An approach to institutional budgeting designed to alleviate accumulated deficits is described. The proposal introduces flexibility into the salary component, alleviating cash flow difficulties in the short to medium term and encouraging more proactive budgeting, by allowing employees to contract for reduced annual salary in exchange for reduced…

Two case studies of educational decision making are used to test the utility of some current theories of the policy-formation process; a framework for the application of these theories is proposed; and the merits of applying existing theories before seeking new paradigms are stressed. (MSE)

Many colleges and universities have opted for the survival syndrome rather than the pursuit of excellence. A strategic planning approach involves fundamental decisions about institutional purposes and operations. Uppermost in administrators' minds should be the long-term interests of the institution, not departments' short-term interests. (MSE)

A discussion of the concept of professional practice for higher education institutions draws on organizational theory to examine the nature of higher education institutions, the use of power and influence, and the administrator's role. Some aspects of administrative practice requiring administrative attention include organizational instruments,…

A university's income will rise if it changes its policy on charging for commissioned research and for applications to external funding agencies to one of full cost recovery. However, there are a number of technical and policy implications to be appreciated before embarking on the pursuit of additional income. (MSE)

Three approaches to institutional planning are discussed: process, quantitative, and contingency. Features and problems of each are examined. All three have been used successfully in higher education, usually in partial rather than complete form. (MSE)

The chairman of the Advanced Education Council of Australia's Commonwealth Tertiary Education Commission discusses the structure and functions of the council and commission at present and as will they change in the near future. (MSE)

The implications of social change for the role and problems of educational coordinating bodies in Australian postsecondary education are explored, drawing on the experience of the Queensland Board of Advanced Education. (MSE)

A study of academic decision making shows little faculty effort to influence major committees other than through formal channels. Academics with elected representatives were dominated by an elite of nonelected senior academics, based on process signs of power rather than real authority. (MSE)

Two approaches to assessment of quality in higher education, the production-measurement and stakeholder-judgment perspectives, are described and compared in a review of literature. It is concluded that, although the production-measurement approach is dominant, it is too narrow a conceptualization and cannot accommodate the diversity of goals and…

Innovation can be as much a matter of process and content as of structure. Innovation in Australian higher education will be necessary in the next few years, but without the growth or structural change that usually accompanies it. (MSE)

Resource allocation is a key factor in promoting or retarding innovation. In a restrictive economic climate, it is easy to use resource allocation for decremental rationing and to stifle innovative thinking. The technique can also be used to ensure that the institution's human resources are encouraged to identify opportunities for innovation. (MSE)

A mathematical model for costing college courses, designed for purposes of accountability, subprogram cost analysis, marketing to foreign students (in Australia), and course cost analysis across institutions, is presented and discussed. (MSE)

A discussion of Australian higher education looks at the nature of quality and its assessment in higher education, particularly in the context of a new national committee on quality assurance. It examines the compatibility of quality management strategies with existing institutional decision-making and management processes. (MSE)

A discussion of the use of performance management for faculty and nonacademic staff in colleges and universities first offers the definition of performance management used in business, examines colleges and universities as institutions of learning, and suggests the notion of quality maintenance as a better approach to personnel management. (MSE)