The development of standard measures of financial health and distress should not mislead anyone into thinking there are common yardsticks for measuring the potentials of each college and university for survival and vitality. However, the process of developing and examining indicators can be healthy in itself. (Author/MSE)

A review of current planning imperatives, trends, and problems leads to a set of guiding principles. The 12 principles deal with: leadership, clear definitions, coordination, broad participation, financial commitment, clear procedures, written plans, flexibility, comprehensiveness, timely information, and evaluation. (LBH)

Effective use of accreditation as it continues to evolve is important to maintain educational quality. How accreditation developed its characteristics, use of standards, and conception of quality are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Colleges and universities have survived a decade of financial exigency because of the resilience they developed. The primary problem to be confronted in the 1980s is still inflation, not declining enrollment, but inflation in the next ten years will not be as bad as recently. References and other resources on response to financial exigency are…

Three principal reasons for worry about the financial condition of higher education today are: inflation, public concern over government costs, and demographic changes. Those responsible for the development, use, and interpretation of financial indications have special responsibilities: acceleration of development, availability of evaluations, and…

The demise of liberal education is assured if colleges and universities continue their present course of action. New models, consistent with traditional ideals yet suited to present realities, are needed. (Author/LBH)

New realities mean universities need to be more creative, coordinated, and focused in their quest for research dollars. A critical strategy is careful integration of the institution's strategic plan with its various fund-raising functions. Institutions can assist faculty in seeking funds but must also consider implications of the evolving…

Reallocation of positive reductions in staffing and urgent retrenchments will require a consistently open process. A forced-choice decision-making environment will focus greater attention on the legitimacy and trustworthiness of the decision-making process. (Author/MLW)

Colleges can and should do much to improve the management of financial aid offices in a time of reduced funds. Exemplary programs provide a framework for improvement, consisting of two key elements: assessment of office management needs based on the overall campus structural development and good basic management procedures. (Author/MSE)

Complex institutional problems require comprehensive and complex solutions, including such strategies as defining or redefining institutional mission, finding a market niche, planning, cutting costs and increasing income, structural change, enterprising leadership, and using existing assets and good luck to best advantage. (MSE)

How well new state, institutional, and private loan programs help compensate for federal student aid cutbacks depends on how well they respond to a number of practical requirements, including availability, affordability, adequacy of loan servicing and collection procedures, avoidance of excessive repayment burden, and clarity for borrowers and…

For a higher education institution to sustain excellence in the fundamental missions of teaching, research, and service, it must have a cultural context that encourages clarity of purpose, flexibility, creativity, tolerance, intelligence, meaningful communication, and willingness to learn new things and from past mistakes. All are characteristics…

Deterioration in the competence of both students and faculty members constitutes a threat to effectiveness as higher education is caught is a period of contraction and limited expansion. (Author/LBH)

The College of Idaho responded successfully to serious fiscal problems by renewing its commitment to excellence as a liberal arts institution with a regional service mission. (MSE)

Financial setbacks do not necessarily impair educational quality at first because of the flexibility and ingeniousness of administrators and faculty, but institutions are now at the tipping point. The most serious degradation of quality will occur when faculty, denied professional support, burn out. (MSE)