Publications can be helpful in promoting planned giving to colleges. Suggestions address basic brochures, response forms, a planned giving column, advertisements, bequest mailings, a year-end tax letter, newsletters, fund description, and assets inventory. Simple or sophisticated, they can be effective marketing tools. (MSE)

Large, flashy college fund drives may be falling out of favor with alumni and friends of the institution. Advancement professionals recount their experiences and suggest ways to adapt campaigns to new needs and environments. Inherent problems with large campaigns are enumerated, and the importance of clear communication to audiences on and off…

While the electronic fact book will not replace the paper variety used by colleges and universities to disseminate institutional information, there are a number of uses for the electronic format, which accommodates both quantity and currency of information. Considerations in producing an electronic fact book are discussed, and a seven-day process…

Revised Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) standards for reporting college and university fund-raising income take effect in July 1997. Some of the changes affect what front-line fund raisers say to donors and what they ask them to sign. The major change is to present-value calculation of gifts, critical in reporting planned…

Five ethical dilemmas in college and university advancement are outlined, and responses of professionals to each are cited. Dilemmas include renaming a building, originally named for a generous donor, in honor of another donor funding renovation; paying for copying of sensitive documents; use of designated donations; handling of a donation made in…

Five situations are posed in which a college advancement administrator must make an ethical judgment. They involve renaming a building named after a graduate, use of personal versus institutional funds for a sensitive information search, use of unrestricted gifts, respecting donor intentions, and candor in information dissemination. Readers are…

This article proposes that providing an 800-number for prospective students who want additional information may be a cost-effective means for colleges and universities to enhance student recruitment efforts. The use of service bureaus that provide this service is discussed, and administrative considerations are explored. (MSE)

The role of the college public relations office in finding and disseminating interesting information about in-house scientific research is discussed, and some suggestions are offered. Strategies for seeking out stories on campus and for managing contact with the media are detailed. Conflicts that the public relations professional may encounter are…

To improve matching gift numbers in fund-raising campaigns, colleges and universities can use these techniques: flagging potential matches during phonathons; broadcasting the matching-gift message on the phone, in pledge reminders, with leaflets, and in publications; focusing on companies that employ many alumni; improving follow-through on…

The administration of a comprehensive fringe benefits program at the University of Florida, a large institution with about 11,000 faculty, support, and administrative and professional employees, is described. Topics examined include the benefits office function, retirement, obstacles in program administration and information dissemination, special…

The functions of public relations offices are described for four small colleges and one small private school: Spelman College (Georgia); North Harris County College (Texas); Scripps College (California); Lafayette College (Pennsylvania); and Maumee Valley Country Day School (Ohio). Focus is on creative and effective use of a small staff and…

The University of Missouri's alumni association is using technology to recruit new members, increase retention, and provide benefits and services. Examples include the use of members' electronic mail for communication, use of personal barcodes on membership renewal notices, and automatic membership renewal using credit and debit accounts. (MSE)

Suggested strategies for running a more effective college alumni program include effective calendar organization; careful staff utilization; administrator visibility; increased efficiency; effective use of alumni volunteers and student workers; good office communication; broad information dissemination across campus; consistent use of priorities;…

The University of Alabama Career Development Program was designed as a comprehensive, university-wide effort to enhance career development of students and faculty. The operational plan included four systems: (1) Academic mainstream system, designed to assist in the development of separate programs within the colleges and departments, (2) support…

A distinction is made between management for research and management of research. The former refers to the provision of a nourishing climate, sound policies supporting services of various kinds, financial systems, and organizational arrangements that will help research to flourish in a university. It exists to support the management of research, a…