This document, one part of a project to train personnel for educational development and evaluation, describes a management system for individualized student instruction. Certain objectives are set from which management activities and provisions for data storage and use are inferred. The result is a comprehensive flowchart of the instructional…

The Information Exchange Procedures (IEP) developed by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) are a set of standard definitions and procedures for collecting information about disciplines and student degree programs, outcomes of instructional programs, and general institutional characteristics. A fundamental purpose…

Recent technological advances in computers and communications make possible the integration of data systems and the exchange of data among them on an expanding scale. However, the full effect of these advances cannot be realized unless the need for uniform understanding of the common information (data elements) and its expression in data systems…

Describes a lesson based on Taba's Inductive Thinking Model that offers a set of strategies to enhance the teaching of higher order thinking skills with the use of databases. Analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information are discussed, and strategies for guiding class discussion are presented. (eight references) (LRW)

This essay reviews current policy issues regarding statewide educational databases. It begins by defining the major characteristics of a database and raising two questions: (1) Is it really necessary to have a statewide educational database? (2) What is the primary rationale for creating one? The limitations of databases in formulating educational…

This paper reviews the historical development of integrated data base management systems and examines competing approaches. Topics include management and utilization, implementation and design, query languages, security, integrity, privacy and concurrency. (Author/KP)

This report addresses the technical and legal issues attendant to the implementation of a comprehensive student information system in California. It documents the legislative origins of the study and the conditions of state-level information systems within California and other states. It then describes the legal issues arising from the collection,…

After reviewing some concepts and principles for effective data management, the author applies the concepts to nurse staffing systems for the management of human resources. He defines a seven-step process for establishing a management information system, from defining the management objective to implementing the system. (Author/CT)

In response to legislative mandates calling on educational institutions to become more accountable for monies spent, a number of community colleges in California have implemented research and data collection models to help them answer state and local questions about institutional effectiveness. However, there is a significant difference between…

This paper proposes construction of a separate data base environment for university planning information, distinct from data bases and systems supporting operational functioning and management. The data base would receive some of its input from the management information systems (MIS)/transactional data bases and systems through a process of…

The purpose of this paper is to present the multiple uses that can be derived from special education student database information and used in the evaluation of special education programs. Within the San Juan (California) Unified School District, many evaluation studies draw directly upon information which is in the computerized record system. This…

University information systems are designed to make decisions easier and to provide good information for administrative tasks. Data do not by themselves produce better decisions, and more data can make agreement on issues more complicated. When collegial decisions are made, the precise impact of data and models is uncertain. When there is no…

The nature and source of problems in distributing access to student data, the strategies adopted for dealing with them, five successful applications implemented by the Office of the Registrar in cooperation with the Information Center, and lessons learned from these projects are described. (Author/MLW)

The role of the professional evaluator within a school district is essentially to provide data for use in informed decision making. In School District 4J in Eugene, Oregon, this role involves performing tasks in three basic categories: (1) maintaining and interpreting ongoing databases, (2) finding and analyzing information to answer specific…

The kind of data useful to a statewide planning agency is considered, with focus on Illinois, and attention is directed to the use of these data once generated, including resulting problems. Illinois is currently engaged in the conceptual design of a computerized management information system that will contain as a subset the State Level…