Enrollment Policy Research Articles

Excess kindergarten travel in Changchun, Northeast China: A measure of residence-kindergarten spatial mismatch

Home-kindergarten travel is an important urban travel activity. This paper firstly discussed the relationship between excess kindergarten travel and residence-kindergarten spatial mismatch. And then questionnaires and GIS are used to provide some baseline analyses of their distribution pattern both statistically and spatially in Changchun. Thirdly, we provide an exploratory analysis of the causes of excess kindergarten travel and spatial mismatch. Results indicate that a) kindergartens in Changchun are highly accessible if children attend their nearest kindergartens, b) however, there is numerous excess travel and high degree of spatial mismatch, nearly 87.1% of the kindergarteners travel excessively, c) the excess travel distances in inner city are much shorter than other areas, and the corresponding spatial mismatch degree is lower. Two critical factors influencing excess kindergarten travel and residence-kindergarten spatial mismatch are summarized. Firstly, the actual causes are a) parents' personal preferences and kindergarten choice tendencies, b) Danwei owned kindergartens generally with higher quality, tendentious enrollment policies, charge threshold, and c) the widespread use of private cars. Secondly, the root causes are limited public expenditure on kindergarten education and its unbalanced allocation, as well as Chinese traditional concept and prevailing way of parenting.

School choice: understanding the trade-off between travel distance and school quality

Children are traveling longer distances to school, and the share traveling by car is increasing. This paper examines the effects of school attributes on school choice, which in turn gives rise to travel distance and mode choice. It is well known that school quality is capitalized into residential land values. Households willing and able to pay price premiums may choose to live closer to good-quality schools. In contrast, households with less ability to pay are likely to live in places with schools of lower quality. The California public school system has an open enrollment policy, which allows students to transfer out of their neighbourhood school when places are available. When this option is exercised, students may travel longer distances to school compared with students who attend their neighbourhood schools. We used travel diary data from the 2001 Post Census Regional Household Travel Survey to model school destination choices for K-12 students in the Los Angeles region, California. Parents may choose to send their children to neighbourhood schools, other schools within their home district, or out-of-district schools. We find that location, school quality, and other school features influence the probability of a school being chosen, and the extent to which these factors influence choice varies depending on the characteristics of the residential district and the attributes of the household.

For Super-Utilizers, Integrated Care Offers A New Path.

Many health systems continue to experiment with the best way to care for those patients who end up in the hospital most frequently.

Comparative Study of College Admission System Based on Baccalauréat in Cameroon and Gaokao in China

The aim of this study is to try answering to the question concerning the similarities and differences between Cameroonian and Chinese college admission system and the factors determining students’ qualifications for higher education. Based on the documentary trends, interviews, observation and personal experiences, authors after an overview of admission systems in the world have presented the college admission systems in both countries, Cameroon and China. And then, they have analyzed the administrative structure, exam content, examination period and results release, assessment and the enrollment policies. Finally, based on some of the best practices showcased by both countries, some practical suggestions to both countries for a possible implementation have been given. Keywords: Comparative study; College admission system; Higher education; Cameroon; China.

Designing a Place Called School: A Case Study of the Public School Quest to Learn

This case study will delve into the organization and engagement models developed to bring game-like learning to the New York City public school sector. It will explore design’s capacity to transform artificial systems, in this case a public school operating within the context of the US Department of Education (DOE). The case explores the role played by Mission Lab, a design studio embedded in the school and staffed by game designers and learning specialists. It then goes on to look at the school’s grade format (6–12) and its non-selective enrollment policy. Each defined a key aspect of the school model, from its innovative approach to collaboration, to it emphasis on continuity and diversity.

For Godds Sake, Donnt Segregate! Two Kinds of Religious Schools and Equality in Education

Legal and philosophical scholarship on religious education typically focuses on religious schools that challenge core liberal values. Religious schools that offer their students quality secular education, and whose religious character is mild, do not raise these concerns and have therefore evaded scrutiny thus far. This chapter argues that the latter kind of religious schools, which I call “creaming religious schools,” may have a negative effect on educational equality and should therefore be subject to restrictive legal regulation. The negative effect on equality is caused by the fact that when successful, these schools appeal not only to members of the religious community but also to non-member high-achieving students who leave the public schools (a process called creaming) thus weakening them. The chapter argues that the harm caused to public schools cannot be redeemed by alluding to the right to religious education because the religious justification for creaming religious schools is relatively weak. The chapter then examines several potential legal measures for contending with creaming religious schools: the antidiscrimination doctrine, which the chapter rejects, showing that it actually aggravates creaming, locating schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods, restricting tuition, reflective enrollment policy, and finally, the total prohibition of establishing creaming religious schools.

A spatial model of school district open enrollment choice

We provide an analysis of the determinants of adoption of inter-district open enrollment policies by school districts in Ohio. Legislation passed in 1997 allows Ohio's school districts to adopt one of the following open enrollment options: 1) prohibit enrollment of students from any other school district in the state (no open enrollment), 2) permit enrollment of students from adjacent school districts, or 3) permit enrollment of students from any school district in the state. We employ a recently developed spatial autoregressive lag multinomial logit model to examine the determinants of adoption of each open enrollment alternative. Among the most influential factors are school districts' demographic characteristics, financial factors, and competitive environment. More importantly, the results show evidence of strategic interaction, with a positive correlation in policy choice between neighboring school districts of about 0.4.

Comparison of Chinese medicine higher education programs in China and five Western countries

ObjectTraditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been taught widely in the both Eastern and Western world countries. This study compared the origin, student source, duration, and curriculum design of TCM higher education programs in China and five Western countries. MethodWe searched the Internet and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database to gather relevant information. ResultAll the six countries offer acupuncture and/or Chinese herbal medicine programs at universities and/or private schools. However, there are great large differences among them in the education of curriculum and TCM students enrollment and curriculum policies of TCM courses. ConclusionsThere are large differences among their curriculum and enrollment policies. This comparison should provide information about the further development of international standards in TCM education.

Valuing School Quality via a School Choice Reform

AbstractAmong policymakers, educators, and economists, there remains a strong debate on the extent to which good schools matter. In this paper, we estimate school quality valuations based upon house prices, by considering a policy reform regarding pupils' choices to attend high school. We exploit a change in school choice that occurred in Oslo county in 1997, where school authorities altered policy from one based on catchment zones to an open enrollment policy that allowed pupils to apply to any high school. Our estimates show that parents substantially value better performing schools because the sensitivity of housing valuations to school performance falls significantly (by over 50 percent) following the school choice reform that made the move to open enrollment.

Action Plan to Improve the Utilization of Stationary Bikes in a Health Promotion Exercise Program

Research has shown that exercise helps reduce the risk and the severity of metabolic syndrome. Since 2009, KMHK hospital has implemented a primary-prevention health promotion program that targets individuals who are at elevated risk of metabolic syndrome. The program engages participants in an exercise protocol that asks them to exercise regularly on a stationary bike three times a week for six months. The utilization rate of the stationary bikes averaged 75% in 2010, but reduced to 34.7% in 2011, with an average withdrawal rate of 24.3%. Therefore, an action team was assembled in order to enhance the effectiveness of the program. This project used two primary strategies to increase the utilization of stationary bikes. These strategies included: increasing referrals and decreasing withdrawals. Surveys of participants who, respectfully, failed to complete and successfully completed the exercise protocol were conducted to identify the factors associated with non-completion / completion. The enrollment policies, the equipment, and the environment were inspected comprehensively. After identifying the causes and effects, several interventions were implemented. These interventions included: installing insulation curtains to block direct sunlight, upgrading the stationary bikes to newer models, creating an environment more conducive to exercise, promoting the referral policies, marketing the health promotion program, and securing family support. After three months, the utilization rate of stationary bikes increased to 77.8%, representing an improvement rate of 124%. Furthermore, the number of case referrals significantly increased and the withdrawal rate decreased to 4.8%. Finally, longer-term follow up indicates that the utilization rate and the withdrawal rate have continued to improve. The program implemented in the present study successfully enrolled more participants in the exercise protocol, as evidenced by the increased utilization of stationary bikes and by the lower withdrawal rate. Meanwhile, the risk factors for metabolic syndrome among the participants improved dramatically, which in turn achieved the goal of primary prevention and demonstrated program effectiveness.

Analiza Strukture Nezaposlenosti Visokoobrazovanih Kadrova u Republici Srpskoj i Mjere za Njezino Smanjenje / Analysis Of the Unemployment Structure of Highly Educated Personnel in the Republic of Srpska and Measures for its Reduction

Rezime Ovaj rad ima za cilj da analizira strukturu nezaposlenih visokoobrazovanih kadrova u Republici Srpskoj. Kroz ovu strukturu analiziraćemo nezaposlenost viskokoobrazovanih kadrova, kao i slobodna radna mjesta po polu i zanimanjima u Republici Srpskoj, što će pokazati da više od 1/2 kadrova, nakon završenog fakulteta, završava na Zavodu za zapošljavanje. Ovim istraživanjem doći ćemo do podataka koji govore koliko vremenski traje nezaposlenost visokoobrazovanih kadrova na Zavodu za zapošljavanje, odnosno koliko dugo visokoobrazovani kadrovi čekaju svoj prvi posao. Detaljnije ćemo se baviti analizom nezaposlenosti po regijama u Republici Srpskoj. Nećemo izostaviti ni nadležne institucije u Republici Srpskoj koje su posrednici za uspostavljanje ravnoteže između visokoobrazovanih kadrova i tržišta rada. U ovom radu posebno će biti interesantno istražiti nezaposlenost visokoobrazovanih kadrova iz područja ekonomije. Problem nezaposlenosti u Republici Srpskoj naročito je izražen u zadnjih nekoliko godina (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. i 2014). On se produbljuje sve više zbog neusklađene upisne politike od strane nadležnog Ministarstva i nemogućnosti tržišta rada da apsorbuje kadrove u realnom i javnom sektoru. Nećemo se baviti samo analizom nezaposlenosti u Republici Srpskoj. Predložićemo i mjere za smanjenje nezaposlenosti visokoobrazovanih kadrova. Najprije konstatujemo da se današnje društvo širom svijeta suočava sa golemom nezaposlenošću, a u tom kontekstu kao ogroman problem nameće se nezaposlenost visokoobrazovanih kadrova u Republici Srpskoj, koja će biti u fokusu ovog rada.

Managing Schools in Brussels: Selection and Local Interdependencies

This paper underlines selection processes in the Belgian educational school system. It analyses the schools’ reactions to the recent modification of the enrolment policy that diminishes the freedom that schools have historically benefitted from to regulate their population. The paper shows that the management variations between schools have to be understood with regard to the local interdependencies between them. These local interdependencies constitute hierarchies that form a frame for individual actions in school which contribute to reproduce the hierarchical structure. Doing so, it insists on the necessity to understand the quasi-market and the competition between schools by taking in account the local social and demographic context. School managing practices are not only due to a mechanical cause-effect link with their position in the educational hierarchies. This paper shows that, when studying the actors’ perception in detail, the hierarchies constitute a frame for their actions at a more local level. In this sense, the weight of hierarchies and interdependencies is not automatically built on the spaces defined by flow of pupils between schools. Theses spaces are not a fixed frame for educational actions even within schools sharing a similar position in the hierarchies.

Operating Dual Enrollment in Different Policy Environments: An Examination of Two States

This chapter investigates the consequences and implications of dual enrollment policy diversity on operating dual enrollment programs in the two states of Ohio and Virginia.

Is Ghana's pro-poor health insurance scheme really for the poor? Evidence from Northern Ghana.

BackgroundProtecting the poor and vulnerable against the cost of unforeseen ill health has become a global concern culminating in the 2005 World Health Assembly resolution urging member states to ensure financial protection to all citizens, especially children and women of reproductive age. Ghana provides financial protection to its citizens through the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Launched in 2004, its proponents claim that the NHIS is a pro-poor financial commitment that implements the World Health Assembly resolution.MethodsUsing 2011 survey data collected in seven districts in northern Ghana from 5469 women aged 15 to 49 the paper explores the extent to which poor child-bearing age mothers are covered by the NHIS in Ghana’s poorest and most remote region. Factors associated with enrolment into the NHIS are estimated with logistic regression models employing covariates for household relative socio-economic status (SES), location of residence and maternal educational attainment, marital status, age, religion and financial autonomy.ResultsResults from the analysis showed that 33.9 percent of women in the lowest SES quintile compared to 58.3 percent for those in the highest quintile were insured. About 60 percent of respondents were registered. However, only 40 percent had valid insurance cards indicating that over 20 percent of the registered respondents did not have insurance cards. Thus, a fifth of the respondents were women who were registered but unprotected from the burden of health care payments. Results show that the relatively well educated, prosperous, married and Christian respondents were more likely to be insured than other women. Conversely, women living in remote households that were relatively poor or where traditional religion was practised had lower odds of insurance coverage.ConclusionThe results suggest that the NHIS is yet to achieve its goal of addressing the need of the poor for insurance against health related financial risks. To ultimately attain adequate equitable financial protection for its citizens, achieve universal health coverage in health care financing, and fully implement the World Health Assembly resolution, Ghana must reform enrolment policies in ways that guarantee pre-payment for the most poor and vulnerable households.

Rejecting Admission Offers to a Selective Math and Science School

An exploratory study of applicants who rejected admission to the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS) is described in this article. TAMS is a residential early college entry program at the University of North Texas in Denton. Up to 600 mathematically talented sophomores apply to TAMS each year and among the 200 selectees, a predictable 10% to 15% will decline admission and remain in high school. Over 9 years, decliners responded to surveys asking why they rejected offers they had vigorously pursued. Respondents indicated their dissonance sprang mostly from preoccupation with extracurricular pursuits, reluctance to leave family and friends, and reassessments of their preparedness for early college entry and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. Several interventions are offered to help prospects make informed decisions before applying. Findings may provide insights to guide enrollment policies at other accelerative programs.

Medicaid enrollment policy increased smoking cessation among pregnant women but had no impact on birth outcomes.

Cigarette smoking during pregnancy is an important cause of poor maternal and infant health outcomes in the population eligible for Medicaid. These outcomes may be avoided or attenuated by timely, high-quality prenatal care. Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System for the period 2004-10, we examined the effects of two optional state Medicaid enrollment policies on smoking cessation, preterm birth, and having an infant who was small for gestational age. We used a natural experiment to compare outcomes before and after nineteen states adopted either of the two policies. The first policy, presumptive eligibility, permits women to receive prenatal care while their Medicaid application is pending. Its adoption led to a 7.7-percentage-point increase in smoking cessation but did not reduce adverse birth outcomes. The second policy, the unborn-child option, permits states to provide coverage to pregnant women who cannot document their citizenship or residency. Its adoption was not significantly associated with any of the three outcomes. The presumptive-eligibility enrollment policy will continue to be an important tool for promoting timely prenatal care and smoking cessation.

The Spread of Higher Education Around the Globe

Many nation-states have realized the importance of tertiary education and the world has seen a corollary increase in tertiary education enrollments. Using Berry and Berry’s event history model as a framework, this study tests both the internal features of each country and the influence that nation-states have on each other with regard to setting tertiary enrollment policies. As expanding tertiary education is an important policy worldwide, we use Trow’s classification to define two levels of tertiary education expansion: first, increasing gross tertiary enrollment rates above 15% (from elite to massified), and second, above 50% (from massified to universal). Analyzing a unique cross-national panel dataset, which spans the time period from 1999 to 2005, our findings show that both internal determinants (secondary education participation rates and the political landscape) as well as diffusion factors (proximity to a pioneering nation and regional variables) influence nations in setting tertiary enrollment policies.

Payment reform and changes in health care in China

This paper is intended to assess the primary effects on cost, utilization and quality of care from payment reform of capitation and open enrollment in Changde city, Hunan Province of China. Open enrollment policy was introduced to deal with possible cream skimming associated with capitation. Based on the longitudinal Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance (URBMI) Household Survey, this study analyses the URBMI data through a set of regression models. The original data included over five thousand inpatient admissions during the study period between 2008 and 2010. The study finds the payment reform to reduce its inpatient out-of-pocket cost by 19.7%, out-of-pocket ratio by 9.5%, and length of stay by 17.7%. However, the total inpatient cost, drug cost ratio, treatment effect, and patient satisfaction showed little difference between Fee-For-Service and capitation models. We conclude that the payment reform in Changde did not reduce overall inpatient expenditure, but it decreased the financial risk and length of stay of inpatient patients without compromising quality of care. The findings would contribute to the health care payment literatures from developing countries and open further research tracks on the ability of open enrollment to compensate for capitation drawbacks.

Role of Community Colleges in the Implementation of Postsecondary Education Enrollment Policies for Undocumented Students

This article examines the case of how the City University of New York (CUNY)—its central administrative offices and two of its community colleges—has addressed the issue of college access for undocumented immigrants in its implementation of New York’s college in-state resident tuition (ISRT) policy for this population. It highlights the role of implementers—those individuals who make day-to-day decisions and whose responsibility it is to carry out mandates—and policy ambiguity in the execution of policies. A total of 19 individuals ranging from interest group representatives, local community-based organization officials, CUNY central administrative office officials, and staff from two community colleges were interviewed. This investigation finds that CUNY’s central administrative offices have devoted a fair amount of resources on disseminating the availability of ISRT for undocumented immigrants and attempts to ensure proper institutional implementation of the state’s policy as interpreted by its system-level policy. Day-to-day implementation measures at CUNY and its individual community colleges included two processes: application for admission and residency verification. Furthermore, community colleges, to varying degrees, have developed outreach efforts that have focused on disseminating the availability of this policy and to a certain extent its procedures via one-on-one counseling and written communication. Last, this article concludes with implications for the literature and institutional policies and practices to increase the level of students enrolled in community colleges.

Accommodating all applicants? School choice and the regulation of enrolment in Ireland

The politics of access are a central issue when considering education as both a process and product of socio‐demographic stratification. This article undertakes a two‐fold investigation of school choice in Ireland, first using data gathered during 2009–2010 as part of the Galway Education Survey (GES) to examine school choice practices on the ground. We then localize these findings in the discursive context of three Department of Education and Skills documents—the Audit of School Enrolment Policies by the Regional Offices Service (2007), the Letter to Education Partners on Enrolment Audit Follow‐up (2008), and the Discussion Paper on a Regulatory Framework for School Enrolment (2011). The analysis highlights the inequality of access for migrant students that exists as a result of current school enrolment practice and discusses the potential for developing future arrangements that support inclusive, transparent, and fair enrolment policies.