college. This is unfortunate because completing high school and earning a postsecondary degree or credential are critical for the economic well-being of both teen parents and their children. Very little is known about pathways to PSE for pregnant and parenting teens. Although some studies have focused on programs to prevent subsequent pregnancies among teen parents (Klerman 2004), research is lacking on effective approaches for preparing these students for college. This report represents a first step towards filling that gap. Drawing on a literature and program review, analysis of a small online survey conducted with Health Teen Network (HTN), and consultations with experts in the field, "Pathways to Postsecondary Education," examines barriers and promising approaches to support educational success for pregnant and parenting teens. Among the findings are: (1) More than two out of three young single mothers aged 18 to 24 are poor, and almost half of their children are poor; (2) Only about half of teen mothers receive a high school diploma by the age of 22, compared with about nine in ten women who do not have a child during their teen years; and (3) A survey supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation found that a third of the young women surveyed reported that becoming a parent played a major role in their decision to leave school. This report features eight programs that provide a range of academic and other supports and services to support pathways to PSE, including high school completion, among pregnant and parenting teens: (1) Florence Crittenton High School (FCHS) in Denver, Colorado; (2) Cal-SAFE in California; (3) New Heights in Washington, DC; (4) The Care Center in Holyoke, Massachusetts; (5) Keys to Degrees at Endicott College in Massachusetts; (6) Student Parent HELP Center (SPHC) at the University of Minnesota; (7) Generation Hope, a program started by a former teen mother in Washington, DC; and (8) The Jeremiah Program, a residential program in the twin cities of Minnesota. A list of experts consulted is appended. [This report is a product of IWPR's Student Parent Success Initiative.]

The literature on teacher preparation programs in the United States is extensive. However, there is limited scientifically based research on what kind of program produces effective teachers; rather, the literature consists mostly of calls for change in teacher preparation programs. Almost all experts agree that major changes are needed in these programs, with the emphasis being to produce teachers who are effective in enhancing student learning. This paper reports evidence-based research and offers suggestions based on studies that include theoretical work, qualitative analysis, statistical analysis, and randomized experience that could provide strong causal evidence of the effects of teacher preparation on student learning. Key points of this briefing paper include the following: (1) Relevant clinical experience is a critical part of a teacher preparation program; (2) Programs must take advantage of existing technology and support its innovative use as a tool for teacher preparation and as a tool for teachers in the classroom; and (3) Multiple sources of data should be collected and analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of preparation programs.

A new federal initiative calls for a College Scorecard which will include a yet to be determined measure of graduate earnings. In this paper we examine the political context that drives this initiative and examine the nascent efforts of four states to develop statewide systems to measure the labor market outcomes of higher education. We propose five principles to support a system that would generate valid labor market measures that could cut across all segments of higher education in California, and disaggregate down to campuses, departments and programs. We present results from a large-scale pilot project using these principles that generated labor market outcomes for 44,000 college students from California State University Northridge. Finally, we recommend an agenda for creating a statewide system to measure labor market outcomes in California. A first step is to create a venue in which policymakers representing the three public segments (University of California, California State University and the California Community Colleges) and the private sector can come together to design a system. In the past, the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) would have been a natural body to do this, as it had representatives from all higher education segments. But it was essentially closed in the last round of budget cuts, so an alternative is needed. We believe that a system that emerges through voluntary cooperation will be stronger in the long run than one that is imposed legislatively. We recommend that each sector designate a high level administrator to join an ad hoc group to develop a system that will ultimately be endorsed by the boards of each system. Private institutions should be represented as well and should encourage their colleagues to join in.

This issue paper builds on an earlier ECS publication that reviewed five leading pay-for-performance models or proposals at the time titled, Pay-for-Performance: Key Questions and Lessons from Five Current Models (2001). The Education Commission of the States and The Teaching Commission have joined together on this issue paper to provide: (1) An overview of the research on compensation systems that have ventured beyond the single salary schedule; (2) Some of the key findings about such a shift from both researchers and practitioners; (3) Key questions that have been gleaned from previous experiences; (4) An overview of some recent attempts to diversify teacher pay, both at the incremental and sweeping level; and (5) A comparison and detailed summaries of four leading programs and proposals at the district and school levels. Appended are: (1) Summaries of Four District and School Programs; (2) Governors' Current Teacher Compensation Initiatives; (3) Updates from 2001 Paper; and (4) Bibliography.

What is the "best" way to pay teachers? Should teachers be paid based only on their experience and education, or does this merely reward mediocrity? Would it be better to base teachers' pay on their performance in the classroom or their students' learning, or would this undermine cooperation among colleagues and encourage an unhealthy level of teaching to the test? There are no easy answers to these questions. This report reviews the history of teacher compensation plans and begins to shed light on the effects of compensation systems on teacher behavior through a study of middle-school teachers' responses to an alternative compensation policy, the Minneapolis Professional Pay Plan (Professional Pay). This study was conducted in Minneapolis from 2003 to 2005 using both qualitative and quantitative methods, and inductive and deductive inferential processes. Interviews with middle-school teachers, school administrators, and district personnel and a survey of middle-school teachers are the main data sources. Several obstacles to the policy's success emerged from the data including teachers' limited understanding of the policy, their unwillingness to surrender their professional autonomy in order to earn financial rewards, and their limited interest in financial incentives. Perhaps the most important and least recognized obstacle was the district's inability to credibly commit to Professional Pay. The inability of school districts to credibly commit has been largely ignored in the research literature but may be a significant factor in the failure of many policies to positively affect practice. While this study only looks at the Minneapolis case, it has implications for education policy more generally. The broader question is this: Can a public school district credibly commit to policies that, in order to be effective, require a long-term financial and political commitment? The answer to this question may very well be a resounding, "No." (Contains 9 tables and 4 endnotes.) [This paper was written with Sarah Butler Jessen.]

Educators must consider how learning environments can structure experiences to produce desired learning outcomes. In this paper, the author describes one type of learning environment where youth have the opportunity to construct adaptive, emergent identities--a "dramaturgical" process that structures the telling, adapting, and performing of personal narratives (Halverson, 2007, 2008; Wiley & Feiner, 2001). Using her own research on the dramaturgical process over the past 7 years, as well as other empirical studies documenting this type of work, the author argues that the dramaturgical process is a powerful learning environment for understanding positive youth development. She begins by reviewing the literature on the positive youth development movement in youth-based organizations, and specifically the role "identity" plays as a construct in this movement. She then describes how the practices of arts-based youth organizations can be analyzed in terms of four key elements of positive youth development models: (1) Positive development in art making involves a "dramaturgical process"--the telling, adapting, and performing of narratives of personal experience; (2) Participating in the dramaturgical process facilitates youth in "exploring possible selves"; (3) Participating youth often engage in "detypification", a mechanism for affiliating with a traditionally stigmatized identity in a positive way; and (4) Participating in the dramaturgical process can support both individualistic and collectivistic conceptions of identity. The choice of orientation shapes the way youth work to create autobiographical art. The author concludes by discussing why making art, particularly autobiographical art, provides a viable learning environment for the positive development of adolescents. (Contains 1 footnote.) [Funding for this report was provided by the MacArthur Foundation.]

Recent research attributes the lack of merit pay in teaching to the resistance of teachers. This paper examines whether the structure of merit pay affects the types of teachers who support it. We develop a model of the relative utility teachers receive from merit pay versus the current fixed schedule of raises. We show that if teachers are risk averse, teachers with higher base salaries would be more likely to support a merit pay program that allows them to keep their current base salary and risk only future salary increases. We test the predictions of the model using data from a new merit pay program, the Minnesota "Q Comp" program, which requires the approval of the teachers in each school district. Consistent with the model's predictions, we find that districts with higher base salaries and a higher proportion of teachers with masters degrees are more likely to approve merit pay. A Data Appendix is included.

This paper analyzes the economic costs and benefits of Minnesota's nonresident tuition policies and tuition reciprocity agreements to the state. It also assesses the effects that modifications to these policies and agreements would have on migration patterns and the costs and benefits arising from such modifications. The methods used, such as student price response coefficients, migration rates, and estimates of lifetime tax payments, provide the basis for determining the economic value of reciprocity agreements and nonresident tuition policies to the state of Minnesota. These methods may be useful to other states in assessing migration patterns and nonresident tuition policies. Results of the analysis show that reduced tuition for nonresidents is of great benefit to the state's economy. However, policies that provide incentives for Minnesota residents to leave the state for college are costly to the state. (Contains 11 tables, 3 figures, and 20 references.) (Author)

The U.S. Department of Education recently held a competition for grants to support states in their efforts to build longitudinal data systems to track and analyze student and school performance. The Value-Added Research Center (VARC) at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, proposed a Tri-State Partnership in collaboration with the states of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Fourteen states were funded, with the Tri-State Partnership proposal the only multi-state effort to win approval. This paper outlines the initial design and work plan of the partnership. It also presents several of the design concerns related to complex system development for educational improvement. (Contains 2 figures.)

This paper explores the proposition that if American higher education has been broadly successful in serving its society, it is in large part because American colleges and universities, and the system of which they are part, were created under conditions of weakness, both academic and financial. (Contains 12 notes.)

This report explores a range of issues related to the successful instruction of literacy-level English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) adults. The paper describes types of programs as well as factors that affect this population. Through a series of teacher interviews, the unique characteristics of these learners as well as suggested curricula are detailed. Appendices include suggested student materials and a reading list. The report is divided into six sections: introduction, types of programs, literature review (including native language literacy, age, trauma, family demands, cultural and individual beliefs, sociopolitical concerns), teacher interviews, curriculum (goals of a literacy-level course, sequence, presentation [including techniques and sample lessons], and assessment), and teacher training workshop materials. (Contains 50 references.) (KFT)

The achievement gap is clearly visible throughout the school years, from grade-school test scores through high school graduation and higher education. It divides American Indian, Asian, Black, Latino, and White students, and it divides the economically advantaged from the disadvantaged regardless of their race/ethnicity. Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the Saint Paul Public Schools (like other districts across the country) face the very daunting challenge of bringing all children up to proficiency in core subjects (reading, math, science, social studies) regardless of their backgrounds or circumstances. Closing the achievement gap is important to the future quality of life of people from the various races, cultures and socio-economic levels in the community. It is also critical to the economic health of the region, as an educated workforce will be a key to future prosperity. The public schools cannot close the achievement gap on their own. There is much they can do, but they will almost certainly fall short of this goal without strong community support. The factors perpetuating the achievement gap go well beyond the school setting. By the same token, working outside the schools to close the achievement gap will not succeed without strong efforts within the schools.

The diversification of rural Minnesota is largely the result of the restructuring of the food processing industry and its recruitment of low-wage laborers. The relocation and expansion of food processing plants into rural areas of Minnesota creates a demand for low-wage labor that can not be met locally. Food processing businesses attract immigrant Latinos, Asians, and Africans, as well as U.S.-born minorities, seeking jobs that do not require high-level skills or English language proficiency. A study mapped the location of large food processing businesses (mostly meat packing plants) in rural Minnesota in relation to the percentage of school children for whom English was a second language and to changes in minority K-12 enrollment from 1991 to 2001. A strong relationship was found between the locations of food processing plants and homes where foreign languages were spoken. In the 16 school districts surrounding large plants, the 10-year change in total enrollment ranged from a 25 percent loss to a 16 percent gain, while minority enrollment increased in all districts (median increase 187 percent). The "new diversity" creates both benefits and challenges for rural communities. While increased school enrollments and numbers of working adults bring economic benefits to communities, challenges include a shortage of decent and affordable housing, the need for social services to help immigrants adjust, increased community tensions, and poor working conditions in the plants. (Contains 35 references.) (SV)

This study identified the capitalization effects of public school choice programs, using data on an inter-district, open enrollment program in Minnesota. The study examined changes in property tax bases in Minnesota as a result of the shift from local monopolies of public schooling to open enrollment. It investigated the effect of transferring patterns in the first school year of statewide open enrollment (1990-91) on changes in property tax bases between 1989-90 and 1996-97. Data came from the Minnesota Department of Families, Children, and Learning's "School District Profiles," district level student transferring data, and the 1990 School District Databook based on the 1990 Census. Results indicated that property tax bases declined in desirable districts that accepted transfer students, while property tax bases increased in districts where students were able to transfer to preferred districts. The capitalization effects were of sufficient magnitude that a district losing students because of transferring did not actually lose much financially, or may have even had a moderate gain, as a result of school choice. The converse was true for districts gaining transfer students. (Contains 21 references.) (SM)

Noting that resurgence of the "orphanage" controversy has recently brought public attention to the child welfare system in Minnesota, this report notes that the child welfare system is not well understood and focuses debate on the needs of children who cannot live at home. Following introductory remarks and highlights from the text, the report describes characteristics of the Minnesota welfare system, including a discussion of the best interest of the child as the system's guiding concept, legislation shaping the system, licensing rules, and the continuum of care. Children entering the child welfare system are described and placement data for the year 2000 are presented. The report next discusses the needs of several child populations of concern: fragile infants with medical conditions, multiple problem children, older adolescents with a history of problems, homeless Native American youth, adolescents needing an acute care response in a hospital setting, and children in large sibling groups. Evidence from the child welfare field is presented to highlight that placement in large institutions is unsuitable for young children, that young children in family settings have better developmental outcomes, and that permanency is lessened under institutional care. The report then explores the possibility of educational academies as an option for older, intellectually competent children. A recommendation that a moratorium be enacted and a study of children's needs be conducted before large-scale institutions be considered for care of children unable to remain at home concludes the report. Appended are: Federal Policy Framework for Child Welfare Practice; Components of the System of Care; and Reviving the Orphanage Option for Children Who Cannot Remain in the Family: An Historical Note. (Contains 45 references.) (KB)

A public policy study in Minnesota, conducted as part of Project 2030, looked at the impacts of the aging of the baby boom generation on the work force and the economic vitality of the state by the year 2030. The study found the following general trends affecting the work force and economic vitality and noted the relation of each to the aging population: (1) a global economy (employers who serve the elderly in rural Minnesota will have difficulty holding workers because of the shift to a global economy); (2) changing composition of industrial sectors (the productivity of an aging work force will need to be considered, especially where strength and dexterity are required); (3) labor shortages (most job openings will occur as the result of retirings or other quittings, not because of new job creation); (4) training and education mismatches with skill needs (focus will shift to retraining of individuals already in the work force); (5) technology (technology will have to substitute for workers due to labor shortages but can't provide care for the elderly, where there is already a shortage); and (6) tax implications (Minnesota's tax base will change because, among other things, a greater share of personal income will be tax exempt and subject to lower rates and slower rates of growth.) Recommended policy directions for the state are included in the "Project 2030 Final Report." (KC)

The consideration of school choice plans raises policy questions for school administrators. This paper addresses pragmatic concerns about definitions and policy questions related to educational finance. Interdistrict choice, emphasizing families' right to choose among existing public schools, raises questions regarding transportation and facilities planning responsibilities, Chapter 1 funding, and information distribution costs. Second-chance programs, which extend interdistrict choice and postsecondary options to at-risk youth through alternative programs, can face the same financial problems as interdistrict plans where inequities already exist or where the state share of per pupil expenditure is low. "Hard" state funding should support alternative schools and their staff development and training costs. Controlled choice plans, requiring all families to choose a school within the district, do not involve funding transfers between districts or systems, but may require the reallocation of funding between schools. Extra costs include transportation, parent information, planning, technical assistance, and staff development. Intradistrict choice plans based on teacher-initiated schools have high startup costs and raise administrative control questions. Magnet schools, aiming at school improvement through special resources, require additional costs for transportation, improved facilities, special programs, and additional staff and staff development. Finally, postsecondary options for upper division high school students raise equity and equal access concerns. (11 references) (MLH)

This report discusses forces that are shaping alternative approaches to the delivery of postsecondary education, particularly distance education and open learning. One of these forces is the ever-changing composition of the student body, whose demands are increasing and whose needs are becoming more disparate because of a more and more sophisticated labor market. Distance education is being used successfully as a more cost- effective and less labor-intensive way in which to educate large numbers; in view of that trend tailored solutions for affordable student-centered education and some stylized models for open universities are provided. In addition to sketching background information, this report also explores specific issues regarding oversight of open-learning programs by the state government for consumer protection, the logistics of credit transfer and credentialing, and strategic considerations for implementing open learning situations and technologies. (BEW)

Human capital is the key to economic development. Without highly-skilled workers, states and territories cannot attract the productive businesses they need. That makes higher education a key element of any governor's growth strategy. But many public colleges and universities are struggling to produce more graduates. Overall graduation rates often hover at 50 percent or below, even as tuition is rising sharply. Rising prices and stagnant output provide a recipe for declining productivity. Fortunately, there are promising efforts underway to break the cycle of rising costs and stagnant output. In recent years, a number of states have developed promising new models for improving college and lowering costs at the same time. Several governors have led the push to launch new universities that are injecting new energy and innovation into higher education. Others are setting up high-quality online campuses and helping traditional institutions overhaul courses with technology, boosting student achievement while reducing costs simultaneously. The innovative models presented in this paper can be adapted by governors nationwide to increase the number of college graduates in tough economic times. (Contains 1 figure.)

Minnesota's goals and policies for serving part-time and returning college students were studied. Attention was directed to the following: programs that should be available to part-time and returning students; forms of credit or recognition that should be given to these students; the way that responsibility should be shared and monitored within the postsecondary education sector; the way the Higher Education Coordinating Board's financial aid programs should respond to changing enrollment patterns; and the way that instruction for part-time and returning students should be funded. For public and private institutions, consideration is given to curriculum changes, changes in delivery methods, and degrees awarded by alternative delivery methods. Instructional programs and support services at area vocational-technical institutes are also addressed. Information is provided on: eligibility of full- and part-time students for major federal and state student aid programs; aid awarded to dependent and self-supporting students in 1980/81; sources of funds spent on adult vocational education in fiscal year 1979; community college sources of income for credit instruction and for noncredit instruction and community services in FY 1979; and sources of funds for state universities, FY 1979. (SW)

In 1988, a study was conducted by the Research Department of the Minnesota House of Representatives to examine college student retention and enrollment patterns in the state. Community college retention was examined by tracking the progress of fall 1987 entering freshmen through 1990. Interviews, focusing on students' plans, background, preparation for college, and freshman year experiences, were conducted with a sample of retained students and dropouts who entered as freshmen in fall 1988. Study findings included the following: (1) by their second year of enrollment, 55% of the 1987 new entering freshmen (NEF) had dropped out; (2) 16% of the NEF transferred by the beginning of their fourth year of enrollment, with full-time students transferring at a higher rate than part-timers; (3) 35% of the students interviewed were not enrolled in a degree program and did not intend to pursue a degree; (4) by spring 1991, 25% of the fall 1988 degree-seeking students had transferred, 33% had dropped out, 30% were still enrolled, and 13% were graduates; (5) the majority of community college students received some type of financial aid, most commonly a grant; (6) 82% of all students were employed, with dropouts working the most hours and four-year transfers working the fewest; (7) 34% of all students enrolled in at least one remedial or basic skills course; and (8) 29% of the students reported some problem in enrolling in desired courses. The study report includes a discussion of the policy implications of the findings and options for addressing such problems as the lack of focus in the community college mission, low levels of student academic preparation, lack of timely completion, and low rates of transfer to four-year colleges. Data tables, graphs, and figures are provided. (JMC)

This document, which was developed by a task force whose members represent the instructional, student support service, administrative, and executive ranks of technical colleges with very diverse sizes, locations, and programs, lists 50 proposed indices of effectiveness regarding the program advisory committees (ACs) in Minnesota's technical colleges. The indices are divided in a manner designed to suggest a working format for the development of a leadership guide that will eventually be written to train AC members to plan and implement comprehensive curricular reviews. Specifically, the 50 indices of effectiveness are organized as follows: organizing an AC (purpose, function, structure, policy, practice); helping AC members become acquainted (relationship building); maintaining AC vitality by establishing definite member life-cycles and considering specified criteria when selecting members (occupational expertise, industry perspective, peer recognition, commitment, diversity); working together as a group to solve problems, make decisions, plan, forecast trends, and anticipate the future (knowledge/skills, facilitator competencies, group ownership); planning and conducting effective AC meetings; and developing an AC work plan. Appended is the task force membership roster. Contains 14 references. (MN)

In October 1988, 48 suburban and greater Minnesota school districts, representing approximately 20 percent of the state's public elementary and secondary school students, filed a lawsuit claiming that Minnesota's school financing system violates the state's constitutional mandate for equality of educational opportunity. (A ruling in the case is not expected until the 1991 Legislature adjourns.) The state asserts that neither the state constitution nor state statutes require equal revenues per pupil and that the state has met its specific obligations under the state education clause. After explaining the lawsuit, this report discusses states' duty to maintain public schools and reviews Minnesota's school finance system. Next is a history of state school finance litigation that highlights early cases ("Serrano v. Priest,""Van Dusartz v. Hatfield," and "San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez"), equity versus adequacy emphases in the 1980s, and recent challenges to states' school finance systems, including cases upholding a state's system (Georgia, Colorado, New York, Maryland, and Michigan) and cases invalidating a state's system (Montana, Kentucky, Texas, and New Jersey). None of these cases provides a basis for predicting the outcome of Minnesota's school finance lawsuit. (MLH)

A study examined the transition from secondary to post-secondary education and the opportunities for academic preparation and planning available to Minnesota secondary students. Data concerning post-secondary enrollment patterns, curriculum, planning, and remedial and developmental studies were gathered from a number of sources. Extensive results included the following: (1) statewide, 77% of public high school juniors planned to enroll in some type of post-secondary institution immediately after high school; (2) state high school graduation requirements fall far below the preparation that most four-year Minnesota colleges expect but that only the University of Minnesota and some liberal arts colleges require; (3) students' opportunities for post-secondary planning depend on the secondary schools in which they are enrolled; (4) just over 15% of all community college students in a year are enrolled in courses that community colleges term remedial/developmental; and (5) many students, including some who had opportunities, are attending college without sufficient preparation to do the work required there. (Five tables, eight figures, and three maps of data are included; five maps of post-secondary system attendance rates by school district and an appendix containing remedial/developmental course descriptions of the state university system are attached.) (RS)

Papers concerning higher education planning and management in the 1980s that were contributed to the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems competition for the Planning and Financing Program are presented. The papers, submitted by administrators, researchers, and a student, are as follows: "Faculty Reallocation: Plattsburgh State as a Case Study," (Joseph C. Burke); "Managerial Styles in University Budget Planning" (Timothy J. Delmont); "The Utilization and Financial Characteristics of Tax-Exempt Auxiliary Corporations Affiliated with the Major Public Universities in the United States" (Robert W. Gaily); "An Identification of College and University Peer Groups" (Paul E. Lingenfelter and James E. Elsass); "Evaluating College Campus Closings for the 1980s: A Case Application of an Optimization Model" (Stephen A. Hoenack and Janet K. Roemer); "Fear and Loathing Over Competition in Postsecondary Education" (L. R. Jones); "The Impact of Circular A-21 on Property Control Systems of the One Hundred Institutions Leading in Federal Sponsored Research" (Meredith Snapp and John D. Porter); "Information Systems for State-Level Decisions and the Budget" (Fred Thompson); "Indexing Tuition to Cost of Education: Implications for State Policy" (Dennis W. Viehland, Norman S. Kaufman, and Darbara M. Krauth); and "Program Review and the Enrollment Crisis" (Kenneth C. Green). (SW)