Much of the power of the "information center" comes from its ability to effectively use fourth-generation productivity tools to provide information processing services. A case study of the use of these tools at Western Michigan University is presented. (Author/MLW)

The use of management information systems (MIS) chargeback--the identification and allocation of MIS service costs to the end-user departments that have requested those services--is described. The objectives of chargeback, developing the chargeback approach, and implementation by the Georgia Power Company are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Two major Boston University computer installations--the Academic Computing Center and the office of University Information Systems--are described. Policies and priorities for information systems within the university are established by a committee and proposals for the development of new systems are approved through this committee. (MLW)

The US Department of Education's plan to redesign the systems used to deliver student financial aid--the Integrated Student Aid Delivery System (ISADS) Project--is discussed. Background on the origins of the ISADS project is provided and its broad implications for postsecondary institutions are considered. (MLW)

Strategic planning and strategy implementation in colleges and universities are examined and the implications for the design of information systems are discussed. At the University of Vermont it has not been necessary to decentralize access to major databases for strategic planning or strategy implementation purposes. (MLW)

Many organizations are establishing the role of "chief information officer," charged with directing the evolution and integration of information processing. The impact on Northern Kentucky University of adding a chief information officer and reorganizing campus information services is traced. Organizational, political, and social factors…

In the fall of 1982 Drexel became one of the first universities to introduce a formal microcomputer requirement by announcing that in September 1983 every entering student would need access to a microcomputer. The heart of the microcomputing program is Apple Computer's Macintosh. The microcomputing program is described. (MLW)

The management systems office at the University of Hawaii assists in the development and operation of an effective management information systems service. A shared computer system approach was developed to provide service in the areas of office automation and data processing. (MLW)

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point approach to implementing an ideal student records system is discussed. The characteristics of such a system are defined and a model for directing the development and implementation of a new student records system is presented. (Author/MLW)

One of the areas most often neglected by those responsible for information systems in colleges and universities relates to ownership, privacy, confidentiality, and security of data. Background information and definitions are provided, and a suggested environment is described. Model recommendations for institutional policy are offered. (MLW)

The implementation plan, database design and data relationships, and benefits achievable through an integrated online/database approach to a university information system are presented. The core of the Washington State system is a central name and address file. (Author/MLW)

Reports the successful design and implementation of a World Wide Web application for handling graduate applications at the University of Delaware that allows 46 departmental admissions committee faculty and staff to access up-to-the-minute information from their workstations. The application has reduced interdepartmental paperwork and processing…

A sociotechnical systems model used by John Brown University is described that is useful for analyzing the complexities of change in an organization and for describing the many elements involved in change. (Author/MLW)

The experience of Indiana University in managing information resources--computing, word processing, telephone services, mail services, microfilming, and duplicating services--in a more integrated fashion is described and strategies to overcome tradition, the fiefdom syndrome, and institutional inertia are detailed. (Author/MSE)

For nearly a decade and a half, the California State University and Colleges has operated a distributed processing computing network with interconnected computer installations on all campuses. A new technologically advanced network that will deliver top-quality computing to students, faculty members, and administrators is described. (MLW)