The director of the College of Continuing Studies at Towson State University (Maryland) describes the college's experience of downsizing during universitywide retrenchment. She offers advice for continuing educators facing budget cuts. (SK)

Examines a specific program termination (in social work) to determine how universities interpret and apply the goals of their strategic plans. Finds that institutional actors hold different perceptions of the strategic plan goals and their relevance to the terminated program. Suggests that colleges and universities need to clarify strategic plan…

This chapter explores the marginality of university-based degree-granting adult education programs and considers how both hopes and fears add to the discourse about the field's vitality.

It is argued that, when a university's resources are insufficient to undertake serious, responsible change in education, the institution should close its school of education and put its resources into high-quality programs elsewhere. Perpetuating low-quality education programs is seen as an insupportable alternative. (MSE)

Rowan College of New Jersey has adopted an "enterprise model" for strategic planning that is seen as central to attaining the mission of the college during a time involving a substantial decline in state support. Rowan pursued a strategy termed "growth by substitution." This new process was cast in a more entrepreneurial mold…

This report presents the findings of a visiting team charged with assessing Northeast Missouri State University's progress in 5 years toward goals from a new institutional mission and planning document. In particular the report endorses the 49 undergraduate programs and 9 graduate programs offered at NMSU each of which successfully attained the…

The processes used by the University of Washington to meet severe budget reductions mandated by the state are described. A planning philosophy of smaller size and higher quality was adopted, and program elimination occurred consensually, with faculty and student participation. (Author/MLW)

Four key criteria used in academic program review (quality, centrality to institutional mission, competition, and demand) are defined and discussed. They are then applied to the process of strategic planning for an unspecified private university. Decision-making matrixes and their use are illustrated. (MSE)

since the economic difficulties of the 1980s and 1990s, community colleges have had to reconcile limited resources with open door admissions policies and a broad institutional mission. College budgets have not generally increased sufficiently to compensate for rising costs, with state-level financial support for higher education falling by 9.5% to…

How institutional research can improve the quality of institutional performance of colleges and universities in the face of funding constraints is discussed. An example of the use of instructional research to assist in documenting institutional quality in Australia is noted. Institutional research uses data collection, analysis, and interpretation…