Search results for ""Author Ronald G. Ehrenberg""

American public higher education appears to be in a state of crisis. Declining funding for public colleges and universities has led to declining faculty salaries relative to those of private institutions and to increasing tuition, threatening access and compromising quality. Ronald G. Ehrenberg and a team of experts examine the current state of public higher education, the public policies that shape it, and what the future may hold for institutions and their students, faculty, and administrators. Sounding a warning about the declining condition of public higher education, Ehrenberg and his contributors make a compelling case for increasing support for these institutions. An overview of national trends and the forces that drive them is followed by studies of the financial complexities found in representative states (California, Georgia, and Texas, among others), an analysis of the implications of these developments, and prescriptions for improving public higher education at the state and national levels. In concluding chapters, contributors provide valuable assessments of the critical issues and their practical implications-from state policy initiatives to the privatization of public universities.

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Published twice per year in conjunction with the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Research in Labor Economics contains new cutting edge peer reviewed research applying economic theory and econometrics to policy related topics pertinent to worker well-being, often with an international focus. Like other high quality journals, one volume each year contains papers on a wide range of labor economics topics. Unlike other journals, the second volume is devoted to a topic related to IZA's areas of activity with a policy focus. Typical themes of each volume include labor supply, work effort, schooling, on-the-job training, earnings distribution, discrimination, migration, and the effects of government policies.

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Public concern over sharp increases in undergraduate tuition has led many to question why colleges and universities cannot behave more like businesses and cut their costs to hold tuition down. Ronald G. Ehrenberg and his coauthors assert that understanding how academic institutions are governed provides part of the answer. Factors that influence the governance of academic institutions include how states regulate higher education and govern their public institutions; the size and method of selection of boards of trustees; the roles of trustees, administrators, and faculty in shared governance at campuses; how universities are organized for fiscal and academic purposes; the presence or absence of collective bargaining for faculty, staff, and graduate student assistants; pressures from government regulations, donors, insurance carriers, athletic conferences, and accreditation agencies; and competition from for-profit providers. Governing Academia, which covers all these aspects of governance, is enlightening and accessible for anyone interested in higher education. The authors are leading academic administrators and scholars from a wide range of fields including economics, education, law, political science, and public policy.

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The volume, part of the TIAA-CREF Institute Series on Higher Education, is based on a national conference, Transformational Change in Higher Education: Positioning Your Institution for Future Success, which was convened by the TIAA-CREF Institute in November 2006. This unique volume discusses the management of transformational change in higher education as a key element of success. With input from researchers, presidents, provosts, and other senior leaders of the higher education community, this edited volume explores transformational change in a range of institutions from small teaching and community colleges to large comprehensive research universities. The role of entrepreneurial leaders and their interactions with trustees, policymakers and the public, are discussed, as are strategic issues such as financing college and university operations and student access, as related to pricing. The editors maintain that managing change in these areas impacts both an institution's balance sheet and ultimate success in realizing its vision.In this book, higher education presidents, chancellors, provosts, CFOs and governing boards will find new and actionable information to enhance decision-making and inform strategic planning. Association leadership will be provided with a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by their membership - and possible responses. Researchers and practitioners in education, public policy, business, management and entrepreneurship interested in the business of higher education will find much of value.

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Despite the worldwide prestige of America's doctoral programs in the humanities, all is not well in this area of higher education and hasn't been for some time. The content of graduate programs has undergone major changes, while high rates of student attrition, long times to degree, and financial burdens prevail. In response, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in 1991 launched the Graduate Education Initiative (GEI), the largest effort ever undertaken to improve doctoral programs in the humanities and related social sciences. The only book to focus exclusively on the current state of doctoral education in the humanities, Educating Scholars reports on the GEI's success in reducing attrition and times to degree, the positive changes implemented by specific graduate programs, and the many challenges still to be addressed. Over a ten-year period, the Foundation devoted almost eighty-five million dollars through the GEI to provide support for doctoral programs and student aid in fifty-four departments at ten leading universities. The authors examine data that tracked the students in these departments and in control departments, as well as information gathered from a retrospective survey of students. They reveal that completion and attrition rates depend upon financial support, the quality of advising, clarity of program requirements, and each department's expectations regarding the dissertation. The authors consider who earns doctoral degrees, what affects students' chances of finishing their programs, and how successful they are at finding academic jobs. Answering some of the most important questions being raised about American doctoral programs today, Educating Scholars will interest all those concerned about our nation's intellectual future.

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