Universities were forced to move instruction online and send residential students home due to the pandemic, resulting in financial shortfalls. Governing boards, administrators, and governments made decisions including eliminating faculty and staff, and programs yet these decisions were rarely inclusive of university stakeholders or innovative.…

Purpose: Interdisciplinary approaches to climate change teaching are well justified and arise from the complexity of climate change challenges and the integrated problem-solving responses they demand. These approaches require academic teachers to collaborate across disciplines. Yet, the fragmentation typical of universities impedes collaborative…

Qualitative evaluation can be used to facilitate change in the immediate higher education professional environment. This evaluation method enriches the collection and interpretation of data by involving all groups and persons who have a share in the problem. In contrast to qualitative research, qualitative evaluation assists in situation-specific…

Discusses a group problem-solving method in conflict resolution which consists of three phases: problem identification (four steps); analysis (two steps); and synthesis (three steps). A matrix format for evaluating alternative solutions in terms of essential and desirable criteria or conditions, with a complete analysis of each step, is included.…

This paper describes a participative model of strategic planning for use by higher education institutions. First it reviews five principles or assumptions of a participatory model: the person doing the job is the expert; that which is strategic must be validated by the operation; accountability, authority, and information are always equal and…

From its start in Japan after World War II, the Quality Control Circle (Q.C.) approach to management and organizational operation evolved into what it is today: people doing similar work meeting regularly to identify, objectively analyze, and develop solutions to problems. The Q.C. approach meets Maslow's theory of motivation by inviting…

Compares high and low consensus discussions, and identifies patterns of communication which differentiate the two levels of agreement. Describes several interactional differences, including the variety of integration methods employed, and the method and distribution of generating possible solutions to the problem. (MM)

This article describes developments at Indiana University over the past two decades. Since 1985, two task forces have countered the Holmes Group Report and set up a unified teacher education program. (IAH). (IAH)

One of the most valuable skills in group decision making is the ability to make trustworthy judgments about group performance. It follows from the "inferential model" of social cognition (Pavitt, 1989; Pavitt & Hight, 1986), that there are three types of judgments relevant to the group context: (1) behavioral (what the group did);…

Discusses the historical and conceptual framework of quality circles, presents a brief case history of circles initiated by the University of Maryland Office of Admissions, and provides a summary of implications. Emphasizes implications for student affairs administrators. (Author/ABB)

Committee N on Representation of Economic and Professional Interests and Committee T on College and University Government (both of the American Association of University Professors--AAUP) issued a statement on collective bargaining and the part it plays in shared governance in colleges and universities. (MLW)

Most campus building projects are high-stakes ventures that, if not correctly planned, may be accompanied by cost overruns, schedule delays, unhappy stakeholders, diminished political goodwill, delays in new programs, or even the forfeiture of a donor gift. The key to managing complexity, reducing risk, and saving time and money lies in one…

Concludes that video teleconferencing may be a more effective method of dealing with complex group problem solving than face-to-face meetings. Discusses reasons for and implications of this finding. (PD)

Compares the Group Valence Model (GVM) to several derived versions of the Valence Distribution Model (VDM), as they relate to the group problem-solving process. Suggests that, not withstanding predictive accuracy, the VDM seems generally inferior to the GVM, which consistently accounts for more of the decision-making phenomenon. Discusses…

The University of Southern Maine offers a Master's degree in Instructional Leadership designed to prepare educators for the demands of working with others to promote educational excellence. Two themes of the program focus on: problem finding--the disposition to scrutinize aims as well as means; and a valuing of and practical experience with action…