Previous financial planning and resource allocation models have generally been designed for specific types of institutions in specific countries. A set of design characteristics that help make a model internationally applicable are identified, and an American modeling system implemented at the University of Louvain is described. (Author/MLW)

Through a discussion of research on institutions using computer-based planning models, this question is addressed: How does the institutional decision maker make decisions using state-of-the-art computing tools without neglecting nonquantitative realities? (MSE)

Describes the characteristics and application of a methodology for developing a strategic, long-range organizational information plan that will permit coordination of information subsystems within a university's computerized information system. The University of Minnesota's application of such a methodology provides illustrative examples. (PGD)

A discussion of Executive Information Systems, the newest decision-support computer application for organizations, argues that this approach could profoundly change how colleges and universities are managed. Using graphics, icons, and mainframe data retrieval software, middle management can handle large quantities of information. Proven design…

This document describes a system of computerized advance registration at Colorado State University. The main objective is to generate a schedule that will satisfy student requests and needs, given constraints of faculty, time, and space. The system consists of a series of computer programs and a set of well-documented manual procedures in the…

In the context of decision support systems (DSS) use, four perspectives on evaluating decisions (consensual, political, empirical, and rational) and four models of organizational effectiveness (human relations, open system, internal process, and rational goal) are examined for their implications for DSS implementation and evaluation. (MSE)

The history and features of Decision Support Systems (DSS) and use of the approach by academic administrators are discussed. The objective of DSS is to involve the manager/decision maker in the decision-analysis process while simultaneously relieving that person of the burden of developing and performing detailed analysis. DSS represents a…

Social Judgment Analysis, a formal decision model, is used to develop a decision support system that provides documentation on faculty accomplishments to assist faculties in making personnel decisions that are systematic, explicit, consistent, and retraceable. (Author/MSE)

A new allocation model for teaching and nonteaching staff has been developed at the University of Utrecht, in the Netherlands. The model may be characterized as highly normative, leading to lump sums to be allocated to academic departments. These departments in turn are free, within constraints, to budget their activities differently than is…

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,…

This paper examines effects of combining long-range planning and computer-based modeling in institutions of higher education, with examples from application at Butler University (Indiana). The model was developed due to a need to obtain a 5-year forecast of revenues and expenditures and consists of eight dynamic submodels--one for each of the five…

A decision support application based on the Markov analytic model is described, and its use in the formation of policy concerning reduction in force and work force distribution is illustrated through the comparative modeling of two personnel management policies. (MSE)

A pricing model is offered, based on retention of current students, that colleges can use to determine appropriate tuition. A computer-based model that quantifies the relationship between tuition elasticity and projected net return to the college was developed and applied to determine an appropriate tuition rate for a small, private liberal arts…

Ideas that have been developed in the decision support systems (DSS) literature that seem particularly relevant to institutional research, planning, and analysis (IRPA) are reviewed. In addition, a survey of practitioners in Canadian universities that provides new information on the rapidly changing current state of information technology,…