This chapter explores the relationship between strategic planning and budgeting. It describes how community college leaders can use strategic and foundational plans (academic, facilities, technology, and financial) to drive budgets and resource allocations in support of institutional goals and objectives. Finally, it identifies challenges of doing…

The six regional accrediting agencies in the United States have created a set of standards based on best practices in colleges and universities. The evolving perception of an effective institution is one that uses data, assessment, and evaluation results to improve programs and services and strives for a high level of institutional quality. While…

From 1970 until 1974, the Seattle Community College District was directed by a four-member executive committee, rather than by one chief executive officer. The history of this period is recounted, and advantages and disadvantages of the management system are identified. In sum, the system is satisfactory only in the short-run. (NHM)

Describes the characteristics and responsibilities of an effective community college board of trustees. (DC)

Management by objectives (MBO), if properly applied to educational organizations, provides a rational means of achieving objectives with scarce resources. This article discusses the need for MBO, describes the process and some of its potential benefits and pitfalls. (Author/NHM)

Research shows that neither centralization nor decentralization of decision-making authority in multiunit community colleges is a primary determinant of organizational effectiveness; rather it is the degree of participation in decision-making by staff members at all hierarchical levels. (BB)

Cluster colleges organize campuses to capture all the advantages of the small college (local administration, identifiable students and faculty, a sense of community) while maintaining many of the advantages of the large institution (economy, financial security, efficiency, staff expertise). This article identifies advantages and problems, and…

Provides a comprehensive perspective on assessment in community colleges, indicating that there is great variance among institutions in the extent and sophistication of their assessment practices. Suggests that there are three categories of outcomes: student performance at community colleges, transfer institutions, and occupations; student…

Outlines the strategic (i.e., demographic, economic, political, social, and technological) conditions that influence resource allocations to community colleges. Argues that assessment of these conditions as well as of the outcomes and benefits of college programs are critical to improving the colleges' funding base. (DMM)

The assumptions of management by objectives (MBO) are self-fulfilling; defining and treating the college as a system imposes systemic properties, which require managing. Since most research evaluations of MBO utilize neither longitudinal studies nor appropriate experimental controls, they are of questionable validity. MBO can be dehumanizing, and…

Discusses ways to motivate students to participate in and take assessment efforts seriously. Indicates that a strong institutional commitment to testing, administrative support of assessment, integration of testing into the curriculum, student and faculty participation in testing operations, and reporting test results are major factors in…

Asserts that although popular and academic literature often distinguish leadership from management, the complex nature of the chair position requires competency in both areas. Chairs must not only fill administrative tasks, but they must also empower colleagues. Discusses how leadership theories can assist midlevel managers in becoming managerial…

A practitioner discusses the problems associated with instructional development (ID) and makes practical recommendations for improving faculty morale and interest, for organizing ID staff, and for improving ID administrative management. (DC)

Explores forms of impact between community colleges and state and local agencies. Emphasizes the relationships between institutional goals and agency needs. Outlines strategies for improving understanding of institutional impact through the identification of consensual goals and the exchange of information about institutional goals and program…

The organization of the Community College of Vermont illustrates that a lateral authority structure and mutually supportive subsystems are necessary to manage a noncampus institution. (Author)