Improvement in education clearly depends on improved management practice, which, in turn, depends on more effective information systems. The kind of management information systems needed in education in the seventies is referred to in the literature as a "fourth generation" system, one that focuses on the decision process and is developed in terms…

This four-chapter report explores the possible contributions of a systems approach to institutional planning. After introductory comments, Chapter I reviews the management theory of Henry Fayol, which emphasizes management tasks, such as planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling, which are "universal" regardless of the level…

This document presents four articles each suggesting that a systems approach is the most practical way of dealing with the complex problems of university planning and administration. The articles are: Students, Systems and Education as Experience; Specifications for a Management Information System for Universities; Systems Analysis and University…

This paper reports a procedure used for the design of management information systems at the school board level. It was developed in cooperation with two Ontario boards--a large board with access to computer facilities and a small board with a manual record-keeping system. (Author/IRT)

During the past several years a number of studies and subsequent reports have been issued which addressed specific needs in the area of management for schools in the District of Columbia. All of the reports cited here--the Passow, Nelsen Committee, Price-Waterhouse, and Management Review Reports--identified areas of deficiency in the managerial…

Provides an understanding of what MIS (Management Information Systems) is and how it can assist the student services administrator in planning and decision making. (Author)

This pamphlet represents the third in a six-part series describing the Management Organization Systems Technique (MOST), developed at Wayne County Community College, whose purpose is to determine the goals and objectives of a college and to assist in their attainment and evaluation. The information sub-system is designed to collect, process and…

This report recommends the formal organization of a cost reduction program for a school system, outlines a structure, and suggests some techniques for implementation. It defines a cost reduction program as a formal, systematic effort of major status designed by an organization to keep its operating costs at a minimum, while providing predetermimed…

CURMIS (Curriculum Management Information System) is a conceptual system, the framework of which is designed to identify and reveal relationships among complex related interacting phenomena. This paper is a description of the system which will centralize and make conveniently available information needed for developing and monitoring instructional…

This paper presents the overall conceptual framework in which information gathered and stored by computers can be transformed into a comprehensive planning system useful in administrative decisionmaking. Identified and discussed are information needs (enrollment, costs, resources, and measurements) and a sample system (STEP - System for Trenton's…

A study on modeling systems was conducted to examine the extent of model use and the usefulness of the analytical models currently available. Specific study objectives were to identify: the users of some of the most frequently used modeling systems, the reasons for the selection of particular models, the problems and successes of implementation,…

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…

This paper deals with systems concepts, particularly those related to management information systems (MIS) as exemplified by the Center for the Study of Evaluation (CSE) Formative Evaluation Kit. The concept of MIS is in numerous ways more flexible than might be imagined from a cursory reading of the business-management literature. An MIS does not…

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…

This document is intended to provide a systematic aid for planning and managing academic units (schools, colleges, departments, or divisions) within an institution. It consists of a comprehensive set of techniques and procedures that can be used by academic unit administrators to examine the internal operations of their units--their functions,…