Describes trends in the technology and use of "smart cards," cards embedded with computer chips to store information and thereby speed and simplify various business and administrative transactions. Addresses future applications for colleges and universities, American Express'"Blue" card, military and medical applications, the…

This adaptation of an excerpt from a book, "The Business Value Web: Resourcing Business Processes and Solutions in Higher Education," addresses ways to look at college business processes systematically, take fresh approaches to resourcing, and create real value for stakeholders. (EV)

Describes the University of California Berkeley's e-Berkeley initiative, a campus-wide, Internet-based effort to fundamentally transform the way the university operates, from daily business functions to the central mission of teaching and research. (EV)

Ten suggestions are given for administering an institutional insurance program and coping with recent changes in the insurance market due to increasing premiums and more limited coverage options. (MSE)

Discusses e-procurement in higher education, an integrated system of services and Web technologies providing electronic bridges between buyers and sellers. Addresses its benefits, potential obstacles, early implementation lessons, and getting started. Includes a sidebar of definitions relevant to e-procurement. (EV)

One provision of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 states that when a tenant pays rent that is less than 5 percent of the appraised value of a property, the difference is considered taxable income for the employee. This provision is forcing colleges to reassess their employee housing policies. (MLW)

Offers insights on reigning in the costs of health care benefits from speakers at a two-day seminar for campus human resource professionals sponsored by TIAA-CREF Institute. Issues addressed include why chief financial officers must care, why higher education is different, drug costs, and changes in consumer behavior. (EV)

Mary Jo Maydew articulates her priorities as 2002-2003 board chair of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO): helping business officers maximize their expanding roles on campus and guiding the association in better serving member needs. (EV)

Advice on college and university endowment investing includes a general recommendation for caution and restraint and specific suggestions for approaching popular economic forecasts and assumptions, incentive fees, risk diversification, foreign options, especially in Europe, and energy investment. (MSE)

The difference between cost and market value of endowment investments is significant for many colleges and universities. These investments should always be reported at market value to provide relevant, comparable, consistent, and understandable financial information. Nonmanagement users of institutional financial statements prefer market rather…

Colleges and universities with mounting deficits may be tempted to sell surplus land for profit, but this is never a smart long-term choice. Through joint ventures and innovative financing, institutions can transform such holdings into development projects. In the current economy, there may be increased interest in such sites. (MSE)

Many areas of investing have become so specialized and complex that they need to be addressed by a special effort. Chief financial officers must evaluate whether that effort can be delivered by internal staff or whether an outside contractor is appropriate. Diagnostic questions for making that determination are offered. (MSE)

The term life income fund refers to several gift vehicles, each providing donors or their designees with an income during their lifetime, with the remainder used to provide support to a nonprofit or charitable organization. These fund-raising vehicles can be very useful to a college or university, but the institution must evaluate carefully the…

Personnel responsible for telecommunications systems need a way to ensure pursuit of the right technology at the right time does not lead them away from considerations of the right price. A three-step method of historical and monthly reviews offers a straightforward means of regaining control of expenditures and tracking costs. (MSE)

It is argued that colleges and universities can use direct allocation costing to provide quantitative information needed for decision making. This method of analysis requires institutions to modify traditional ideas of costing, looking to the private sector for examples of accurate costing techniques. (MSE)