Webmasters Reveal the Rules: Do Regulations Compromise Legislators' Online Communication with Constituents?

Citation:

Narro, A. R. (2009). Webmasters reveal the rules: Do regulations compromise legislators' online communication with constituents? Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 29(6), 483-492.

Abstract:

• In a nationwide study of state legislative Web sites, Narro, Mayo, and Miller found that the communication tools (i.e., weblogs, electronic newsletters, online polling) that state legislators offer vary more from state to state than legislator to legislator. Taking their information into account, this article addresses regulations put on legislators' home pages. The author interviewed Webmasters in 44 states and found that having less limitations and allowing legislators freedom to manipulate their home pages encourage them to use these home pages for active communication. Although most states do not allow state legislators to use home pages as a campaign tool, some allow free flow of communication between legislators and constituents. The researcher found that legislators would use their home pages more as a communication tool if given the freedom. However, change begins with legislators, who are the policy makers. Whether they have freedom is their own choice. (Contains 6 tables.)

Harnessing and Guiding the Power of Policy: Examples from One State's Experiences

Citation:

Swanson, J. D., & Lord, W. E. (2013). Harnessing and guiding the power of policy: Examples from one state's experiences. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 36(2), 198-219.

Abstract:

• This article links research and practice through discussion of policy's conceptual aspects illustrated through real-world examples. Gifted education policy essentials, identification, curriculum and services, personnel preparation, and program management, assessment, and evaluation are described. Examples from studies of one state help the reader to understand the power of policy. Leadership and monitoring of current policies, keeping abreast of developments in the field, and ascertaining through data that gifted programs are having the desired impacts are fundamental. Readers are encouraged to use guiding questions as they think through gifted education policy in their own districts or states, with the goal of continuous improvement in services and opportunities for gifted and talented students. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

Designing the Framework Conditions for Assuring Academic Standards: Lessons Learned about Professional, Market, and Government Regulation of Academic Quality

Citation:

Dill, D. D., & Beerkens, M. (2013). Designing the framework conditions for assuring academic standards: Lessons learned about professional, market, and government regulation of academic quality. Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education and Educational Planning, 65(3), 341-357.

Abstract:

• The new demands of mass systems of higher education and the emerging environment of global academic competition are altering the traditional institutions for assuring academic standards in universities. As a consequence many nations are experimenting with new instruments for academic quality assurance. Contemporary government control of academic quality assumes three primary forms: "oversight" or direct regulation; "competition" or steering of market forces; and "mutuality" or professional self-regulation structured by the state. The challenge confronting all nations is to design a policy framework that effectively balances the forces of the state, the market, and the academic profession to assure academic standards in universities. Based upon the strengths and weaknesses observed in 14 policy analyses of innovative national instruments of professional self-regulation, market-based regulation, and direct state regulation for assuring academic quality in universities, we outline the essential components of a national framework for assuring academic standards.

Rising College Costs and an Illinois Effort to Control Them: A Preliminary Review

Citation:

North, T. L. (2013). Rising college costs and an illinois effort to control them: A preliminary review. Current Issues in Education, 16(1), 10.

Abstract:

• Rising college costs are of increasing concern. At the 12 public universities in Illinois, average increases in tuition were modest, generally in the 4% range, until 1999 when individual campuses begin to increase tuition at double digit rates. In 2002-2003, the overall average increase in tuition/fees more than doubled at 13.79%. In an effort to provide students/families with a more predictable college education cost and moderate the rising costs of a college education, WIU began a 4-year tuition, student fees, and room/board (all-costs) rate guarantee program in Fall 1999. Following the perceived success of this model, which is ascertained in this study, the State mandated that all public universities in Illinois offer a 4-year guarantee for tuition beginning Fall 2004. (Contains 1 table and 4 figures.)

Governance in Spanish Universities: Changing Paradigms

Citation:

Ion, G., & Castro, D. (2012). Governance in spanish universities: Changing paradigms. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 11(4), 336-350.

Abstract

• This article reviews the current model of governance within Spanish universities, focusing on the areas of state regulation, academic goals, and organizational management. A qualitative approach was adopted for this research, comprising the use of a survey and a focus group. The conclusions of this study provide some insights into the new governance models being applied in Spanish universities and the implications of these models for academics, managers, and policy makers.

The Expanding Federal Role in Teacher Workforce Policy

Citation:

Superfine, B. M., Gottlieb, J. J., & Smylie, M. A. (2012). The expanding federal role in teacher workforce policy. Educational Policy, 26(1), 58-78.

Abstract:

• This article examines the recent expansion of the federal role into teacher workforce policy, primarily as embodied by the Race to the Top Fund of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Such recent federal teacher workforce policy reflects an important expansion of the federal role into a policy domain that deserves more attention. The financial incentives and governance arrangements structuring federal-state relationships under these policies have proven effective at facilitating the enactment of state-level reforms. However, these policies ultimately pay too little attention to fundamental governance questions that must be addressed for efficacious teacher workforce development.