Most people would agree that schools should strive to increase their effectiveness. This handbook provides leaders and facilitators of the school-improvement process with practical information and guidelines for conducting the day-to-day work of school change and improvement. The book is organized around five questions that represent stages of the…

This report addresses strategies and action plans for Palm Beach Community College (PBCC) (Florida) between 1999-2004. As part of a commitment to achieve specific, measurable end results, the college has set various objectives, including: (1) develop, implement and institutionalize a mission driven strategic budget for the 1999-2000 fiscal year;…

This report records in outline form major points concerning the emerging field of environmental scanning, noting particularly activities at the University of Minnesota. It includes definitions of environmental scanning; a description of its major components; and an outline of procedural steps to implement it. Further, it outlines the planning…

This article reviews the basic principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) and how they can be applied to the administration of community colleges. TQM is a customer (student)-focused, continuous-improvement, quality-oriented way of thinking about all aspects of operating an organization that is shared and practiced by all employees (faculty and…

A program planning model developed in collaboration with primary decision makers and program planners is described in this study. A 6-month pilot test of the planning document was evaluated by a followup questionnaire of program planners and decision makers. Results indicate that a majority of the respondents viewed the planning model as…

In January 2001, the chancellor of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) appointed a Distance Learning Task Force to develop a distance learning strategic plan. This final report details the Task Force's strategic plan in which they developed a distance learning vision, designed a prospective governance model, defined funding assumptions,…

This report outlines the Hudson County Community College (HCCC) June 1998 Strategic Plan for Information Technology. After providing a list of planning committee members and an executive summary, the introduction provides background information concerning the creation of the information technology initiative. It also provides the objectives of…

This is the 2000-2005 strategic plan at El Centro College (Texas). It discusses the college's mission, vision, and core values, and provides information on goals and success indicators. Goals include: (1) preparing students for careers and for transfer to four-year institutions; (2) providing quality continuing/workforce education to enrich…

In 1984 the Commission of the European Communities (EEC) disbursed some $1.437 billion in support of a range of retraining, relocation, and job creation measures intended to help youth. The EEC's policy toward vocationalization was first defined in 1963. In the 1970s the commission began to reassess its reason for existence, which led it to…

This document discusses the principles that guide the development of the contingent funding methods and the implementation criteria for the Partnership for Excellence Program, as well as significant issues and questions for the system to resolve. The first principle states that the level and pace of progress toward the Partnership goals are not…

This essay presents an approach to substantial and long-range curriculum change in three stages: planning, implementation, and evaluation. Planning, to which three quarters of the paper is devoted, is defined as a deliberate, collaborative, continuous process of determining and providing for the most effective manner to implement a change. The…

This report summarized progress made since 1981-82 on 88 propositions and 292 related recommendations set forth by Forming the Future, a cooperative effort between the Austin (Texas) Independent School District and the Austin community to implement a 5-year program of broad school improvements. Of the 292 recommendations, approximately 86% were…

This report, outlining the City College of San Francisco's (CCSF) Strategic Plan, begins with an overview of the institution's goals and strategies and provides background information on the plan's development. Part I, "Setting a Direction," offers information on CCSF's values and long-term institutional goals: (1) enhancing access; (2)…

This Transfer Enhancement Plan was prepared by the Transfer Task Force from the City College of San Francisco (CCSF). The purpose of the plan is to improve the transfer success of all CCSF students. This report reviews current transfer structure, efforts, activities, and programs, and identifies successful transfer efforts that should be supported…

To commemorate 2002 as the centennial year of America's 4-H Movement, the National 4-H Council held a national conversation to identify ways of improving youth development programs. The conversation process included the following activities: 1,577 local conversations that yielded more than 10,000 specific action items; a review of those items at…