Half of this paper is addressed to the national phenomena of shrinking resources and expanding needs and their effect on society. After noting that increased productivity can be a major intervention factor in mitigating their effect, the author gives ideas about how vocational education can become increasingly productive and where it might begin.…

State education agencies are organizing and developing programs that increasingly recognize the difference between the following types of state education productivity systems: (1) distributing money for productivity in education to be defined and implemented at the local level within "state minimum standards" regulated by the state…

As part of a symposium that examined the utility of adapting the techniques of cost-effectiveness analysis for curriculum and program planning in higher education, this paper examines the methodology and procedures of the technique. A checklist outlines some of the problems and potential and some guidelines are suggested for cost-effectiveness…

The paper focuses on the Title I Evaluation Technical Assistance Centers to illustrate issues of measuring costs and deciding on outcome criteria before promoting "cost-effective" approaches. Effects are illustrated for varying resource allocations among personnel, travel, materials, and phone costs as a function of emphasizing…

Information is presented reflecting the process of planning at New Mexico Junior College (NMJC). First, the NMJC mission statement highlights the college's goals of providing opportunities for individuals, communities, and business and industry within the framework of a comprehensive community college. Next, NMJC's continuous objectives and…

Addresses the need of devoting, during the next two years, more time to a special kind of foreign language departmental planning. This planning may determine the strength of foreign language programs at colleges and universities at the turn of the century. (GLR)

Specialization has become necessary in certain kinds of pharmaceutical practice, and colleges are developing curricula, faculties, and programs to respond. However, specialization also carries risks. Institutions must define their capabilities, resist encouraging students to specialize too early, provide adequate generalist education first, and…

Providing comprehensive services for the elderly in local communities presents planners and potential users with a complex set of problems. The development of new or expanded service to the elderly was examined within an ecologically informed resource dependency model to assess the effect on service expansion of organizational maintenance factors…

Elements of effective planning in special education are considered, and a Hawaii project, Model T, is described. The project focuses on the process of making and evaluating resource decisions, such as decisions about the kind and frequency of related services staff time versus instructors' time. Microeconomic concepts such as diminishing returns…

A study was conducted during the fall of 1987 which examined aspects of successful elementary school instructional computing programs. The results show school leaders the approaches adopted by decision makers in a national sample of elementary schools identified for the excellence of their instructional computing programs. Significant findings…

This monograph reviews the literature pertaining to inservice education and summarizes its contents relating to several broad themes: planning and instructional concerns in inservice education, problems relating to administration and coordination of inservice programs, and elements common to successful programs. The literature of inservice…

Competencies considered to be essential to the community school district superintendent, the education coordinator, school principals and superintendents, and the community education director are examined. High priority is given to those qualities the community has a right to expect from its educational leaders. Competencies in the areas of public…

Designed to help colleges plan for the successful continuation of educational improvement projects beyond the end of their original funding period, this report presents a case study of Pennsylvania College of Technology's (PCT's) efforts to ensure the continuation of a Title III faculty development program. After describing the the Title III…

The Bay Area and The World (BAATW) Project and the Bay Area Global Education Program (BAGEP), two formal structures that form part of a coalition to make citizens more aware of the world's interdependence, are discussed. The historical background of these organizations and the initiation of the coalition are recounted. A listing is provided of the…

This paper presents a needs assessment project developed to establish drug-related services in a small black community. A literature review reveals the influence of social issues relevant to the population on research methodology, program planning, and social action. The convergent analysis approach used in the needs assessment is explained and…