Colleges and universities across the nation face a number of economic and social conditions that affect institutional operations. Limited financial resources due to the nation's economic recession, increased calls for improved degree productivity to meet civic and labor market demands, and shifting demographic patterns create a challenging…

The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), responding to a need for systematic data collection and utilization for the effective management of increasingly complex institutions of higher education, appointed a design committee to develop a conceptual framework and guidelines for a management information systems project. The…

This document outlines concepts of organization, operation, and administration for colleges and universities. Emphasis is placed on the enterprise, governance and administration, purposes, organization, operations, support services, management of resources and techniques of direction, and evaluation and accountability. (MJM)

The theme of this document is that programmatic decision making can be carried out effectively only if appropriate kinds of information are made available. If an institution knows its objectives, it can define a course of action for the years ahead. Through use of a cost simulation model, it can forecast the resource implications of that plan.…

Case studies of two colleges of very different financial status are contrasted to illustrate principles of leadership during both good economic times and difficult times. Visits and interviews at four prospering colleges and four colleges under financial stress were conducted to determine the financial state of each college and the role of…

A program cost study was conducted at a large midwestern university to determine department-level expenses and revenues associated with the mission-critical activities of instruction, research, and service. The study (or program) is based on a model for allocating costs, called responsibility centered management, that has been used for nearly a…

This paper deals with the existing inter- and intra-departmental phenomena. Current practices of forming departments and aggregating departments into colleges are investigated and are shown to have inherent difficulties which inhibit the performance of a university. These difficulties are illustrated with empirical data from a representative set…

This document reviews how performance indicators are currently being used in several Commonwealth countries the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, and identifies some of the issues associated with performance indicator development and application. It also examines whether there are any agreed upon "key", or common, indicators that…

This book examines the institutional movement toward outsourcing support services, focusing on the development of outcome-oriented performance indicators and continuous self-assessment. Using 125 "lessons" based on support service theories, philosophies, and practices at George Mason University (Virginia), which collectively are termed…

A model for long-range institutional planning is presented that is based on the integration of institutional elements and functions: overall mission, quantitative goals, responsibilities, activities, and resources. A comprehensive model must also include evaluation and organization in the planning process. Each of the institutional functions and…

Considers organizational structures of academic libraries through writings of organizational theorists and related work by librarians and develops an organizational model based on this review. The model comprises a modified professional bureaucratic structure; flexible resource allocation; use of management information systems; export of…

The role of institutional budgeting strategies in promoting institutional change is examined, looking specifically at two budget components (general-purpose lump sums and earmarked funds). Experiences of the University of Utrecht (Netherlands) with internal competition for reduced funds as a means for stimulating change are discussed. (MSE)

Findings are presented of a study begun in 1976 whose purpose was to examine the current and prospective application of management accounting in colleges and universities. The information was obtained through interviews, mail questionnaires and a literature search. The field study and mail survey were designed to serve as the fact-finding devices…

British polytechnics, or technical institutes, are considered from a range of perspectives. Papers include: higher education in the 1970's (C.F. Carter); polytechnic administration (including its relation to government agencies, personnel, academic structure, and financial and plant administration) (C.S. Hall); polytechnic costing: some problems…