This state report card is derived from "Measuring Up 2004," the national report card for higher education. Its purpose is to provide the public and policymakers with information to assess and improve postsecondary education in each state. "Measuring Up 2004" is the third in a series of biennial report cards. The report card grades states in six…

Race-conscious affirmative action in higher education survived a close challenge in 2003 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that race was a valid academic admission criteria in the "Grutter v. Bollinger" case. Two years later, a number of "pipeline" programs to help under-represented minorities gain admission to and complete graduate school have…

Presents and describes a narrative writing assignment used by the author in a developmental writing course that helps to demonstrate to students how and why sexist language usage can limit thinking, sometimes injuriously, and that concretely illustrates how language and gender stereotyping interact causally. Describes the assignment, how it is…

Describes a study unit for ESL (English Second Language) students on language and identity. Explores the dichotomy of attitudes and behavior occurring when a nonnative speaker tries to embrace a new language and culture. Concludes that reading and writing about multicultural literature in the ESL classroom helps students gain language skills and…

A professional wants to pursue a master's degree, but children and a full-time job make the two-hour drive to the nearest graduate school impossible. A sophomore wants to advance to baccalaureate studies, yet simply cannot afford to move and live on campus. Many professionals and community college students in areas lacking four-year institutions…

The Warren Institute is a multidisciplinary, collaborative venture to produce research, research-based policy prescriptions, and curricular innovation on issues of racial and ethnic justice in California and the nation. The Civil Rights Research Roundtable on Education is an initiative of the Warren Institute that convenes an ongoing learning…

This mixed methods descriptive and causal-comparative study investigates what instructional leadership behaviors effective California high school principals have and what their beliefs are in regards to pedagogy, related issues, and professional issues, either constructivist or instructivist in nature, in the environment of the current NCLB…

State policymakers and the public at large have a vested interest in the successful governance of their higher education system. The citizens who are appointed or elected to serve as trustees and regents of the state's colleges and universities oversee valuable public assets that they hold in trust for the state and current and future…

A survey of two-year colleges reveals strengths and weaknesses of their health services. (JD)

This paper presents a curriculum-oriented model focusing on curriculum revision of the design and structures of two-year academic institutes of technology. This research uses the Department of Business and Technology Management, which is being set up in the Far East Institute of Technology (Taiwan), as an example and works out the new models…

Many high school and two-year college vocational programs are exploring new ways to help students develop and document skills valued in the labor market. Over the past decade, some efforts to improve vocational programs have focused on reorganizing curricula around skill standards and assessments formulated by employers. One recent example of this…

Describes the College of the Menominee Nation, a partnership between a tribal college and the University of Wisconsin. The College is a two-year tribal institution that encourages Menominees to obtain postsecondary education without leaving the reservation. A "2+2" articulation agreement is designed to increase the number of Native-American…

Discusses several methods the author uses to overcome students' negative attitudes about working in small groups. Discusses preliminary activities (including a class discussion and direct instruction). Describes the group assignment, including a general overview, specifics of the assignment, and ways to overcome common group work problems. (SR)

The U.S. has a powerful weapon in its educational arsenal: its community colleges. Yet these institutions, according to the author, are so often overlooked in discussions of the future of U.S. society and the U.S. work force that they might as well be deemed "top secret." More than 1,200 community colleges enroll some 47% of all undergraduates.…

The Sultanate of Oman is a developing country that has accepted the English language as a significant tool for modernization. This was best interpreted in the opening of Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in 1986, which has delivered its different academic programmes totally or partially through the English language. One of the colleges of SQU has…