Six college advancement professionals respond to a hypothetical case of across-the-board cuts in nonacademic departments by telling how they would make budgeting choices. The strategies used include involving senior advancement managers as a team, cultivating consensus, preserving priority projects, sharing responsibility among departments,…

This paper traces the growth, decline, and termination of the State University of New York Biomedical Communication Network (SUNY/BCN). It is noted that SUNY/BCN became operational in 1968 with nine medical library members and provided the first online access to the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (MEDLARS) of the National Library…

A discussion of college and university retrenchment based on interviews with 40 faculty and 20 administrators at 2 research universities looks at programs threatened with termination as terrains contested among academic fields, where wide divergences in professional/discipline-based power become evident. Results appeared to have less to do with…

This book provides a sociological and historical analysis of the evolution and demise of a state college's educational opportunity program, the goal of which was to compensate for unequal pre-college education and provide equal opportunities for economically and educationally disadvantaged students. The program was an example of a special…

Provides models helpful to policymakers at state and institutional levels involved in academic program review and discontinuation, outlines levels of policy decisions for program discontinuation, and examines models that may be effective at each level. Concludes with program discontinuation-related recommendations. (Author/MSE)

Faced with scarce resources and environmental uncertainty in the past decade, colleges and universities have experimented with different modes of academic staffing, most of which are attempts to preserve or create more flexible policies and practices. In spite of tenure systems in operation at 94% of all four year colleges, institutions have at…

The materials in this compendium are intended to assist counsel and administrators at institutions of higher education faced with the need to consider and plan for program closures. Some materials also deal with the closely related issues of financial exigency, faculty reductions, and reductions in force. Section I offers the following papers:…

The report addresses the problems being faced by the state of Alabama's postsecondary educational system during the current recessionary period, and to be expected in the years ahead, and makes recommendations on how these financial burdens can be dealt with while simultaneously increasing educational quality. The report explains that Alabama's…

A challenge now faced by dental school administrators is to maintain the feasibility of federally funded postdoctoral general dentistry residency programs when institutional, educational, and economic priorities stretch institutional limits. Some existing programs can offer ideas and insights through their diverse and nontraditional funding…

A University of Maryland at College Park administrator offers his perspective on a recent retrenchment process that resulted in program closings. He describes the dialog between administration and faculty and credits the faculty with important support and participation in difficult decision making. (MSE)

This paper focuses upon a variety of curriculum related issues that have potential legal connotations, such as whether the college bulletin forms a contract, whether advertisements can be considered contracts, and determining the appropriateness of student discipline for academic and other reasons. Presented first is a brief overview of contract…

A University of Maryland at College Park faculty member describes the recent retrenchment process, focusing on the role of the faculty senate and the academic planning advisory committee in decision making. The administration is credited with conducting an open and decisive process. (MSE)

Four key criteria used in academic program review (quality, centrality to institutional mission, competition, and demand) are defined and discussed. They are then applied to the process of strategic planning for an unspecified private university. Decision-making matrixes and their use are illustrated. (MSE)

Describes and reflects on the experience of the University of Washington's Slavic languages program when faced with termination in 1995, including the initial response of faculty, staff, and students; the successful effort made to garner support from other institutions, alumni, business, and organizations; relations with the legislature;…

Academic staffing practices used at four-year colleges and universities are identified, and recommendations are offered for achieving staffing flexibility in the face of conditions such as scarce resources. In addition to considering faculty flow models (e.g., Markov models and simulators) as a management/planning tool to evaluate personnel and…