Nearly all states have standards for student learning and they have assessment programs to measure students' proficiency on those standards. But schools within each state nonetheless are left to develop their own standards-based student report cards as the primary means of communicating information about students' performance. To address the…

Today, many higher educational institutions are forward thinking about promoting strategic initiatives by establishing partnerships with other universities nationally and internationally. Being financial and academically savvy, universities are reaching out to meet the demands of public interests in different types of college programs and…

The process used to engineer and manage major organizational change at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is described. Issues include defining change, gaining support, organizing to facilitate change, staff development, establishing project strategies, and measuring success. The role of the institution's information…

The framework for public school social workers offered in this article is based on the systems approach. The ideas presented might also be useful to social workers in general, and to secondary school social workers in particular. The article deals with the idea of a boundary, which is a line forming a circle around selected variables.…

The approach used at the University of Maryland at College Park to address the problem of shrinking resources is described. The institution's strategic restructuring involved assessment of existing revenue generation and resource use and development of alternatives. Thorough self-assessment and clearly articulated priorities are seen as essential.…

Syracuse University (New York) has found that the focused, collaborative approach to institutional administration embodied in Total Quality Management is beneficial. It requires allocation of adequate time and resources, observation of others, communication, addressing high-need areas first, and willingness to adapt, but it may bring resistance…

The process of reengineering the administrative information system at the University of Idaho required careful planning, development of a set of philosophies, and several strategies for ensuring success. The latter included a humorous symbol (a jitter bug) to express concern, improved institutional communications, and a focus on logistical issues.…

In 1994, the information technology organization at Indiana University, Bloomington, undertook a major computing technology conversion that affected 40,000 people. The project is described, and factors contributing to its success are discussed, including system architecture, marketing and customer communications, and migration of information…

The strategic planning process developed at Hartwick College (New York) begun in 1992 is described, and the college's resulting commitment to information technology is discussed. Issues arising during the process included choice of operating system(s), winning over skeptics, software selection, development of technical support, establishment of a…

The number of women occupying managerial positions in the U.S. is relatively small, but it rose 47% from 1,321,000 in 1970 to 1,942,000 in 1976. Circumstances contributing to this rise are enforcement of legal sanctions against discrimination and women's increased educational attainment. This report describes a continuing education workshop series…

Hartwick College (New York) developed a strategic vision for its future and invested significantly in information technology to transform that vision into reality. Guided by its president and trustees, Hartwick, a small, independent liberal arts college, formed a strategic plan in phases. At a formal board retreat in 1993, with faculty, students,…