Community colleges provide a wide range of educational services to very diverse groups of students. For that reason, the variety and flexibility of services provided can be critical. In addition, quickly changing needs result in quickly changing system requirements. In this chapter, community college CIOs speak to their roles, focusing on the…

Few companies are comfortable with their performance appraisal system. The author suggests trying (1) systems that recognize competing priorities and attempt to alleviate conflicts through intelligent design and (2) management training that emphasizes the importance of providing staff with ongoing feedback. (CH)

A study of current trends in performance evaluations indicates that most large organizations are placing increasing emphasis on the importance of performance appraisal and are making continuing efforts to improve their systems. Trends include narrative evaluations, typing pay more closely to performance, and frequent changes in the appraisal…

Consolidations come in all shapes and sizes, including mergers, annexations and dissolutions. They do not all take place under state mandate, however. A handful of districts consolidate every year in some states like Illinois that have large numbers of small districts, many of them dual districts that serve K-8 or 9-12 in the same geographic area.…

Several ways for a comptuer services director to effectively manage the resources available for such services are discussed. Case histories from Miami-Dade Community College and other South Florida schools are included. (SF)

Discussion of computer-related anxiety and stress focuses on how management, system designers, and technical communicators can help users relieve stress when using computers. Highlights include a review of relevant research; issues for management; systems design, including needs assessment and standards; and instructional design, including…

Shifts in the content and context of the MIS professional's role at Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital, and the resulting impact on system projects are explored. Benefits include user responsibility and increased participation, MIS as a key to user learning system capabilities and limitations, and formation of a MIS-user team. (MLW)

The major information systems at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University are described. The use of the feedback and feedforward controls in planning and projecting administrative functions is examined. (Author/BH)

Clarifying the meaning of principal effectiveness as a point of departure in the development of an appraisal system in Connecticut is discussed, focusing on the reasons for an appraisal system, how effectiveness should be defined, where to find relevant information, and how best to organize such information. (SLD)

Argues against placing the school in a lead position for delivery of services; and supports a community-based model in which diverse service providers, administrators, and institutions work collaboratively in a system of linked services. A community-based system would involve a consortium of existing agencies or a newly created entity. (SLD)

A review of the literature on school effectiveness identifies elements at the system level and the building level that contribute to effectiveness. The literature also provides diagnostic tools for evaluating one of the most important components of school effectiveness, school culture and climate. (SLD)

Explores issues faced by designers of school choice systems as numbers and types of choice arrangements proliferate and become more complex. Defines elements of a successful system of choice. The system developed will depend on the intentions, assumptions, and commitments present in the initial design. (SLD)