Development software has been on the market for 15 to 20 years. Vendors offer outstanding software, but the software must be right for the environment and needs of each office. Software should be able to be used by the entire staff including the manager, not just the technical staff. (MLW)

A computerized fund-raising office relies on two software capabilities: word-processing software (to create, edit, store, and print text) and database software (to store, organize, and sort large numbers of facts). These capabilities handle: mass-producing personalized letters, maintaining records of gifts and acknowledgments, and generating lists…

Increasingly, college and university alumni associations are providing confidential online career services, including access to job listings, opportunities for resume postings, direct access to quality applicants, and bypass conventional advertising and expensive headhunters. For alumni, they expand job networking opportunities and facilitate the…

The Internet and other technological tools are rapidly becoming an expected means of communication for college and university public relations offices. Making this transition requires conquering fears of new technology, building on existing staff public relations skills, reorganizing operations to accommodate new tasks, enjoying the new…

Six technology-based strategies for colleges and universities to use to address market pressures are described: behavioral research to help the institution build relationships; blind consumer surveys concerning perceptions of the institution; secret shopper research, in which unknown "shoppers" go through the enrollment process, keeping…