Search

The incentive grant approach in higher Education is a resource allocation strategy that may have significant positive impact on educational performance. This document covers: (1) the incentive grant approach to resource allocation; (2) the evolution during the past 15 years of types of incentive grant programs and the contrasting roles played by state higher education agencies and multicampus systems in that evolution; (3) major patterns inthe administration of incentive grant programs; and (4) a directory to 55 incentive grant programs administered by higher education agencies and multicampus systems. Findings indicate that the incentive grant approach may: (1) provide incentive for participants to rechannel both efforts and resources into activities that support the new goals of universal access; (2) stimulate initiative for improvement within existing resources; and (3) yield the dual economic benefits of increased productivity and more effective targeting of resources. To these potential assets of the incentive grant approach must be added flexibility. Given these potentially positive impacts and the technique's potential adaptability to a variety of resource allocation situations, the central question becomes: How well does the approach, both generally and in its concrete variations, actually work? (Author/KE)

The seminar on "Innovation, Outcomes, and the State Budgeting Process" was a joint effort of seven organizations (Education Commission of the States, Legis 50/The Center for Legislative Improvement, National Association of State Budget Officers, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems at WICHE, National Conference of State Legislatures, and the National Governors Conference), which share an interest in the issues of performance budgeting in postsecondary education. Along with a synthesis of the seminar, the agenda, and a list of participants, a report, "State Governments as Funders of Postsecondary Education: Catalysts for Improvement?" presented at the July conference in San Francisco, is provided. (KE)

The federal government has traditionally relied on a variety of private accrediting bodies and state chartering and licensing authorities for determining eligibility and exercising direct supervision and consumer protection in education. As Federal financial assistance directly to students has expanded (3 million students received $6.4 million in 1974), the diffuse and uneven system of approval and control of educational insitutions, programs, and student financial aid by "voluntary" agencies has become confused and overburdened. As an aid to legislators, the Eligibility Task Force of the Postsecondary Education Convening Authority synthesized numerous recent studies and dialogues in the field of eligibility and accreditation. This was done to define key terms, sort out the interests of the various parties involved, delineate the current issues, offer conceptual models of alternative eligibility systems, and summarize some proposed solutions, including revisions based on the present system, which places heavy reliance for determining institutional eligibility on private accrediting associations. This also includes plans to separate eligibility judgments from accreditation. Appendices to this summary of the Task Force findings include principal participants in the present eligibility system, a review of statistics pertaining to the Guaranteed Student Loan Program (GSLB) and the Basic Opportunity Grant Program (BOGS), and a list of issues discussed at the U.S. Office of Education National Invitational Conference on Institutional Eligibility. (JT)

Innovation programs in higher education are generally received with some skepticism and are often asked to justify their existence and the funding they are accorded. Since the programs are largely efforts to explore and demonstrate effective teaching and learning not present in traditional postsecondary education, the appropriateness of judging their financial right to life by traditional standards is questionable. This study was commissioned to determine the nature and extent of restraints imposed by state and federal funding formulas, guidelines and regulations on emerging, innovative, time- and place-free opportunities in postsecondary education. Administrators from several nontraditional colleges and programs were interviewed in person and 300 questionnaires were mailed to others, with 134 responding. The analysis of these questionnaires revealed much frustration with state and federal funding policies and specific funding and approval problems. It also produced a number of proposed solutions to these problems. Largely these centered on restructuring formulas and guidelines to take into account the special features and purposes of nontraditional education ranging from adding flat or percentages increments specifically for nontraditional program development to finding a more equitable unit of measure than the credit hour. (JMF)

The final report of the Postsecondary Education Convening Authority, a project of George Washington University's Institute for Educational Leadership and a program supported by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, is presented. The objective of the project was to bring about informed public policy in postsecondary education by enabling policymakers at the state and federal levels to become better informed on important issues. During its four-year history, the project focused on four issues: the licensure/approval of postsecondary institutions by states; the respective roles and functions of the states, the Federal Government, and the nongovernmental accrediting agencies in the governance of postsecondary education; the impact of government policies on improvement efforts in postsecondary education; and the emerging federal and state role in lifelong learning. Project objectives were largely carried out through convenings and publications. The convening authority was also a sponsor of research, an issue development process, a mediator, a provider of a neutral forum, a catalyst, a networker, and an innovator in conference design. Activities involving each of these functions are described, and project outcomes are outlined. The project director's final thoughts, a chronology of major activities and publications, and commentaries on the project by others are presented. (SW)

Twenty-one American educational researchers and policy makers present their impressions of education in Japan. Compiled as a result of a two and a half week Educational Staff Seminar tour of Japan in 1972, the articles describe public and private schools, factories, museums, educational television studios, monasteries, shrines, and the Japanese Parliament. As background for the study tour, the participants talked with Japanese scholars, politicians, labor leaders, students, government officials, businessmen, and Zen Buddhist priests. The first article discusses the social and political life and identifies the difficulties of perceiving Japan from a Western perspective. Subsequent articles discuss the role of the Japanese government in education, early childhood education, education of the handicapped, educational research, science and vocational education, cultural education, social welfare services, the status of women, and educational television. Appendices include a directory of the staff of the Japan Center for International Exchange, a roster of participants of the study tour, and a listing of Educational Staff Seminar Programs in 1973. (Author/DB)

This document reports the impressions of members of the Educational Leadership Seminar concerning education in Great Britain. Articles cover education in England (decisionmaking), the National Union of Teachers, community schools in England, the Schools Council for curriculum and examinations, the College of Further Education, the British polytechnic, Berkshire College of Education, universities in the United Kingdom, the University grants committee, the Open University, and the Council on National Academic Awards. (MJM)

The issues involved in institutional licensure, determination of eligibility for federal funds and private accreditation are complex. Each of these functions is undertaken by an element of the "triad" of postsecondary education governance -- the states, the federal Government, and the private accrediting agencies. These three elements comprise a system of checks and balances that result in the need for increased communication. To provide the opportunity for such communication the Postsecondary Education Convening Authority sponsored a retreat on governmental and private institutional approval. This synthesis of the Belmont retreat reflects the efforts underway by representatives of each element toward a cooperative effort in postsecondary education governance. Also included are a list of the Belmont participants and a poem that conferees agreed captures the essence of what went on there. (Author)

The booklet presents transcripts of six radio programs dealing with education in China. Part of the National Public Radio's series entitled "Options in Education," the programs are based on a two-week tour of Chinese schools, colleges, libraries, and day care facilities by one of the radio show hosts. The first program offers insights into activities of children in a neighborhood day care center in Canton and contrasts environments of urban and rural schools throughout China. The second program focuses on reading, writing, and English language instruction of students in junior high schools throughout China. In the third program, students in an arts college are interviewed regarding their attitudes toward and familiarity with art and music from western nations. The fourth program describes English language proficiency of students in a Peking teacher training institution. Student attitudes toward the teaching profession are also discussed. The final two programs focus on preparation for Peking University entrance examinations, increasing emphasis on higher education, and on the interest of the Chinese people in studying foreign languages. (DB)

Scripts of public radio programs on the subject of paying for college are presented. They deal with various kinds of students and student financial aid, including work-study programs, state aid, Basic Grants, etc. The scripts are as follows: "Students Who Work and Go To College;""Student (Myra Burns) Describes Struggle to Pay for College;""Student at More Expensive School;""George Koval, Financial Aid Officer;""Students at UNI;""Tom Butts, Director of the Bureau of Student Financial Assistance;""Layton Olsen;""Joe Case, College Scholarship Service;""Ernest Boyer, Former Education Commissioner;""George Koval on Unanticipated Consequences;""Child on Saving for College;""John Silber, Boston College;""Ernest Boyer;""David Brenneman, Brookings Institute;""Carl Kaysen, M.I.T.;""A Child's Views on Financing College;""Jay Stampen and Ron Rield, American Association of State Colleges and Universities;""David Brenneman;""Child on Saving Money;""Stampen and Field;" and "George Koval." (SW)

Scripts of public radio programs on educational concerns and specifically on the topic of entering college are presented. The following scripts are included: "Mother Helps Her Daughter to Move into Her New Dorm Room;""Another Student Talks About Her Hopes and Fears as She Packs;""One Student Can't Even Get His Key to Unlock His Room;""A Young Woman Who Already Misses Home;""Psychologist Michael Stadder;""Parents Describe Their Feelings of Loss;""Two Young Women Discuss the Importance of Living with a Compatible Roommate;""Michael Stadder on How Today's Freshman Class Is Different from That of Ten Years Ago;""A Group of Students;""Vice President of Student Affairs, Bruce Poynter;""A Resident Advisor Tells of a New Freshman;""Class Roll Call;""Albert Shanker on School Money Problems;""Tom Shannon of the National School Boards Association;""Education Secretary Shirley Hufstedler Says Those Rules Are Crucial;""Teacher Reading Roll;""Terry Herndon of the National Education Association;""According to Al Shanker It Is the Other Children Who Lose Out When Handicapped Kids Are Mainstreamed;""Kids Finding Their Way in Their New School;""Tom Shannon and Terry Herndon Discuss Whether or Not Today's Schools Are Outmoded;" and "Stan Salett of the National Committee for Citizens in Education." (SW)

Scripts of public radio programs on the subject of technology in college are presented. The scripts are as follows: "Dental Videotape;""A Geography Student Talks About Learning by Computers;""Linda Harris Talks About Fear of Computers;""Charles Van Loan, Who Teaches Computer Science at Cornell University;""Students Who Learn Through Computers;""Mary Jane Richardson, A Teacher in Kirkwood College's Telenet System;""'The Heart,' One of 36 Half-Hour Television Programs That Make Up Coastline Community College's Telecourse Called 'Introducing Biology;'""Leslie Purdy, of Coastline Community College;""Video Dental Operation;""Charles Wallace and Howard Mevis, Managers of the Dental School's Media Division;""Dental Operation;""Charles Van Loan, Professor of Computer Science at Cornell University;""Don McTavish, A Professor of Sociology at the University of Minnesota;""Michael Rice of the Aspen Institute;""Professor Alfred Bork, at the University of California;" and "Michael Rice." (SW)

The effects of the Brown decision on equal education for minority groups in America and the contemporary social context in which the decision is applicable are the subjects of this paper. The author contends that as we have not yet reached the stage in American society where equal opportunity exists and race ceases to be a factor in the distribution of social and economic resources, the Brown decision is still relevant to current educational issues. In this context, she discusses (1) strategies that can be employed by minority group leaders to achieve equal educational access; (2) expansion of the implications of the Brown decision beyond a black/white issue, to include Native Americans, Hispanics, and other minorities; (3) competition for educational resources between different"special needs" populations; (4) problems of equal access particular to urban areas; (5) the issue of postsecondary desegregation with regard to black colleges; and (6) the question of race versus social class as indicators of educational disadvantage and, thus, special need. This paper was intended to provide background for a series of panels, seminars, field trips, and other events scheduled for 1979 by the sponsoring organization. (GC)

This report analyzes the effects of Proposition 13 on public education in California and offers an appraisal of what it means for other states. It reviews the political and economic factors that set the stage for a Proposition 13 initiative and describes the use of state surpluses to cushion the immediate financial effects of it. In addition, the paper assesses the first year impact on each level of public education in California and describes the construction of the second "bail out" legislation. In an assessment of the damage done by this initiative, the paper includes a prophetic warning of the lessons the California experience holds for other states and for the future of public education in a tight budget era. (Author)

The Associates Program of the Institute for Educational Leadership is a network of educational policy-makers in over 30 states. Each state's Associate conducts several seminars each year for the benefit of the state's key policy-makers. In 1977 these Associates (then numbering 23) and the participants in their seminars responded to questionnaires designed to assess general policy-making directions and implications at the state level across the nation. This report identifies several policy areas considered crucial by respondents, including educational finance in the wake of the Serrano and Rodriguez decisions and the Jarvis tax initiative; minimal competency testing; collective bargaining; academic freedom and financial accountability in higher education; the mandate for mainstreaming; declining enrollment; and the changing role of the state in education. The relationship between state and federal authority and the impact of politics are considered in light of all these issues. The report is identified by its author as "impressionistic" and acknowledged to be limited because of the nature of the sources of its data, though those sources are considered important and knowledgeable. (PGD)