Purpose: The involvement of organizational development (OD) consultants in schools has become widespread in recent years. In Israel, their presence increased in the past 2 decades when the Ministry of Education encouraged their entry as support for the self-management reform and improvement of failing schools. Despite accumulated experience and…

Scenario planning is often used by organizations to think about future uncertainties. However, what it does in terms of changing perceptions is difficult to assess and quantify. To address this need, this article builds on previous studies documenting the effectiveness of scenario planning. Specifically, this article contributes to the data on…

Research writing confidence and organizational support toward research activities are two essential factors that may affect research productivity among higher educational institutions. This study investigated the possible relationships of these two factors to research productivity among faculty members of the College of Dentistry at Lyceum of the…

This conceptual paper explores the notion of higher education (HE) internationalization and its potential to lead to transformational institutional change. Internationalization is generally regarded as a process that involves increasing the range of international activities within universities and between universities and other educational…

Academic leaders face particular challenges when they assume formal leadership roles in higher education. For the most part, they have had little prior engagement with the political, economic and strategic context of their institution and limited leadership networks on which to draw. The University of Western Australia has trialled a number of…

This paper describes a model for converting junior high schools to middle schools. The model guides educators through a series of questions which, when answered, will hopefully produce a school with those characteristics which exemplify a good middle school. The model was developed by eight inservice educators, from broad educational perspectives,…

This study examined the micro-level contextual factors that impact the process of large-scale, transformational, intentional change at institutions of higher education. The study used an organizational culture framework to examine use of change strategies from the "general" literature on change, to identify micro-level issues and strategies that…

The involvement of process consultants can ease the development of strategies for increasing school effectiveness. The process consultant does not function as an expert in education, but facilitates development of an effective planning team consisting of the principal and four or five faculty members. The consultant first determines whether the…

The results of a survey of college presidents, about the formal strategies used in institutional planning, are presented. Elements include environmental analysis, assessment of institutional strengths and limitations, assumptions, criteria, objectives, development of strategies and long-range plans, and performance evaluation. (MSE)

It is noted that "undervalued metropolitan universities," which generally have open enrollment, low tuition, and a large proportion of nontraditional students, often also have a diffuse and unclear public image. A model positioning concept for these institutions, used by Wright State University (Ohio) is proposed and described. (MSE)

Four change models are viewed as representing the range of strategies currently employed by schools in improving education. Intended as a source of assistance to those who wish to undertake a more thorough examination of these models, this article, in outline form, summarizes the distinguishing characteristics of each model along with the…

Argues that without the usual advantages of donor loyalty and institutional prestige, urban universities can make a case for support based on their regional and statewide impact and on the quality, cost effectiveness, and value of academic programs and research. Discusses why people give to urban universities; describes how Portland State…

An external evaluation of the Small College Consortium (SCC) was designed to evaluate and make recommendations for linkages between the delivery of technical assistance services and progress toward institutional development. The case study component of the SCC evaluation for 1978 was undertaken as two separate but complementary analyses. The two…

Universities are characterized by the independence of faculty, the strong hold of academic disciplines, the limited but real power of academic administrators, and unbounded institutional aspirations. Foundations feature the desire to effect change, but within practical limits. The interplay between these two sets of actors highlight the importance…

Describes the Pew Charitable Trusts' Pew Leadership Award for revitalization and reform in higher education and summarizes characteristics of the 45 nominated institutions. The institutions develop portfolios documenting accomplishments in the areas of curriculum redesign, faculty roles and responsibilities, and resource reallocation. Profiles the…