The post-secondary transition for autistic youth is a complex process, with hopes and expectations serving as malleable mediators often overlooked in research and practice. Career awareness, exploration, and counseling services play a critical role in facilitating vocational transition, but the vocational hopes and expectations of autistic youth…

In this paper, a model and tool is proposed to assist universities and other mission-based organisations to ascertain systematically the optimal portfolio of projects, in any year, meeting the organisations risk tolerances and available funds. The model and tool presented build on previous work on university operations and decision support systems…

Recently, there has been growing interest in adapting Return-on-Investment thinking to education--sometimes called educational productivity, or academic-ROI. Education leaders do not seek a monetary return on their spending, rather greater student learning, or other outcomes like student citizenship, higher graduation rates, or increased lifetime…

University early childhood programs attempt to balance a traditional tri-part mission: service to children and families; professional development of caregivers/teachers, clinicians, and researchers; and research on child development, learning, and/or education. Increasingly, infants receive care and education on university campuses, yet little is…

Instead of collegiate priorities determining resource allocation, the resource allocation process can often shape the priorities. Current approaches are reviewed with focus on (1) how different approaches to setting priorities accommodate lack of consensus on campus; (2) incentives incorporated into resource allocation approaches; and (3)…

Identifies six needs assessment procedures applied in educational and other organizations, provides examples of how each is used, and discusses the relationship of needs assessment to problem solving. Kaufman's Outcomes Model is described and the Organizational Elements Model is presented as a pragmatic approach to contemporary decision making and…

Improved management systems can be developed for colleges and universities if assumptions are correct and a well-defined process is used. A life-cycle approach is suggested whose subsystems and implementation at Augsburg College, a small private liberal arts institution, are described. (LBH)

This paper presents a decision making model that uses a systematic approach to design; has as a driving force the needs and goals of a particular learning situation; is derived from traditional instructional system design models such as Kemp, Dick & Carey, and Romiszowski; and in addition addresses the potential impact of multimedia as a…

This pamphlet is second in a series describing the Management Organization Systems Technique (MOST), whose essential function is to determine the goals and objectives of the college and then to assist management in the attainment and evaluation of them. The planning subsystem, central to this process, begins with a determination of the needs of…

In August of 1978 the Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) published an annotated bibliography on Education Needs Projection and Rural Development; this synthesis paper follows that bibliography and is intended to relate some of the useful applications derived from the survey of the literature. Five papers are included in the synthesis. The…

In the past management information systems (MIS) have focused on data relating to the internal operations of the institution (e.g., registration and space utilization). Recently, however, strategic planning as a means of establishing long-range goals is becoming increasingly dependent upon data external to the institution, such as demographics and…

Some of the historical developments which have influenced educational evaluation are the importance of operationalism and behavioral objectives; curriculum reform; the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; and school and teacher accountability. Major problems related to current evaluation practices include negative attitudes toward evaluation,…

This first of two monographs dealing with comprehensive institutional planning is directed at executive officers and institutional planners of two-year colleges interested in initiating or improving their approach to planning. Chapter 1 discusses planning as an essential administration function for the 1980s; such planning must be sensitive to…

Systems analysis is about problems and their solutions. Analysts are warned that in a field of constant change, this text can only provide some of the needed tools and information, not all of the answers. Wise systems analysts never become fixed on one technique or technology, knowing that they will change, but instead focus on learning…

A General Policy Systems Theory is outlined and its application at a university in regard to governance in the face of retrenchment is described. The way that this model of nonrigorous but holistic research supports the Purpose, Target, Results (PTR) strategy and is in turn more useful than either operations research/management or science/systems…