This paper describes an investigation of some effects of group interaction and consensus on information processing behavior. When individuals were asked to assess a hypothetical situation on the basis of various sequentially received data, a definite primacy effect was observed; individuals gave more weight to data they received first. This…

Investigating the networks of communication in organizations leads to an understanding of efficient and inefficient information dissemination as practiced in large systems. Most important in organizational communication is the role of the "liaison person"--the coordinator of intercommunication. When functioning efficiently, coordinators maintain…

During the past several years a number of studies and subsequent reports have been issued which addressed specific needs in the area of management for schools in the District of Columbia. All of the reports cited here--the Passow, Nelsen Committee, Price-Waterhouse, and Management Review Reports--identified areas of deficiency in the managerial…

The Philadelphia School System developed a multilevel Management Information Feedback System to monitor the operation of the reading programs of its eight subdistricts. The major steps involved in the developmental process were: (1) the determination of what information was needed; (2) the development of noninterruptive information collection…

The community college president's role in facilitating institutional computer utilization is explored, and recommendations are made for his/her behavior and priorities in connection with educational concerns, institutional concerns, and statewide concerns. Typical institutional organizational arrangements regarding campus computers, research,…

In response to the demand for accountability in higher education, colleges have adopted business techniques of planning and management systems in the form of Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Evaluation System (PPBES). The system approach to educational administration consists of three interrelated concepts: (1) input, (2) process, and (3)…

Five widely-held myths about computer-assisted instruction (CAI) are exposed: 1) the teacher is the total instruction, 2) the CAI computer is designed for instruction, 3) there is one best CAI language for computer usage, 4) the biggest cost of CAI is machinery, and 5) a lack of learning materials exists in CAI. A framework for understanding,…

An educational management information system is a network of communication channels, information sources, computer storage and retrieval devices, and processing routines that provide data to educational managers at different levels, places, and times to facilitate decisionmaking. Management information systems should be differentiated from…

The sequence that the decisions of school management follow is discussed. This sequence follows four major steps: procedural, continuance, dissemination, and reallocation. Each of these steps is directly related to: (1) planned instructional activities, (2) on-going program and administrative practices, and (3) overlapping conditions between newly…

The role of performance evaluation and testing in the development of an operational accountability system for urban public schools is discussed. Management science techniques and concepts and econometric methods are used to specify an accountability system, determine its data requirements, and evaluate alternative measures of systems performance.…

Papers and presentations at the 1971 symposium of the Digital Equipment Computer Users Society (DECUS) are presented. The papers deal with medical and physiological applications, computer graphics, simulation education, small computer executive systems, management information tools, data acquisition systems, and high level languages. Although many…

The basic data requirements for making educational program decisions in an accountability-oriented setting with the school principal as the focal point of the process are detailed in this report. The emphasis is on collecting and disseminating data now available within the school system. These data fall into six categories: school descriptors,…

This document describes the development and implementation of a computer based registration and scheduling information system at Northern Illinois University. Because of personnel shortages, the University sought and received help from commercial computer firms. Implementation of scheduling, registration, and billing systems was accomplished in a…

It is suggested that a major weakness in individualized instruction has been the failure to provide for adequate Instructional Management Information Systems. This is a defect which can be remedied by linking such programs to more sophisticated and more readily accessible instructional data processing centers. An effective application of the…

Comprehensive planning is seen as an ongoing, dynamic process through which decisions about future courses of action concerning the academic, physical, and financial condition of an institution are prepared for and made. Its relationship to information systems, planning staff, administration, and outcomes are discussed. (LBH)