Use of computers at Brown University and attitudes toward computing were investigated in 1984. Major areas of interest were: frequency of weekly computer use, past experience using computers, when respondents first used a computer, their gender, student status, years at the university, major, and parental and familial influences on computer use.…

Describes a program to increase decisionmaking effectiveness in higher education through continuous organization development supported by computer based information systems and institutional research. (Author/RA)

A consultant team made an independent assessment of future prospects for the field of computer use in the central government of Great Britain. They first assessed the level of use of computers at the present time in all governmental agencies. They then forecast the future computer applications which developing technology will permit. They…

This document is comprised of two reports, both dealing with methods for using census data. The first report discusses the Los Angeles Community College Data Project, undertaken at Los Angeles City College, in terms of its goals, organization, and procedures. The project was designed to: (1) provide the Los Angeles City Planning Department with a…

The most advantageous relationship between computer technology and institutional research is considered. Three potential problem areas are discussed: those associated with a central data processing center, those germane to minicomputers or terminals within the institutional research office, and those nondiscriminating types which cover both…

PLANTRAN II is a system of computer software designed to assist educational administrators in their planning and analysis activities. The unique feature of PLANTRAN II is that it requires no computer programing experience or expertise. Users with technical background have found PLANTRAN II helpful in their analyses without reducing the complexity…

Miami-Dade Community College has conducted an annual survey of its graduates for nearly a decade. In the past, the processing and tabulation of results were essentially manual operations. This paper describes a recently-developed computerized system which carries out most of the processing of this survey up through the tabulation of results. The…

To estimate computer needs at a higher education institution, the major types of users and their future needs should be determined. In a large or complex university, three major groups of users are typically instructional, research, and administrative. After collecting information on the needs of these users, the needs can be translated into…

Too often computer applications try to supplant rather than augment human capabilities. As a result, there is a gap between the power of the computer and some difficult administrative problems; e.g., longrange planning. However, there is increasing interest in the use of computer simulation in planning. PLANTRAN II represents a completely new…

The material in this volume was developed for use in a series of workshops on institutional research and planning for colleges and universities. The workshop sessions made extensive use of computers. This was made possible through the use of PLANTRAN II, a computer simulation system designed to make the power of the computer available to the…