The extension of computer based communication to the more task-focused communication required by groups involved in joint problem solving is discussed in this paper. Specifically, it addresses three areas: (1) the aspects of the joint problem solving that are most suited to computer based communication support, (2) the computer based communication…

The development of information systems using an engineering approach employing both traditional programming techniques and nonprocedural languages is described. A fourth generation application tool is used to develop a prototype system that is revised and expanded as the user clarifies individual requirements. When fully defined, a combination of…

With the introduction of computers into education, learning is becoming a student-centered process actively directed by the students themselves, rather than a teacher-centered process in which students receive information passively. This situation requires a substantial reassessment of concepts of curriculum and courseware development. This…

Current budgeting techniques are reviewed in relation to their application to higher education, including (1) incremental budgeting, where decisions are based primarily upon former levels of expenditures, (2) zero-based budgeting, involving the establishment and ranking of "decision packages", (3) Planning and Programming Budgeting…

Implementation of the EDUCOM Financial Planning Model (EFPM) at a European university, in order to test the computer system's generality and applicability, is discussed. This recently developed planning and management model for higher education incorporates both the flexibility of a modeling language and the benefit of interactive operation.…

This paper deals with systems concepts, particularly those related to management information systems (MIS) as exemplified by the Center for the Study of Evaluation (CSE) Formative Evaluation Kit. The concept of MIS is in numerous ways more flexible than might be imagined from a cursory reading of the business-management literature. An MIS does not…

The planning for, design, and implementation of information management systems in colleges and universities is approaching a state of adolescence as a science. Because rules cannot be devised with sufficient scope and depth to cover all institutional and systems contingencies, the necessary activities remain somewhere between magic and art. At…

Planning issues and computing technology changes are reviewed and decision support systems are examined as a means of providing an appropriate information system for the university institutional research office. Examples of formative attempts to provide such systems at Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU) and other institutions are considered. The…

Ideas that have been developed in the decision support systems (DSS) literature that seem particularly relevant to institutional research, planning, and analysis (IRPA) are reviewed. In addition, a survey of practitioners in Canadian universities that provides new information on the rapidly changing current state of information technology,…

A methodology is described for an automatic design system initially defined in terms of logical processes or program modules. Processes and files are grouped and reorganized in such a way as to produce an optimal design with respect to a specific target machine. Performance criteria for the optimal design are defined in terms of transport volume…

Based on a doctoral dissertation that involved a study of the nation's 100 most successful school computer systems, this report summarizes the study's purpose, scope, methodology, resultant model, general observations, and future implications. The model is divided into two major sections: (1) strategic planning activities, focusing on computer…

The development and use of a computer-based career system at Georgia State University to provide occupational and educational information to current and potential university constituents is discussed. The delivery areas and activities of the Georgia Career Information System (GCIS) are analyzed through the reduction model, a general systems model…

A simulation model of an academic medical center that was developed to aid in strategic planning and policy analysis is described. The model, designated MCM for Medical Center Model, was implemented at the School of Medicine, University Hospitals of Cleveland, and the private practices of the faculty in the clinical departments at University…

The importance of myth and ritual in understanding the use of computer simulators in higher education is considered. Myths are commonly held beliefs that maintain social solidarity and reduce ambiguity; rituals serve a similar function, but they involve actions in addition to words. Examples of common myths and rituals are used to illustrate the…

The Jefferson County Public School System in Colorado is conducting a study which implements a digital time-shared computer as support for a systems approach to instruction. This study currently involves one elementary school but it will support a total of thirteen schools in the future. The computer support includes computer-generated criterion…