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The rapid rise of online enrollments in public universities has been fueled by a reliance on for-profit, third-party providers--especially online program managers. However, scholars know very little about the potential problems with this arrangement. We conduct a mixed methods analysis of 229 contracts between third-party providers and 117 two-year and four-year public universities in the US, data on the financing structure of third-party providers, and university online education webpages. We ask: What are the mechanisms through which third-party relationships with universities may be exploitative of students or the public universities that serve them? To what extent are potentially predatory processes linked to the private equity and venture capital financing structure of third-party providers? We highlight specific mechanisms that lead to five predatory processes: the targeting of marginalized students, extraction of revenue, privatization by obfuscation, for-profit creep, and university captivity. We demonstrate that contracts with private equity and venture capital financed third-party providers are more likely to include potentially problematic contract stipulations. We ground our findings in a growing body of work on "platform capitalism" and include recommendations for state universities, accreditors, and federal policy.

This paper describes the current criticisms of academic research collaboration between the US and China and proposes a university-led initiative to address those concerns. The article begins with the assertion that bilateral research collaboration has historically benefitted both countries, citing cooperation in virology as an example. The paper continues with a discussion of the criticisms leveled by several US government agencies against the Chinese government, especially with regard to the Thousand Talents Program (TTP). A close examination of publicly available appointment letters under the TTP suggests that Chinese universities are given wide discretion when it comes to defining the specific terms of scholarly collaboration. Along with additional supporting arguments, the paper concludes that the most significant violations of commonly accepted research norms are owing to the behavior of individual Chinese institutions and are not directed by the TTP or the Chinese national government. The paper then suggests several steps for addressing these issues at the university level, beginning with a convening of campus leaders from both countries.

We conduct a survey-based experiment with 2,776 students at a non-profit university to analyze income insurance demand in education financing. We offered students a hypothetical choice: either a federal loan with income-driven repayment or an income-share agreement (ISA), with randomized framing of downside protections. Emphasizing income insurance increased ISA uptake by 43%. We observe that students are responsive to changes in contract terms and possible student loan cancellation, which is evidence of preference adjustment or adverse selection. Our results indicate that framing specific terms can increase demand for higher education insurance to potentially address risk for students with varying outcomes.

In many school districts the policies that regulate personnel are governed by collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) negotiated between teachers' unions and school boards. While there is significant policy attention and, in some cases, legislative action that has affected the scope of these agreements, there is relatively little research that assesses how CBAs vary over time, or whether they change in response to states' legislative reforms. In this paper we compare CBAs in three states at two points in time: before and after substantial reforms in Michigan and Washington impacting collective bargaining and in California where there were no major statutory changes affecting CBAs. We find that few district characteristics predict changes in CBA restrictiveness over time, other than institutional spillovers from local bargaining structures. However, we observe that reforms to the scope of bargaining in Michigan and Washington drastically reduced the restrictiveness of Michigan and Washington CBAs relative to California.

We investigate factors influencing student sign-ups for Washington State's College Bound Scholarship (CBS) program. We find a substantial share of eligible middle school students fail to sign the CBS, forgoing college financial aid. Student characteristics associated with signing the scholarship parallel characteristics of low-income students who attend 4-year colleges. Simulations suggest the program may address college enrollment gaps, increasing college-going by some disadvantaged groups, it also would reinforce inequalities in college-going that exist between sub-groups of low-income students. Finally, student sign-up rates are lower than has been previously reported. Importantly, we find a perception among program administrators that nearly all eligible students sign up, which shifts attention away from sign-ups to encouraging pledgees to follow through with program requirements. Principal/Guidance Counselor Interview Questions are appended.

This white paper analyzes the potential effects of requiring income-driven repayment for all federal loans as well as relying on paycheck withholding for loan payments, with particular attention to the implications for low-income students and families. The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) also examines the relevance and evolution of mandatory IDR ["income-driven repayment"] systems in Australia and the United Kingdom, and the paper includes specific recommendations to streamline and improve student loan repayment options in the United States. Two appendices are included: (1) Citation List of Figure 2: "Key Comparisons of IDR Systems and Context: U.S., U.K., and Australia"; and (2) Borrower Example Details.

In this paper we consider more than three decades of research on teachers' unions in the United States. Focusing on unions' role in shaping education policy, we argue that collective bargaining and political organizing comprise the two central but distinct forms of influence at the district, state and national levels of decision-making. We note recent changes in state policy directly and indirectly affecting unions and union priorities. We argue that these changes may result in a variety of different conditions under which unions operate, and suggest that this variation represents fertile ground for new empirical analyses of union influence. Such work may in turn require a reconsideration of the extent of, and limitations to union power in altered educational landscapes.

It has been clear for some time that the higher education student body has experienced a decline in mental health. More recently, there have been claims that the mental health of staff is also at risk. This report will present new findings that show how staff employed at higher education institutions are accessing counselling and occupational health services, which aim to keep employees well at work, at an increasing rate. This report finds evidence of an escalation of poor mental health among university staff in the period 2009 to 2016. Data were obtained from 59 higher education institutions on referrals to counselling and occupational health services. This report will consider some of the factors which weigh on the mental health of academic staff: (1) escalating and excessive workloads; (2) the imposition of metric surveillance; (3) outcomes-based performance management; (4) increasing precarity; and (5) insecure contracts. Recommendations from this report include: (1) more realistic workload allocations; (2) more responsible use of metrics; (3) better performance management, policies which embed a developmental function and which recognise the long-term goal-setting which is appropriate for academics; and (4) a commitment by universities to sustainable careers and a pathway from postdoctoral research to lectureship. Enacting these recommendations would help make higher education an attractive profession once more for talented and ambitious scholars. [Foreword by Mike Thomas.]

Apprenticeships have a very long history in Australia, building on the traditions of the medieval guilds. The essence of the apprenticeship is the contract of training--a legal contract between an individual, an employer and a training provider. The defining characteristic is the combination of employment and training. The purpose of this paper is to describe what we know about apprenticeships and traineeships, with a view to assessing the likely impact of the current economic downturn on them. A table presenting the apprentice and trainee commencements is appended. (Contains 4 tables, 13 figures, and 7 footnotes.) [Funding for this paper was provided through the Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.]

The educational achievements of the young depend on both family and school but are much more dependent on the former than the latter. Educational policy has established an extensive set of legal and contractual obligations for schools. In contrast, the contractual obligation for families is to meet compulsory education requirements. The establishment of performance expectations or contracts between families and society may be an effective way to enhance educational outcomes. This paper investigates the need for, feasibility of, and possible content of such performance expectations by suggesting the construction of metaphorical contracts for families to provide for the education of their children. It begins by documenting the overwhelming ties between socioeconomic status (SES) and student educational results. It then looks at the research literature on what families do that improves educational results for their children (what SES reflects). Next, it considers what a comprehensive family contract that embodied these behaviors would look like. Finally, it adds greater specificity to such a family contract by asking what families can do on their own if properly informed, including low-income families; what families can do with training and support; and what gaps in the contract must be filled by other service providers. (Contains 58 footnotes.) (SM)

Written in English and French, this paper outlines current Canadian intellectual property legislation as it relates to Aboriginal people in Canada, and provides a general review of the implications and limitations of this legislation for protecting the traditional knowledge of Aboriginal people. An initial discussion of Aboriginal perspectives highlights the difference between sacred traditional knowledge, products, and services associated with traditional lifestyles of Aboriginal people, and innovations or new creations of an individual or an Aboriginal company. Not all traditional knowledge is considered to be intellectual property under Canadian law, therefore a web of strategies is suggested to better protect and control traditional Aboriginal knowledge. These strategies include community guidelines for researchers and businesses wanting access to traditional knowledge, codes of conduct, statutory options, and legal agreements and contracts. A section on intellectual property protection of Indigenous knowledge describes ownership, nature of rights, criteria for protection, scope of protection, duration, costs, enforcement, and international protection. A section on intellectual property rules applicable to Aboriginal contexts discusses copyrights, neighboring rights, industrial designs, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, plant breeders' rights, integrated circuit topographies, and licensing intellectual property. The conclusion points out the need for new techniques and laws that are more appropriate for protecting Aboriginal traditional knowledge and recommends educating non-Aboriginals to increase respect and understanding for Aboriginal traditional knowledge. Information sources presented include 17 federal, international, general, and Aboriginal Internet sources; 11 organizations; and 20 references. (TD)

This report is an initial effort to provide systematic information on teacher contracts in Massachusetts. In 1999, the Pioneer Institute solicited copies of the current contract from all districts in the state. Forty districts were selected to reflect the makeup of the Commonwealth. This study confirms that teacher compensation is determined by rigid schedules that reward solely the accumulation of college credits and experience. Teacher evaluation and discipline vary considerably among districts. Contracts vary considerably in the way they treat transfers. Few districts are required to make transfer decisions solely on the basis of seniority. When layoffs are required, most districts in the sample proceed in reverse order of seniority in the affected program areas. Contracts limit teachers' workloads by restricting class size, number and length of classes, number of preparations and subjects, length of the work year, and the number and length of after-school meetings. Two general conclusions are drawn: (1) there is considerable variation among contracts; and (2) although administrators are constrained by contracts, they do not take advantage of negotiated flexible language to serve the educational mission of their schools. The report ends with 18 tables exhibiting contract characteristics for each district selected in the study. (RT)

Many deregulated public charter schools are emphasizing parental involvement. But to what extent do the initiators of these charter schools use parent involvement and parent contracts to restrict enrollment to students whose parents demonstrate the desired commitments and willingness to meet school expectations? To explore this question, this paper reports on: (1) findings from a survey of 28 charter schools and 39 comparison schools in the same California communities; and (2) an examination of parent contracts in use at 23 of the charter schools. The survey elicited response rates of 62 and 51 percent for charter schools and traditional schools, respectively. The overall tenor of the parent contracts used at most of the charter schools suggests that the contracts are viewed as a means of obtaining compliance rather than as a positive vehicle for encouraging the growth of a more inclusive school community. These contracts seem to permit schools more leverage over parents. Furthermore, a major reason charter schools have higher levels of parent involvement may be that the more school-participation-oriented families select themselves into charter-school enrollment; meanwhile, parents who lack the initial interest or circumstances conducive to participation reject the opportunity to join such a school. It is concluded that, to some extent, schools are being organized to exclude students based on a new criterion of undesirability--the criterion of having supportive and educationally involved parents. Nine tables are included. (LMI)

Recent research (Strunk and Reardon forthcoming) applies Partial Independence Item Response (PIIR) models to teacher bargaining agreements in California to calculate the latent restrictiveness of these contracts. Further research (Strunk and Grissom 2010; Strunk forthcoming) tests the external validity of these estimates. Given that much research on collective bargaining focuses either on high-profile provisions (Moe 2009) or categories of provisions (Koski and Horng 2007), it is important also to assess the internal validity of these estimates: are PIIR estimates of contract restrictiveness robust to analyses on different subsets of provisions? We introduce a new dataset derived from "all" provisions in "all" active CBAs in the state of Washington, and apply the PIIR methodology to calculate estimates of contract restrictiveness using the full range of provisions and various subsets of provisions. We find that estimates calculated from a subset of high-profile provisions are moderately highly correlated with estimates calculated from the full range of provisions, as are estimates calculated from several categories of provisions: Association rights, evaluation procedures, teacher benefit and leave policies, hiring and transfer provisions, and teacher workload agreements. However, estimates calculated using only grievance and layoff policies produce different results, suggesting that estimates using these contract sub-sections may capture another dimension of bargaining and lead to inappropriate inferences on the relationship between union strength and outcomes of substantive interest. Protocol for collecting and coding collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) is appended. (Contains 5 tables and 19 footnotes.)

A large literature on teacher collective bargaining describes the potential influence of provisions in teacher union contracts, but little is known about the determinants of these provisions. Using a unique dataset of every active teacher collective bargaining agreement in Washington state, we find that the proximity of two districts is a significant predictor of the similarity between the districts' CBAs. This suggests that spatial relationships play a major role in determining the provisions that appear in a district's CBA. These spatial relationships are more pronounced for different subsets of provisions, including a subset of high-profile provisions and provisions dealing with Association rights, benefits and leave procedures, hiring and transfer policies, and teacher workload agreements. Our findings suggest that policy makers seeking to understand the determinants of teacher collective bargaining provisions must consider the role that spatial relationships play in the process. (Contains 6 tables and 29 footnotes.)

There is significant interest in reforming retirement plans for public school employees, particularly in light of current market conditions. This paper presents an overview of the various types of state regulation of public pension plans that affect possibilities for reform. Several states have legal protections that effectively prevent a state from making any changes to its retirement plans that would reduce the monetary value of an employee's pension from what he or she would have earned under the terms of the plan in effect on the employee's date of hire. Many other states allow changes to their pension plans only if any disadvantages of the plan amendment are offset by comparable new advantages for participants. Other states allow retirement plan changes as long as participants have been afforded due process. Nearly all of the various approaches to public pension plan protection taken by the states have significant flaws. These flaws include a lack of clarity regarding what plan changes the relevant legal standard will allow, combined with either too much or too little protection for plan participants. This paper argues that states would be well served to adopt the approach used by the federal government with respect to pension plans. The federal approach protects plan participants' currently accrued benefits, but gives employers freedom to change plan terms going forward. This approach is clear, protects legitimate participant interests, and preserves an employer's ability to respond to changing economic conditions. (Contains 94 footnotes.)

Policy discussions about teacher quality and teacher "shortages" often focus on recruitment and retention of young teachers. However, attention has begun to focus on the incentive effects of teacher retirement benefit systems, particularly given their rising costs and the large unfunded liabilities. In this paper we analyze accrual of pension wealth for teachers in a representative defined benefit teacher pension system. Missouri substantially enhanced retirement benefits during the 1990's in response to a booming stock market. We estimate the current costs of those enhancements, and evidence of their effects on teacher retention and retirement. We construct forward-looking measures of teacher pension wealth and show that the actual distribution of teacher retirements can be approximated by simple models which assume that teachers retire when pension wealth is maximized. While retirement age is rising in other sectors of the economy, these pension enhancements appear to have lowered the average experience and age of retiring public school teachers in Missouri. Calculation of Current and Maximum Pension Wealth is appended. (Contains 2 tables, 11 figures, and 10 footnotes.)

In this paper we review the research evidence on the effects of affirmative action in employment, university admissions, and government procurement. We consider effects on both "equity" (or distribution) as well as "efficiency." Overall, we find that affirmative action does redistribute jobs, university admissions, and government contracts away from white males toward minorities and females, though the overall magnitudes of these shifts are relatively modest. We also find that affirmative action shifts jobs and university admissions to minorities who have weaker credentials, but there is little solid evidence to date of weaker labor market performance among its beneficiaries. While those students admitted to universities under affirmative action have weaker grades and higher dropout rates than their white counterparts at selective schools, they seem to benefit overall in terms of higher graduation rates and later salaries. Affirmative action also generates positive externalities for minority and low-income communities (in terms of better medical services and labor market contacts), and perhaps for employers and universities as well. More research on a variety of these issues is also clearly needed. [This paper has been prepared for the "Journal of Policy Analysis and Management," at the invitation of the editor.]

Regional Educational Laboratories were created in the early 1960s as a federally funded link between research and development efforts in education and school districts. The labs were conceived to be sensitive to the practical needs of administrators and teachers for educational innovations that could be implemented locally. However, over a quarter of a century, the labs have been transformed by economic and political dynamics from a focused national network of federally supported, professionally guided knowledge diffusion institutions into nine, often entrepreneurially oriented "job shops," sometimes only remotely related to local school districts, their agendas substantially influenced by federal officials and whatever clients they could gain from marketing activities, and subsisting financially from competitively contested contract to contract. This paper describes the evolution of the Regional Educational Laboratories, paying critical attention to the governmental planning and political forces accompanying their formation. This analysis proceeds by describing the major changes in policy and operation that subsequently have shaped the laboratory system. Assumptions underlying formation of the laboratories are described, and conditions that have consistently curtailed their effectiveness are analyzed. The paper summarizes present laboratory problems and poses alternative strategies for overcoming them in the future. (JD)

The working papers that document the planning, construction, equipping, and operation of a laboratory facility dedicated to educational research and development (R&D) are organized into three volumes. Volume I sets forth the technical substance of the 12 working papers. This volume, Volume III, contains the technical attachments for Working Papers 6-12 stated in Volume I. There are 73 technical attachments in this volume. Some of the nine attachments for Working Paper 6 include an analysis of aspects of audit contrary to GAO standards, a summary of analyses of auditors' draft report, and an "acceptable" audit report. Working Paper 7 has 10 attachments. Some of them include the contracting officer's preliminary findings, the final decision of contracting officer, and HEW Grant Appeals Board Rules. The three attachments for Working Paper 8 are the proposal from the moving company, the housing questionnaire, and the guidelines for reimbursement of moving expenses. The single attachment for Working Paper 10 is the bidding documents for custodial and maintenance services. Three of the fifteen attachments for Working Paper 12 are functional specifications for components of an R&D equipment system, a budget summary for R&D equipment, and the contract for procurement of an R&D equipment system. (SK)

This paper extends research by Richard Murnane by analyzing the effects of specific teacher contract provisions on New York teacher turnover from 1972-76 and in the process assesses the validity of two theories explaining teacher mobility. The combination of the theory of human capital with the theory of internal labor markets analyzes teacher mobility in terms of the voluntary movements characteristic of the teacher shortage of the 1960's; however, a theory of institutional work rules is espoused as more useful in explaining teacher behavior during the teacher surplus of the 1970's, when job mobility tended to be involuntary. Data from a sample of 19,000 teachers from State Department of Education personnel files are subjected to logit analysis to estimate the effect of selected variables on the probability of teacher transfers and quits. Variables include a contract provision limiting class size and a provision requiring that seniority be followed in staff reductions, as well as teachers' experience levels, racial composition of teachers and of students, district enrollments, and teachers' sex. Generally, class size provisions are found to increase the probability of transfers and reduce the probability of quits, but the seniority provision affects quit rates only in districts with rapidly declining enrollment. Results are concluded to uphold the explanatory power of both theories considered. (MJL)

This volume contains the technical paper prepared by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (DHEW) to give additional data and more detailed analysis of materials used to study the administration of the Federal Interagency Day Care Requirements (FIDCR). This study was part of a larger project to investigate two questions: Is the Federal regulation of day care financed under Title XX appropriate? Are the specific requirements for day care now imposed under Title XX appropriate? The present volume contains three sections. Section I contains analyses of the comprehensiveness, extensiveness, and application of FIDCR and state licensing for day care standards. Section II analyzes federal implementation of policies and regulations in terms of clarity of goals, clarity of language, public involvement, the regulatory climate, conflict in loyalties, and enforcement policies. Section III discusses both state implementation of activities to ensure FIDCR compliance and general state measurement activities. Appendices are included. An Executive summary of the "Report on the Appropriateness of the FIDCR: Report of Findings and Recommendations;" the text of the FIDCR; and a legislative history of the FIDCR. Also provided are a 5-page bibliography and a 17-page glossary of terms. (Author/DB)

Negotiated educational benefits represent the larger part of union involvement in membership education and training. In order of program incidence within contracts, the six major forms are (1) apprenticeship programs, (2) on-the-job training plans, (3) tuition aid plans, (4) educational leave and leave of absence plans, (5) education and training trust fund plans, and (6) scholarship and loan plans. The latter four emphasize access by workers to learning opportunities in postsecondary education institutions and other settings and emphasize skill and knowledge formation not limited to performance of a specified job or occupation. Unionized workers place high value on education. Nonuse stems from a combination of personal fears about ability, lack of encouragement, and scheduling difficulties. Successful educational benefit programs have leadership and institutional support of membership utilization of negotiated benefits, ongoing operation and promotion of the benefit program, and linkages with local education providers. Most successful benefit plans contain the following provisions and features: board eligibility criteria, simplified and flexible application approval procedures, board course coverage, liberal financing provisions, flexibility of work and education scheduling, provision for career and/or educational counseling, and active plan promotion and publicity campaigns. (YLB)