To enable decision makers to become more aware of the levels of confidence that can be placed in the results of particular computerized decision models, methods for establishing confidence levels are discussed. The U.S. General Accounting Office has developed criteria and review procedures for evaluating computerized policy analysis models.…

This report reviews the background of the Instructional Systems Design (ISD) model (used to develop training for Naval personnel), identifies problems in the ISD process and in its management and implementation, and recommends methods of ISD improvement. The ISD model is described as a process originally developed to remind instructional…

Proposes a computer-based simulation technique--system dynamics--for use in policy development and decision making by community college administrators. Utilizes the technique to create a model showing the responses of three student income groups to increases in tuition. (DD)

The potentials and problems of using computer programs for developing college planning models and policy are discussed, and the capabilities of a number of commonly-used programs are outlined. The need for understanding and participation by nontechnical administrators is emphasized. (MSE)

Test application and implementation of techniques and methods developed in the planning model, A Policy Information System for Vocational Education, are described in this report. (The computer planning model and policy information system designed for use in planning at the local level brings variables of student interest, manpower demand,…

The development and use of financial planning models, with a focus on the Stanford University financial tradeoff (TRADES) methodology, are covered in conference papers, along with the application of the Stanford conceptual framework in five institutional settings. Additional papers consider an experimental modeling language that was developed to…

One of 10 publications from a long-range vocational education planning project, this planning model is a boiled-down version of the complete computer based system presented in "Policy Information System Computer Program." It has been reduced to 50 pages of step-by-step procedures and fill-in-the-blank forms for use in teaching an administration…

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)

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,…

Seven potentially useful maxims from the field of human information processing are proposed that may help institutional researchers prepare and present information for higher education decision-makers. The maxims, which are based on research and theory about how people cognitively process information, are as follows: (1) more may not be better;…

The 21 essays in this two-part book provide conceptual and operational understanding of the nature of models as representations of reality and as tools for description, analysis, interpretation, and forecasting. Topic areas addressed in part 1 (concept) include: the nature of models; the earth as a system; the determination of form; some…

A simulation model of an academic medical center that was developed to aid in strategic planning and policy analysis is described. The model, designated MCM for Medical Center Model, was implemented at the School of Medicine, University Hospitals of Cleveland, and the private practices of the faculty in the clinical departments at University…

The importance of myth and ritual in understanding the use of computer simulators in higher education is considered. Myths are commonly held beliefs that maintain social solidarity and reduce ambiguity; rituals serve a similar function, but they involve actions in addition to words. Examples of common myths and rituals are used to illustrate the…

The impact of alternative institutional policies on faculty mix, salary expense, and turnover is assessed. Guidelines are offered to aid health science school administrators to maintain faculty vitality through a period of retrenchment and new federal retirement law. A "typical" hypothetical school of medicine is simulated using a…