Systems concepts are useful in rethinking and reorganizing the structure of education. The author presents a popular interpretation of the systems approach to problem solving. He uses a general systems theory to compare the attributes of a school system and a computer system. He uses the idea of a critical subsystem to prepare a table of…

Needs assessment is a young and growing field. Needs assessments contribute to effective educational planning and help educators improve services to students. Needs assessment can be used to identify goals and objectives, but probably has the most utility as a problem-focusing strategy that includes the following sequence: (1) identification of…

This paper explores how public multicampus university system offices address two areas where there is strong state interest but where this interest may conflict with traditional university priorities: undergraduate arts and sciences education and university responsibility for improving K-12 education. It is hypothesized that system offices with…

As traditional medical school curricula began to be criticized in the 1950s, various alternatives were proposed, including the organ-system based curriculum (organized around the organ systems of the body) and the problem-based curriculum (organized around clinical problems). From an open systems perspective, any such medical school curriculum…