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Educational Institutions

Testimony

Five Options for Long-Term Sustainability of Pennsylvania's State System Universities

Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education faces significant challenges to its long-term sustainability, including population shifts and limited state funding. There are options to address these issues and avoid closures, but major structural changes will be needed.

Apr 25, 2018
Report

Sustaining Pennsylvania's State System Universities

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is facing considerable challenges, such as demographic shifts, limited state funding, and strong competition. Options are available to address the system's long-term sustainability and viability, but major changes would be needed.

Apr 25, 2018
Brochure

Brochure

A focus on education

Education stands at the forefront of policy agendas as children grow up in an increasingly complex and connected world. A focus on education looks at the core areas in education, detailing RAND Europe's expertise and work in the sector.

Mar 29, 2018
Commentary

National Database Could Help Students Pick College—and Income

A bill introduced in May would create a searchable database of students' college majors and earnings after graduation. The data could help U.S. students make informed decisions and could also be used to better allocate resources that benefit students.

Aug 1, 2017
Commentary

School Choice: How Parents Can Find Out What They Need to Know

To make an informed choice about schools, parents need to know about the quality of instruction, services, and the overall school climate. Schools need a better system of measuring and collecting data on performance, and a way to make it accessible to families.

Feb 21, 2017
Commentary

Community Colleges Can Be 'First Responders' in Retraining Displaced Workers

Many of the occupations with the most opportunities require two-year degrees or certificates. Community colleges play a key role in training students for these jobs and offer a supportive environment for displaced and dissatisfied workers.

Feb 16, 2017
Commentary

Before We Measure Teaching Quality, We Should Know What It Is

The lack of an evidence base on teaching quality and its impact in higher education points to a need for more research, made more pressing by the imminent roll-out of the Teaching Excellence Framework, which intends to assess and monitor teaching quality at UK higher education institutions.

Nov 29, 2016
Journal Article

Journal Article

Review of the Research Literature on Defining and Demonstrating Quality Teaching and Impact in Higher Education

RAND Europe conducted a review of literature published since 2012, with the aim of identifying and summarising the key trends and issues in the literature on how 'quality teaching' and its impact are currently being defined and demonstrated at higher education institutions.

Nov 18, 2016
Report

Are Principals Getting the Support They Need?

A nationally representative sample of principals reported having some form of on-the-job support available during the past school year, but less than a third indicated their district provided a combination of regular supervisory communication, mentoring, and at least one day of professional development.

Oct 31, 2016
Commentary

The High Cost of Free College

Tuition subsidies may encourage institutions to raise tuition, since the government would foot the bill. One possible solution: develop and implement policies that encourage greater productivity from higher education institutions.

Aug 1, 2016
Research Brief

How Effective Are Military Academy Admission Standards?

This brief summarizes the results of analysis of the applicant scoring systems that the U.S. Military Academy and U.S. Air Force Academy use for admission.

Jul 22, 2016
Report

Report

United States Service Academy Admissions: Selecting for Success at the Air Force Academy and as an Officer

This report examines admission standards at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) and officer outcomes to evaluate whether the USAFA admissions formula should be adjusted.

Jul 22, 2016
Commentary

Reframing the 'Free College' Debate

Free college may make for a terrific sound bite on the campaign trail, but it rings hollow. Framing the future of college as a debate about whether it should be free is a lost opportunity to discuss what's really wrong with higher education in America—and a missed chance to help young Americans regain lost competitiveness in the workforce.

Apr 14, 2016
Commentary

Implementing Education Reforms to Enhance School Performance

Although countries differ greatly in how their education systems are structured, financed, and the extent to which they are centralized, they share common obstacles that undermine reform success. Beyond the obvious steps of providing adequate resources and professional development, there are ways to improve the implementation of school-wide reforms.

Nov 13, 2015
Commentary

The Shared Savings Model: An Innovative Way to Attack Rapidly Rising College Costs

The challenge facing policymakers is how to lessen the college cost pressure felt by families while incentivizing institutions to innovate to reduce cost and improve quality. What if cost savings from increased productivity were quantified and a portion returned to institutions?

Oct 22, 2015
Report

Leveraging Shared Savings to Promote High-Quality, Cost-Effective Higher Education

This Perspective proposes a new funding model in higher education that leverages the savings generated when institutions increase productivity.

Oct 22, 2015
Commentary

Rethinking Student Discipline and Zero Tolerance

Restorative practices are an alternative to zero-tolerance school discipline policies. Rather than mandating prescribed punishments for specific misbehaviors, this more tailored approach aims to empower students.

Oct 14, 2015
Research Brief

Aligning Education and Training to Meet Energy Workforce Needs

Energy-sector employers in West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania report having difficulty filling semiskilled jobs. And the sector's technology is changing quickly. How can the region's leaders improve the workforce-development pipeline?

Aug 31, 2015
Report

Energy-Sector Workforce Development in West Virginia

The production of natural gas and gas liquids from shale in West Virginia has increased demand for workers. Ten action items can help the Community and Technical College System of West Virginia and other stakeholders support a well-aligned and coherent workforce-development pipeline.

Aug 31, 2015
Report

Energy-Sector Workforce Development in Southwestern Pennsylvania

Technological innovations in the energy sector have increased demand for semiskilled labor in southwestern Pennsylvania. How can postsecondary educational and training programs adapt to the evolving skills demand?

Aug 31, 2015

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RAND Topic:
Educational Institutions

Topic Synonyms:
Schools