To improve services and reduce costs, Babson College (Massachusetts) has begun continuous quality improvement and reengineering, moving rapidly toward a client/server information technology environment and Internet/Intranet-enabled business processes. The evolution of the strategy and its products, underlying technologies, and development process…

An August 1996 conference on innovation in college student services is described, including discussion of the University of Delaware's student services model, common factors in program development identified by participants, common barriers, and the innovations undertaken at a number of diverse higher education institutions around the country.…

The University of California at Los Angeles, in attempting to respond to state legislators' demands to redirect teaching and research to match society's needs, has faced substantial administrative challenges. A Responsibility Center Management model for strategic institutional planning has failed to produce desired changes and has tended to…

Miami-Dade Community College (Florida), faced with rapidly changing community and student needs, became known for strategic, swift, student-oriented planning and adaptation to ethnic diversity. Ironically, the president who undertook this challenge, handing over more policy setting and control to faculty and staff, was criticized for moving too…

Considers how institutions of higher learning can plan for change to prepare teachers for teaching in an increasingly multicultural society. Discusses empirical-rational, power-coercive, and normative-re-educative strategies. Reviews why normative-re-educative strategies are most useful for planned change in education, and presents a model of…

Describes the March 1997 meeting of the Forum on the Future of Academic Medicine, devoted to two issues: how academic medical centers (AMCs) fund their complex activities and manage their resources; and the multiple missions, values, and cultures of AMCs. (MSE)

Following a background on the development of Library Industry Competency Standards within Australia and the impact of these standards, this paper focuses on issues raised, opportunities for integration, and future challenges. Concludes that through staff participation and simplicity of implementation the standards have the potential to add to…

A model for a more student-centered research university is proposed, a central feature of which is the student-centered course, designed to be less faculty-focused and to have more impact on student learning. Ten key actions needed to create this institutional form are outlined. Common faculty objections to the model are also discussed. (MSE)

Library literature is examined for patterns for succession to the academic library director's position. A survey of 21 library directors of The Council on State University Libraries was conducted to determine changes. Findings indicate women find it easier to obtain library director positions through external hires; male librarians no longer have…

Merrimack College (Massachusetts) has abandoned conservative strategies for investing its $16-million endowment, investing more in international stocks and bonds, real estate projects, and small companies to raise annual returns and increase endowment value. The small, Catholic college is heavily dependent on tuition. The diversification plan…

Although the job of a professional school dean is complex and demanding and the skills it requires are varied, it is important for the dean to acknowledge the limitations of both the job and the individual in it. Only time tells whether innovations, programs, customs, and direction created and nurtured by the dean reflect true leadership by…

The second in three-part series on how the principals in 10 low-performing/high-poverty schools met the challenge of Florida's 1999 high-stakes testing and accountability initiative. Examines the challenges principals faced in trying to build organizational capacity from three perspectives: principals' beliefs and values, "it takes a whole…

Presents a framework for judging educational technology programs that was developed for the Department of Education by the Expert Panel on Educational Technology. Highlights include clearly articulated goals; developing learning and thinking skills; equity for educational excellence; promoting organizational change; measurable evidence of…

The change process surrounding the introduction of an all-day kindergarten program in a small suburban school district is examined in this case study. Implications for adoption and implementation of early childhood programs in other school systems are discussed. (IAH)

The process followed at the California State University at Northridge from 1976 to 1988 for determining and subsequently remedying the balance of women and minority group members in administrative positions is outlined. The process included self-study, implementation of organizational changes, development and validation of a survey, and additional…