ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics: Quantitative and Qualitative Research with Football Bowl Subdivision University Presidents on the Costs and Financing of Intercollegiate Athletics. Report of Findings and Implications
Author: Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics
Date: 2009-10-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: College Athletics,Intercollegiate Cooperation,Team Sports,College Presidents,Change,Financial Support,Costs,Sustainability,Salaries,Athletic Coaches,Budgets,Fund Raising,Administrative Organization,National Organizations,Statistical Analysis,Qualitative Research,Questionnaires,Interviews

The Knight Commission's landmark 1991 report, "Keeping Faith with the Student-Athlete: A New Model for Intercollegiate Athletics," proposed a new "one-plus-three" model for intercollegiate athletics--presidential control directed toward academic integrity, fiscal integrity, and an independent certification process to verify that integrity. Indeed, the "one-plus-three" model provided a roadmap that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and university presidents used to implement academic and governance reforms over the past two decades. Despite the progress made with presidential governance and academic reforms, the escalating costs of competing in big-time intercollegiate sports, especially at Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS, formerly Division IA) institutions, have remained an intractable problem. These circumstances made the need for a new study addressing the increasing costs of intercollegiate athletics especially urgent. The current project focusing on FBS university presidents and their views on the financial state of college athletics and the implications of the cost pressures associated with participation in the FBS comes at a critical time. Universities in the FBS experience these pressures most acutely, and the Commission has not conducted presidential-level research since the early 1990s. The research with the 119 FBS university presidents was completed in two stages. The first, consisting of quantitative research, was conducted from March 18 to May 20, 2009. The second phase consisted of qualitative telephone interviews with FBS presidents who had completed a quantitative interview and agreed to participate in a follow-up discussion. Consistent with the quantitative findings, a very high majority of the presidents interviewed expressed the conviction that greater transparency of the finances of intercollegiate athletics is needed at both the institutional, conference, and national levels. Appended are: (1) Questionnaire for quantitative research interviews; (2) Discussion guide for qualitative research interviews; (3) Top line findings from quantitative research; (4) Quantitative research report; and (5) Letter from Knight Commission co-chairs inviting FBS presidents to participate in study.
Shining the Light: A Report Card on Georgia's System of Public Higher Education
Author: Palmiero, Phyllis
Date: 2008-02-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Public Education,Higher Education,State Universities,General Education,Core Curriculum,College Curriculum,College Environment,Intellectual Freedom,College Students,Student Attitudes,Governance,Governing Boards,Administrative Organization,Tuition,Expenditures,Student Costs,School Effectiveness,Graduation Rate,School Holding Power,Student Surveys

Parents and taxpayers are frustrated by reports of students who have failed to master the reading, writing, and thinking skills they expect of college graduates. They are searching for evidence of how much or how little students learn at competing institutions. And they are wondering why a third of full-time college graduates don't finish a four-year degree in six years, let alone four. The U.S. Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education underscored the challenges in its 2006 report, &quot;A Test of Leadership.&quot; It said that the higher education sector's &quot;past attainments have led our nation to unwarranted complacency about its future.&quot; Universities have &quot;remained so far ahead of our competitors for so long,&quot; the Commission wrote, that &quot;we began to take our postsecondary superiority for granted.&quot; Meanwhile, other nations are &quot;educating more of their citizens to more advanced levels than we are.&quot; Against this backdrop of concern--from the highest levels of the federal government to parents and taxpayers across the country--the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) developed this report card on public higher education in Georgia. If the nation is to ensure its continued preeminence, policymakers, trustees, alumni, and taxpayers must know what's going on in higher education. This report card aims to do just that--and it will be followed by others in different states. It takes a close look at the University System of Georgia (USG), focusing on four key areas of the public's interest: what students are learning (the curriculum), whether the marketplace of ideas is vibrant (intellectual diversity), how the universities are run (governance), and what a college education costs (affordability). Applying the benchmark used by the System's largest institution--the University of Georgia--to determine whether students pass or fail (64 percent), this report card offers a Passing or Failing grade on each point. The first section focuses on general education--those courses completed usually within the first two years of a bachelor's degree program. In the second section, the author focuses on intellectual diversity, a value that lies at the very heart of the educational enterprise. The third section turns to governance and the USG Regents. Lastly, the author takes a look at USG in terms of cost and effectiveness. Appended are: (1) Selection Criteria for Core Courses; and (2) Student Survey Data. (Contains 34 footnotes.)
Governance in the Public Interest: A Case Study of the University of North Carolina System
Author: Palmiero, Phyllis
Date: 2005-06-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: State Universities,Governance,College Administration,Governing Boards,Administrative Organization,Trustees,Committees,Administrator Effectiveness,Educational Quality,Budgeting,Costs,Strategic Planning,Achievement,Comparative Analysis,Case Studies

At a time of widespread concerns about quality, cost and accountability in higher education, the importance of the lay governing board has never been greater. Lay governance is the means by which the perspective of informed citizens is brought to the heart of the university. And, in the best of all worlds, it provides a vehicle for thoughtful long-range planning in the best interests of the taxpayer and the state. In this paper, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni takes a comprehensive look at the effectiveness of the University of North Carolina's higher education system. The study finds that: (1) The Board meets often and meeting attendance is high; (2) The Board utilizes a committee structure in which most issues are vetted before going to the full Board; (3) The Board has held workshops on various topics that appear to provide a good vehicle for open debate and deliberation; (4) The Board biennially reviews and eliminates unproductive programs; (5) The Board has been successful in meeting its highest priority strategic goal of increasing access; and (6) The Board provides several training opportunities to boards of trustees. The study nevertheless concludes that current structural factors result in a troubling diffusion of responsibility and a lack of statewide leadership. To ensure leadership and accountability in the public interest, this report makes the following recommendations: (1) The Board and all trustees should be appointed by the governor; (2) Retain the consolidated Board of Governors; (3) Delegate greater operating oversight and responsibility to the individual campus boards of trustees; (4) The Board of Governors should be more proactive; and (5) The Board should be reduced from 32 members to no more than 15. Appended are: (1) Action Items Typically Found on the Board of Governors' Consent Agenda; (2) Major Actions of the Educational Planning, Policies and Programs Committee; (3) Fiscal Accountability Goals and Assessment Measures; and (4) Resolution in Support of No Increase in UNC Tuition for the 2003-04 Academic Year. A bibliography is included.
Early Elementary Performance and Attendance in Baltimore City Schools' Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten
Author: Connolly, Faith
Date: 2012-03-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Enrollment,Kindergarten,Charts,Attendance Patterns,Average Daily Attendance,Disadvantaged Youth,Preschool Education,Elementary School Students,Student Characteristics,State Departments of Education,Preschool Children,Comparative Analysis,Program Effectiveness,Regression (Statistics),Poverty,Models,Federal Programs,School Readiness,Young Children,Gender Differences,Racial Differences,Ethnicity

This study looks at attendance in the early grades of elementary school. In particular, the authors focus on students enrolled in Pre-Kindergarten (PreK) and Kindergarten (K). They follow these young students over several years to determine their pattern of chronic absence (CA), defined as missing more than one-ninth of days enrolled, and their later attendance and academic outcomes. One area of concern for Baltimore is the consistent underperformance of children who were in home care prior to enrolling in K. The authors were surprised to find that these students shared similar demographic characteristics with the Head Start students in our study. They discovered that these students may have met the economic qualifications for Head Start in that they qualified for &quot;free&quot; meals in K. A concerted effort needs to be made to determine why they are not attending a pre-school program, and to ensure that all qualified children are enrolled in Head Start or City Schools PreK. As a result of their analyses the authors would like to recommend that: (1) MSDE report average daily attendance (ADA) and CA rates for students in PreK and K; (2) A concerted effort among relevant Baltimore City agencies should aim to maximize enrollment in Head Start and City Schools PreK programs; (3) City Schools work with Head Start to develop family education and outreach to emulate the high attendance rates seen among Head Start graduates; and (4) There be monitoring of student attendance as well as of school-wide attendance, examining both ADA and CA as important indicators. Appended are: (1) Methodological Issues; (2) Characteristics of Students Entering PreK in 2006-07; (3) Characteristics of Students Entering Kindergarten in 2007-08; (4) Characteristics of Students Entering PreK in 2008-09; (5) Regression Models for Students Entering PreK in 2006-07; (6) Regression Models for Students Entering Kindergarten in 2007-08; (7) Regression Models for Students Entering PreK in 2008-09; and (8) Charts of Student Enrollment Over Time. (Contains 3 figures, 40 tables and 3 charts.) [Additional funding for this paper was provided by the Open Society Institute-Baltimore and the Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation.]
A Descriptive Look at College Enrollment and Degree Completion of Baltimore City Graduates. Policy Brief
Author: Durham, Rachel E.
Date: 2011-08-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: College Bound Students,Enrollment,Quality of Life,College Attendance,Graduation,Educational Trends,Trend Analysis,Educational Environment,Employment Potential,Income,Health

Earning a college degree improves a person's life outcomes in employment, income, health, and quality of life. Thus, it is important to track Baltimore City Schools graduates success in attending and completing college. In this study, the authors sought to summarize college enrollment and completion trends over the past several years. These data will not only serve as a baseline for comparison with future data, but also allow individual to identify areas where additional research and information could inform City Schools efforts to create a college-going climate throughout all its elementary, middle and high schools. (Contains 1 footnote.) [For full report, &quot;A Descriptive Look at College Enrollment and Degree Completion of Baltimore City Graduates,&quot; see ED535776.]
Pressures of the Season: Classroom Quality in Baltimore Elementary Classes and Implications for Improving Instruction. Policy Brief
Author: Baltimore Education Research Consortium (BERC)
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Accountability,Scoring,Educational Change,Classrooms,Grade 3,Grade 2,Grade 1,Urban Schools,Educational Quality,Educational Improvement,Observation,Emotional Development,Affective Behavior,Teacher Student Relationship,Classroom Techniques,Teaching Methods

This brief presents findings from 347 observations conducted in 23 second and third grade classrooms over two years to paint a picture of the in-school experiences of students who had been first graders in eighth Baltimore City Public Schools in 2007-08. Using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), an observation instrument and protocol developed by researchers at the University of Virginia, a rigorously trained team of classroom observers conducted eight observations in each classroom over two days in January and another eight observations over two days in May. Examination of the differences in classroom quality by grade and by season contributes to the broader research efforts to understand when, where, and how major policy initiatives and accountability paradigms infiltrate and affect the technical core of curriculum and instruction. While this report is focused specifically on the contexts of Baltimore and Maryland, it is clear that most states, districts, and schools across the United States are facing similar dynamics and decision-points as the technical core of curriculum and instruction encounters shifting assessments and accountability contexts. The authors intend for their ongoing research to contribute to better understanding the pertinent theoretical and practical issues from both a Baltimore-based and comparative perspective. [For full report, &quot;Pressures of the Season: Classroom Quality in Baltimore Elementary Classes and Implications for Improving Instruction,&quot; see ED535779.]
Working Boards in Tertiary Education: Lessons from Three Case Studies. Professional File. Number 25
Author: Lang, Daniel W.
Date: 2005-02-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Governing Boards,Small Colleges,Church Related Colleges,Theological Education,Nonprofit Organizations,Governance,Performance,Conflict of Interest,Role,Responsibility,Accountability,Organizational Communication,Attitudes,Planning,Objectives,Case Studies,Classification,Trustees,Employees,Interviews,Foreign Countries

There are a number of studies that classify governing boards into different types. Some classifications are based on management form. Some are based on the form in which authority is exercised. Some are based on the form of institution that the board serves. Most of these classifications include &quot;working boards,&quot; but few offer a clear definition of them. Even those that do attempt to define this type of board acknowledge that little is known about how they actually function. In contrast, the prevalence of working boards appears to be growing. This study examines three small public not-for-profit institutions with &quot;working boards&quot; to determine how that type of board functions, where it succeeds and where it fails, and how it is different from other types of boards. In addition to presenting an up-to-date and more realistic definition of the working board, the study critically analyses the working board as an instrument of governance and observes that working boards have several inherent contradictions and are prone to conflicts of interest.
What's Happening off the Field? A Report on Higher Education in the Big 12
Author: Lakemacher, Heather
Date: 2010-11-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Universities,Student Costs,Tuition,Family Income,Expenditures,College Athletics,General Education,College Curriculum,Core Curriculum,School Holding Power,Academic Persistence,Graduation Rate

The Big 12 is famous for its athletics--and well it should be. But what about the rest of the conference--the academic part? The Big 12's website says, &quot;Performance in the classroom is just as important as accolades on the field.&quot; So what's happening off the field? How do the Big 12 schools fare when it comes to cost and quality? The fact is, across the country, schools are at a crossroads. And schools in the Big 12 are no exception. Nationally, reductions in state funding for higher education have been massive. Although these cuts have been partially offset by the influx of federal stimulus money, that money has been spent, and it's not likely there will be more. As outlined in this report, Big 12 schools are faced with many of the same problems plaguing institutions across the country: rising costs, low graduation rates, and curricular gaps that make real and proactive engagement imperative. It is hoped that institutional leaders--governors, regents, trustees, and administrators--will use this report to make the Big 12 as prominent off the field as it is on it. Selection Criteria for Core Courses are appended. (Contains 8 footnotes.)
For the People: A Report Card on Public Higher Education in Illinois
Author: Diaz, Sandra
Date: 2009-10-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Public Education,Higher Education,State Universities,General Education,Core Curriculum,College Curriculum,College Environment,Intellectual Freedom,College Students,Student Attitudes,Governance,Governing Boards,Administrative Organization,Tuition,Expenditures,Student Costs,School Effectiveness,Graduation Rate,School Holding Power,Student Surveys

Illinois is the Land of Lincoln. In this great state, Lincoln got his start as a lawyer and a politician. In his 1832 Address to the People of Sangamon County, Lincoln outlined his vision for a practical and general education in which &quot;every man may receive at least a moderate education, and thereby be enabled to read the histories of his own and other countries, by which he may duly appreciate the value of our free institutions.&quot; Nowhere is that maxim of Lincoln's more true than with state universities, which receive special privileges--whether federal land, as in the time of the Morrill Act, or the student loans, scientific research grants, and tax exemptions one sees today--in the expectation that they will fulfill their purpose &quot;for the people.&quot; Given that special obligation, it is surely proper to check on how they are doing. As public institutions, they have a responsibility to provide Illinois taxpayers--particularly students and their parents--an excellent education at an affordable cost. That is why in this paper the authors ask: Are they doing this? In exchange for the support and autonomy they receive, are they living up to the public trust? Specifically, this study focuses on four key areas of the public's interest: what students are learning (the curriculum), whether the marketplace of ideas is vibrant (intellectual diversity), how the universities are run (governance), and what a college education costs (affordability). The authors examine ten four-year, state universities that represent more than 90 percent of Illinois' four-year public university enrollment and reflect a range of institutional types. In the most recent year for which figures are available, these institutions collectively enrolled over 185,000 students and made expenditures totaling over six billion dollars. Applying a common educational benchmark--64 percent--they offer Illinois a Passing or Failing grade on each point. The first section focuses on general education--those courses completed usually within the first two years of a bachelor's degree program. In the second section, the authors focus on intellectual diversity, a value that lies at the very heart of the educational enterprise. The third section turns to governance and actions by the University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University boards of trustees. Lastly, the authors take a look at cost and effectiveness. Appended are: (1) Selection Criteria for Core Courses; (2) Student Survey Data; and (3) Student Survey Methodology. (Contains 32 footnotes.) [This paper was created with Illinois Policy Institute.]
The Vanishing Shakespeare: A Report by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni
Author: Neal, Anne D.
Date: 2007-04-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: College English,English Literature,Authors,Required Courses,Majors (Students),Public Colleges,Private Colleges,Single Sex Colleges,State Universities,Film Study,Sex,Sexuality,Human Body,Childrens Literature,Theories,Culture,Specialization,Politics,Sociology,Popular Culture

As this report goes to press, the nation's capital is in the midst of a six-moth, city-wide celebration of William Shakespeare. With this celebration as a backdrop, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) researched how Shakespeare fits into English curricula at 70 of the nation's leading colleges and universities. ACTA surveyed English departments at the &quot;U.S. News &amp; World Report's&quot; top 25 national universities and top 25 liberal arts colleges, as well as the Big Ten schools and select public universities in New York and California. Today, a mere 15 of these 70 colleges and universities require English majors to take a course in Shakespeare. This figure reflects a generous definition of requiring Shakespeare. ACTA credited a college or university with a Shakespeare requirement when a majority of its English majors were obliged either to take a course in Shakespeare or to take two out of three single-author courses on Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton. Increasingly, colleges and universities envision a major in &quot;English&quot; not as a body of important writers, genres, and works that all should know, but as a hodgepodge of courses reflecting diverse interests and approaches. As a consequence, it is possible for students to graduate with a degree in English without thoughtful or extended study of central works and figures who have shaped our literary and cultural heritage. Appended are: (1) What is Required?; and (2) What Are Students Studying? (Contains 7 charts and 8 footnotes.)