The examples of remarks provided at the begining of this article describing their department chairs show two extremes: a department where the chair is highly valued by its faculty and contributes to a positive climate and, conversely, a chair who is seen as a bully and is perceived as a detriment to the work environment. While it is likely that…

Many institutions have difficulties in resolving complaints and grievances and other types of dispute speedily and economically. Lapses still occur in following procedures; disputes frequently grow more complicated than they were at the start; they drag on; they waste the time of administrators and those involved, even ending sometimes in an…

Merrill proposes First Principles of Instruction, including a problem- or task-centered strategy for designing instruction. However, when the tasks or problems are ill-defined or complex, task-centered instruction can be difficult to design. We describe an online task-centered training at a land-grant university designed to train employees to use…

Four general planning approaches are identified: disjointed, adaptive, strategic, and comprehensive. Interaction between level of planning complexity and source of motivation is explored, and implications for decision makers are discussed. (Author/MLW)

When the state of Virginia developed a new performance evaluation form to be applied to all state classified personnel, Radford University had to respond to this call for training. Faculty members and university staff members collaborated with the personnel office in designing and implementing training in performance evaluation. (MLW)

As college administration requires a more professional approach and administrator evaluation plays a real part in administrator development, the staff evaluation seminar model is proposed to improve performance appraisal. Peer and subordinate evaluation and third-person intervention are key elements in the evaluative process. (MSE)

Positive management techniques yield great benefits in areas such as group effectiveness, problem solving, and staff commitment. Some qualities for a positive environment are defined. The management retreat process at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is described. (Author/MLW)

This paper describes the objectives, policies, and procedures of the College of DuPage's Administrative Internship Program, whereby faculty members can gain broad administrative experience in key administrative areas of the college. The program seeks not only to broaden the experience of the individual intern, but to promote empathy among faculty…

Four college and university programs for development of nonacademic staff are described: University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University of Illinois at Chicago, Columbia University (New York), and Maricopa County Community College (Arizona). The programs illustrate different structures, focuses, and activities. (MSE)

The University of Virginia's Computing Survival Skills program, begun in 1997, addresses the ongoing technology training needs of departmental staff. An overview is provided of the program's first year, including background, content, materials, certification, benefits, results, success, and future plans. Tips for designing a training program are…

This annual report of the Director, Community College of Vermont, for Fiscal Year 1973, is comprised of 10 sections. These sections are as follows: 1. Report of the Director--Goals, Accomplishments, and Highlights of FY 1973; 2. The Learning Support System and Degree Programs; 3. Planning Services; 4. Planning Programming Budget System; 5. The…

Some practical approaches to implementing preretirement education programs for personnel at public research universities are offered, based on a program developed at Ohio University. Preretirement program goals are to educate employees about the critical components in retirement planning and to provide unbiased and impartial resource information…

This paper reports on the use of focus groups at Oakton Community College (Illinois) to connect with classified staff and to get their feedback on key issues. A total of four single-session focus groups, three with classified staff (employees with varying levels of academic preparation and current responsibilities) and one with…

An overview is provided of the planning processes used at Okaloosa-Walton Community College (OWCC) in budgeting and curriculum, staff, and program development. First, the curriculum planning process is described in terms of its purpose; faculty, staff, and administrator involvement; educational goals for OWCC; the development of evaluation…

A discussion of the need for and possible approaches to evaluating student support services emphasizes the importance of using objectives, strategies, and traditional and nontraditional outcome variables for a thorough assessment. (MSE)