It used to be much easier to get paid by the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD). A lot easier, that is, if you didn't work there. Saddled with an antiquated computer system and manual, repetitive data entry of time cards, officials at California's second-largest school district discovered the payroll department was mistakenly issuing $1…

Material concerning standardization activities in the area of information processing at the Federal, National and International levels is provided in this publication. Also included are related policy and procedural guideline documents. A list of Federal Government participants involved in the development of Federal Information Processing…

A subset of data base management techniques for the hardware/software functions necessary to support a management information system are discussed. Seven basic dimensions of data base design are: (1) data base life span, (2) logical record growth, (3) record content growth, (4) data set organization, (5) linkages, (6) design criteria and (7)…

A visit to American University's Department of Computer Services is summarized. Administrative systems in use and currently in production are described and a productive application of "structured walk-throughs" for systems design, computer programs, procedures, and documentation is discussed. (MLW)

The problem of managing computer facilities at educational institutions is examined. User categories are defined, and the interrelations between user requirements and the goals/objectives of the facility are discussed. Enumerations of the factors that influence computer facility operations is also accomplished. In addition, management information…

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…

The findings of a CAUSE survey of institutions of higher education that are either currently using or have used a database management system are presented. In addition to demographic information, other issues addressed are: management implications, systems concepts, systems development, personnel, operational considerations and prospects for the…

Based on existing literature and user experience, the systematic approach to data base evaluation presented here provides a method by which data processing administrators can optimize the probability of selecting the data base management system best suited for their institution. (Author/WM)

The report is presented in two parts. The first examines the social and technical implications of information systems vis a vis the individual's ability to control the dissemination of information about himself. It is argued that information systems must incorporate certain properties in their initial design in order to safeguard man's…

The proceedings of the Fourth Conference of the Intergovernmental Council for ADP-ICA, are contained in this, the 7th issue of the ICA-Information, the Council's official publication. The proceedings include the edited minutes of the sessions, which covered the following topics: Management information systems for the government, Policy…

Recognizing the need to balance generality and economy in system costs, the Project INFO team at Stanford University developing OASIS has sought to provide generalized and powerful computer support within the normal range of operating and analytical requirements associated with university administration. The specific design objectives of the OASIS…

This paper describes the first-year results of Distributive Information Systems for Campuses (DISC), a project implemented in the Austin Independent School District (Texas). The goal was to increase the data access and information-generating capabilities of campuses by decentralizing data manipulation functions, while maintaining centralized data…

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…

A project management system for organizing requests from multiple departments and controlling the workload of the development/maintenance computer staff is described. Practical solutions to deciding project priorities, determining time estimates, creating positive peer pressure among programing staff, and formalizing information requests are…