The study advances higher education leadership and change scholarship by examining a mostly unexplored area--the convergence between grassroots leadership with top-down leadership. The study is framed by two theories: tempered radicals framework and distributed leadership. Three common example of convergence are described as well as strategies for…

This analysis, based on focus groups and a national survey, assesses scientists' subscription to the Mertonian norms of science and associated counternorms. It also supports extension of these norms to governance (as opposed to administration), as a norm of decision-making, and quality (as opposed to quantity), as an evaluative norm. (Contains 1…

A method of developing, timing, and integrating information for sharing with diverse groups represented in university decision making is described. Systematic information sharing in institutions is needed to serve management, administrative, and planning functions, and to enhance understanding and support of these institutions by their…

Organizational analysts argue that formal environmental assessments should be integrated into strategic planning. Guidelines for establishing formal environmental assessment in educational institutions are presented, evaluated, and refined based on the experimental effort of the University of Minnesota. (Author/MLW)

The characteristics of the environment in which colleges and universities exist--enrollment trends, financial exigencies, federal policy changes, unexpected disaster--are creating conditions of decline that require a new set of administrative and organizational responses. Flexibility, innovation, and pro-activity are suggested for effective…

Faculty members participate in the governance of their university according to their perceptions of the faculty's role in that process. Empirical evidence for stipulating six distinct but complementary perspectives toward their governance role held by faculty members at a major Western public research university is presented. (Author/MLW)

Develops a 5-state model for decision-making that incorporates a faculty-opinion survey permitting almost universal expressions of opinion and preference on a complex administrative decision and generating alternative policies for decision-makers. It was successfully employed to reexamine the role of dean in a large university. (Editor/JT)

The search for a leader is seen as a symbolic process through which institutional goals are discovered, political influence is negotiated, organizational values and myths are confirmed, uncertainty is reduced, and processes of choice are simplified. (Author/MLW)

A study of decision processes in 10 small- to medium-sized colleges examined academic program review, faculty performance evaluation and budgeting, and the use of information and analytical data. A resultant description of college decision-making and information systems and hypotheses for future research are included. (JT)

A case study of a state college illustrating a framework to diagnose culture in collegiate institutions is presented. Organizational culture as a concept for understanding management and performance in higher education is explained, previous attempts to define culture in higher education are outlined, and essential elements of academic culture are…

Universities must achieve a new maturity in institutional planning and information management to meet the challenges of the 1980s. Decision support systems are analyzed and those that combine computing technology with knowledge about decision-making art found to hold the most promise. (Author/MLW)

Models for university planning must adapt to the political process of decision making, and to the structures and priorities of each institution. In this regard, the limitations of conventional models are discussed, and an approach to model-building that emphasizes institution-specific devices is described and applied to the University of…

Two theories concerning students' decisions to leave college are compared, and the convergence and discriminant validity of the two theories are examined empirically. The extent to which the theories could be merged to help researchers understand the role of institutional and noninstitutional variables in student persistence is discussed. (MSE)

A variety of findings are reviewed that make questionable the validity of using student ratings of instructional effectiveness in making personnel decisions. Comparability of student ratings and sources of invalidity are discussed, and a proposal is made for the use of student rating data by individual teachers in an instructional improvement…