ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
The Academics Athletics Trade-off: Universities and Intercollegiate Athletics
Author: Denhart, Matthew
Date: 2009-04-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Athletes,Team Sports,Human Capital,College Athletics,Graduation Rate,Intercollegiate Cooperation,Trend Analysis,Academic Achievement,Correlation,Operating Expenses,Income,Institutional Characteristics,Program Effectiveness,Success,Change Strategies,Organizational Change

Since beginning in 1852, few issues in higher education have captivated Americans as much as intercollegiate athletics. Intercollegiate athletics is almost uniquely American. Each year, millions of fans attend games and matches between student athletes who provide fans with entertainment while helping bind together communities. Proponents of college athletics point to other benefits such as enhancing a school's visibility on a national level and providing opportunities for athletes to develop leadership, teamwork and other traits that add to human capital upon graduation. Despite some benefits, intercollegiate athletics has many critics as well. Some critics argue that coaches and sports administrators denigrate academics and overemphasize the importance of sports. The debates about intercollegiate athletics have been growing for over a century and seem to be exacerbated by an inability to fully quantify its costs and benefits. The main focus of this study will be the 119 Division I Football Bowl Subdivision schools. The Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) is the most scrutinized and regulated division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Regulations are imposed on these schools in a variety of areas, including the number of varsity sports, football attendance mandates, scheduling requirements, and financial-aid minimums to name a few. This analysis focuses on several key issues in the FBS. The intrinsic benefits of athletic programs are discussed in the first section. Trends in graduation rates and academic performance among athletes and how they correlate with the general student body are discussed in the second section. Finally, an overview of the revenues and expenses of athletic department budgets are discussed in an effort to gain a better understanding of the allocation of funds to athletics. Regression Output: Athletic Success as a Factor in Explaining Starting Salary is appended. (Contains 28 figures, 5 tables, and 77 notes.)
College Rankings: History, Criticism and Reform
Author: Myers, Luke
Date: 2009-03-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Higher Education,Educational Quality,Criticism,Reputation,Institutional Characteristics,Educational History,Periodicals,College Faculty,Information Sources,Consumer Science,Surveys,Educational Indicators,Correlation,Scores,Least Squares Statistics,Outcomes of Education,Change

Today, college quality rankings in news magazines and guidebooks are a big business with tangible impacts on the operation of higher education institutions. The college rankings published annually by "U.S. News and World Report" ("U.S. News") are so influential that Don Hossler of Indiana University derisively claims that higher education is the victim of "management" by the magazine. How did academic quality rankings of colleges and universities become so powerful in higher education? A review of their historical development in the first section of this study may surprise many readers. While college professors and administrators alike largely decry rankings today, their origin lies in academia itself. Begun as esoteric studies by lone professors, college rankings' development into the most popularly accepted assessment of academic quality was fueled by the very institutions of higher education they now judge. While the purpose and design of academic quality rankings has evolved during the century since their creation, their history teaches one clear lesson: college rankings fill a strong consumer demand for information about institutional quality, and as such, are here to stay for the foreseeable future. Various approaches to college rankings have different benefits and each is subject to legitimate criticism, all of which should be seriously considered in light of the powerful effects that a widely-distributed ranking can have on institutions of higher education and the students seeking to enter them. Sections II and III will explore these aspects of college rankings, respectively. In light of the historical lessons revealed in Section I, however, movements that seek to reform college rankings should be focused on producing "better" rankings, rather than on trying to eliminate or ignore them. Section IV will survey multiple new indicators of academic quality that many view as potential improvements over the indicators upon which current college rankings are based. (Contains 2 figures, 6 tables, and 116 endnotes.)
Net Tuition Trends in the United States
Author: Gillen, Andrew
Date: 2008-10-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Student Financial Aid,Tuition,Grants,Higher Education,Student Costs,Trend Analysis,Tables (Data),Charts

This report documents the latest trends in net tuition for American higher education. Affordability has become a topic of concern for many, but there is a lack of information on the relevant concepts of tuition, primarily published vs. net. This report seeks to shed light on this topic. While few doubt that published tuition rates (sticker price) have been increasing at alarming rates, it is often argued that &quot;net tuition,&quot; or the out of pocket expense, for students is much lower because of financial aid. This report shows that with few exceptions, financial aid has not increased sufficiently to offset increases in published tuition. In other words, the net tuition paid by students is higher now than it was five years ago. (Contains 8 footnotes.)
Federal Tax Policy regarding Universities: Endowments and beyond
Author: Vedder, Richard
Date: 2008-02-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Credits,Taxes,Paying for College,Endowment Funds,Federal Government,Tuition,Tax Credits,Universities,Private Financial Support,Costs,Expenditures,Public Policy

The vast bulk of economic activity in the United States is taxed by the federal government. There are exceptions carved out, primarily for charitable operations, including universities. The rationale is that these organizations serve the public good and should not be reduced in magnitude by the deleterious effects of taxes. Universities in particular get a wide range of tax breaks. Contributions to universities are tax deductible. Earnings from endowments in the form of capital gains, dividends, rents, royalties, or interest are non-taxable. Property owned by universities is rarely taxed at the local or state level, and university fees and often even commercial activities are frequently not subject to sales taxes. Customers of universities typically get tax breaks, such as tuition tax credits, or are allowed to create tax sheltered savings accounts to help pay for college. As university costs have risen, both to student consumers and to society as a whole, people have started to question historic assumptions about university activities. People are asking questions like: Should a person who donates or "buys" a stadium skybox get a tax break for this non-academic expenditure? Should universities be allowed to amass huge endowments from tax free gifts and investment income and then spend only small amounts from the fund, allowing the endowment to rapidly accrue in a tax free fashion? When universities use tax-exempt endowment funds or even annual gifts in a matter different than directed by the donor, should universities be subject to severe criminal or civil penalties for committing fraud? Should federal tax policy towards universities be reviewed and changed? This study focuses on the tax treatment of university endowments, and what are reasonable rules that should be enacted, if any, to assure that monies are expended in a manner consistent with the granting of tax-exempt status. (Contains 4 figures, 3 tables, and 24 notes.)
A Tuition Bubble? Lessons from the Housing Bubble
Author: Gillen, Andrew
Date: 2008-04-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Higher Education,Student Financial Aid,Housing,Low Income,Public Policy,Tuition,Role,Attendance,Access to Education,Paying for College,Reputation,Competition,Costs,Loan Repayment

Systemic increases in tuition across the board indicate that the structure of the higher education market plays a fundamental role in encouraging these increases. Part of the problem is that public policy attempts to subsidize attendance for too many students on the assumption that this will increase access to higher education. These subsidies, intended to make college more affordable, are ineffective because schools maximize prestige rather than profit, and because the lack of any measure of their output rules out normal price competition. This study argues that government policies are spurring rapid increases in tuition. By encouraging tuition to rise more than it otherwise would, policymakers are fostering a tuition bubble. To stop this from getting any worse, public policy should move away from guaranteeing student loans for so many students. Such guarantees result in lax lending standards and artificially low interest rates, both of which contribute to rising tuition, just as they contributed to the recent housing bubble. This does not, however, mean they need to be eliminated completely. Loan guarantees would not have such a negative effect if they were restricted to low-income students on a graduated scale, with the loan amount decreasing as income increases. The idea would be to increase only the ability of low-income students to pay as opposed to increasing the ability of nearly everyone to pay. When only the ability of low-income students to pay is increased, schools cannot raise tuition like they can when the ability of everyone to pay is increased. (Contains 8 figures, 1 table, and 43 notes.)
For-Profit Education in the United States: A Primer
Author: Coleman, James
Date: 2008-05-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Educational Policy,Higher Education,Proprietary Schools,Educational Development,Educational Trends,Educational History,Expenditures,Educational Finance,Educational Quality,Performance Factors,Barriers,Access to Education,Cost Effectiveness

For-profit higher education is not new. In fact, profit motive has played an important role in providing higher education since the Golden Age of Greece, when anyone could open up a private school and teach (Coulson 1999). During the 19th century, well-organized for-profit business schools were founded across America and for-profit education developed into a very important form of higher education (Kinser 2006). During the early 20th century, however, for-profit schools found their markets undercut by the establishment of publicly funded colleges and vocational institutions. Higher education during the 20th century underwent drastic changes as reformers forcefully argued education was the business of the state, and society could be improved by strong, publicly backed schools (Coulson 1999). Starting in the mid-1970s and accelerating through the 1980s and 1990s, for-profit education underwent a renaissance, due in large part to the 1972 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, which increased the amount of government student aid available to for-profit schools (Kinser 2006; Turner 2006). Since 1976, for-profit enrollment has grown at an annualized growth rate of about 11 percent, increasing by a factor of nearly 23. The robust resurgence of for-profit schools suggests America's nonprofit colleges are failing to meet fully the people's needs. As a result, for-profits are stepping in to meet market demands their highly subsidized counterparts have chronically failed to satisfy. These recent and rapid developments have once again brought for-profit education national visibility. This paper presents useful data for analyzing the for-profit sector as a whole. It also discusses the success of for-profit higher education, highlights the challenges the industry faces, and describes the future of for-profit education in the United States. (Contains 27 figures and 2 tables.)
For-Profit Higher Education: Growth, Innovation and Regulation
Author: Bennett, Daniel L.
Date: 2010-07-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Higher Education,Educational Opportunities,Schools,Economics,Industry,Educational Innovation,Educational Development,Educational Research,Educational Policy,Proprietary Schools,Institutional Characteristics,Educational Objectives,Educational Quality,Educational Practices,Student Characteristics,Educational Trends,Enrollment Trends,Trend Analysis,Educational Finance,Cost Effectiveness,Expenditures,Income,Operations Research,Input Output Analysis,Performance Factors,Federal Regulation,State Regulation

During the 2008-2009 academic year, there were nearly 1.8 million students enrolled at more than 2,800 for-profit institutions of higher learning in the United States. Students in for-profit colleges and universities accounted for over 9% of all students enrolled in postsecondary education. The numbers have continued to grow, and today (2010) the number is rapidly approaching two million, about 10 percent of total student enrollments. The recent growth of the for-profit education industry has aroused some criticism and concerns about the place of profit in an educational setting and practices within the industry. Critics argue that for-profit universities are simply diploma mills that push students through programs of dubious quality with the primary goal of increasing the firm's bottom line. Supporters of the industry assert that it provides educational opportunities to traditionally underserved students in areas of study that directly increase students' employability. While neither extreme view is likely to be completely accurate, there is no doubt that for-profit educational institutions are becoming a much more prominent part of the higher education landscape. The primary purposes of this report are to provide an objective overview of the industry and its students, to discuss operational differences between the traditional educational sector and for-profits, to assess the regulatory environment facing the industry, and to examine the economics of education as a profit-making enterprise. (Contains 21 figures, 2 tables, and 227 notes.)
The Inmates Running the Asylum? An Analysis of Higher Education Accreditation
Author: Gillen, Andrew
Date: 2010-10-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Higher Education,Accreditation (Institutions),Federal Government,Educational Quality,Eligibility,Private Financial Support,Educational Change,History,Role,Quality Control,Educational Improvement,Institutional Evaluation

Accreditation in higher education originated as a means of communicating useful information about the quality of various institutions of higher education. Yet, over the past half century accreditation has evolved into a system for determining eligibility for the receipt of funds from third parties, most notably the federal government, but also in many cases state governments or private philanthropies. The typical policy paper on accreditation does a fine job of detailing the history of the system and major issues that confront it today. It then usually concludes by sketching out some recommended reform. However, while it may point out a few areas in which the proposed reform would be an improvement over the current system, there is rarely any discussion about how such a reform is better than the alternatives, or what impact it would have in other areas. This paper takes a slightly different approach. While throughout the authors do discuss some of the historical role of accreditation, their main focus is on evaluating the performance of the current system and evaluating possible reforms. Part one presents their analysis of accreditation's performance. They identify four eras of accreditation in order to assess both its effectiveness and its changing role over time. Part two of the paper identifies the most commonly suggested reforms of, and replacements for, accreditation. The authors analyze the likely impact of each reform, and briefly discuss whether it would be appropriate given the goals as have been discussed. The third part of the paper builds off the conclusions of the first two parts to make the case for replacing the accreditation system. The final part lays out their recommendations. (Contains 17 tables and 208 notes.)
Australian Vocational Education and Training Statistics: The Likelihood of Completing a VET Qualification, 2006-09
Author: National Centre for Vocational Education Research
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Qualifications,Vocational Education,Foreign Countries,Markov Processes,Longitudinal Studies,Definitions,Educational Attainment,Enrollment Rate,Graduation Rate,Geographic Distribution,Intellectual Disciplines,Full Time Students

The Australian vocational education and training (VET) system provides training across a wide range of subject areas and is delivered through a variety of training institutions and enterprises (including to apprentices and trainees). The system provides training for students of all ages and backgrounds. Students may study individual subjects or full courses that lead to formal qualifications. This publication estimates the qualification completion rates of publicly funded VET qualifications in Australia, in order to fill a gap in performance measures for the VET sector. For qualifications commencing in 2009: (1) The national estimated completion rate for VET qualifications at certificate I and above was 31.7%, up from 28.8% for qualifications commenced in 2008; (2) For students in full-time study aged 25 years and under with no prior post-school qualification, the national estimated completion rate for VET qualifications was 42.9%, up from 37.9% for qualifications commenced in 2008; (3) VET qualifications at certificate IV (38.5%), diploma and above (37.4%) and certificate III (37.3%) had the highest national estimated completion rates; (4) For students in full-time study aged 25 years and under with no prior post-school qualification, the national estimated completion rate for VET qualifications at certificate III was 50.1%; and (5) VET qualifications in education (51.5%), society and culture (44.3%), and natural and physical sciences (43.3%) had the highest national estimated completion rates. (Contains 6 tables and 3 notes.) [Funding for this paper was provided through the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education.]
Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) 2009 Cohort: Wave 3 (2011)--Frequency Tables. Technical Report 72B
Author: National Centre for Vocational Education Research
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Foreign Countries,National Surveys,Longitudinal Studies,Educational Attainment,Vocational Education,Workplace Learning,Academic Education,Secondary Education,Education Work Relationship,Postsecondary Education,Employment,Job Applicants,Labor Force Nonparticipants,Family (Sociological Unit),Income,Attitudes

The Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) program studies the progress of several groups of young Australians as they move from school into post-secondary education and work. This technical paper contains the frequency tables for the LSAY 2009 cohort Wave 3 (2011) data set. [For the related questionnaire, see ED536306.]
Has the No Child Left Behind Law Produced More Qualified Teachers?
Author: Lyttle, LeighAnne
Date: 2011-03-00
Type: Information Analyses
Subjects: Teacher Effectiveness,Credentials,Teacher Recruitment,Teacher Competencies,Teacher Persistence,Federal Legislation,Teaching Skills,Educational Policy,Policy Analysis,Literature Reviews,Program Effectiveness,Program Evaluation,Federal Programs,Educational Assessment,Educational Indicators,Teacher Evaluation,Achievement Gains,Achievement Rating,Performance Factors

This literature review seeks to find if the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 has produced more qualified teachers since before its enactment. The impact of the NCLB on student achievement and teacher quality needs have been examined since there have been 10 years after the law was enacted. Only 11% reported that the NCLB highly qualified teacher requirements have enhanced their strategies for teacher recruitment or teacher retention to a moderate or great extent, (Zhang, 2008). However, research shows that the majority of American school teachers have reached the highly qualified teacher status requirement mandated by NCLB, and that reading, literacy, and mathematics scores have improves since its enactment. It is important to assess the differences if any, between teachers' and students' achievement from the time before NCLB and now, after 10 years of use. The goal of NCLB was to give equal education to all students, no matter their educational category, as well as provide teachers with more education and credentials, in an effort to improve our education system. The information could be valuable to reformulate the current NCLB law so that it can be more effective for more people. (Contains 1 table.)
Effects of Technology Immersion on Teaching and Learning: Evidence from Observations of Sixth-Grade Classrooms
Author: Shapley, Kelly S.
Date: 2006-06-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Middle Schools,Public Schools,Technology Integration,Academic Achievement,Pilot Projects,Program Effectiveness,Middle School Students,Grade 6,Access to Computers,Laptop Computers,Learning,Teaching Methods,Educational Environment,Technology Uses in Education,Classroom Environment,Class Organization,Teacher Role,Student Role,Learner Engagement,Difficulty Level

The Technology Immersion Pilot (TIP) sets forth a vision for technology immersion in Texas public schools that links ubiquitous access to technology with student achievement. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) directed nearly $14 million in federal Title II, Part D monies toward funding a wireless learning environment for high-need middle schools through a competitive grant process. Concurrently, a federally funded research project is scientifically evaluating the effectiveness of technology immersion in increasing middle school students' achievement in core academic subjects as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). Technology immersion encompasses multiple components, including a laptop computer for every middle school student and teacher, wireless access throughout the campus, online curricular and assessment resources, professional development and ongoing pedagogical support for curricular integration of technology resources, and technical support to maintain an immersed campus. This evaluation, with 22 experimental and 22 control sites, is also examining the relationships that exist among contextual conditions, technology immersion, intervening factors (school, teacher, and student), and student achievement. Of particular interest are the effects of technology immersion on teachers' classroom practices and students' learning opportunities. Accordingly, this report centers on classroom observations conducted in sixth-grade classrooms at immersed and control schools during fall 2004 (prior to immersion) and spring 2005 (during early implementation). Appended are: (1) Theoretical Framework for Technology Immersion; (2) Observation of Teaching and Learning; and (3) Framework of Assessment Approaches and Methods. (Contains 3 figures and 10 tables.)