At Oregon State University, an investigation into physical plant administration in response to complaints found significant problems with customer service. Adopting an approach called Total Quality Management, the staff identified and resolved problems, improved quality, and reduced cost. Administrators feel the principles could be applied in all…

A student member of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's student alumni association discusses numerous advantages of student participation with alumni, including contacts with campus officials, friendships, valuable networking opportunities, job-hunting assistance, and a sense of loyalty; the characteristics of good student members; and factors in…

Priority setting is examined from the perspective of planning practitioners operating in a major federal regulatory agency. Causes of ambivalence in setting priorities are considered, and ways to reduce ambivalence are suggested. Three models are proposed for setting priorities in the public sector. (SLD)

Emory University (Georgia) has advanced its fundraising by leveraging a $2 million challenge from the Coca-Cola Foundation. The school publicized the challenge, made the case for an added incentive to give, and integrated advancement functions to get greater results. Challenge grants can come from industry, foundations, and alumni; and careful…

Seven personality types, and corresponding work styles, are described and ways to foster their creativity in the context of the college/university advancement office are suggested. Managers are urged to lead staff members to develop talents, allow them to do so, and help them move to the next level of achievement. (MSE)

Provides a description of the author's experiences and challenges as president of the National Catholic Educational Association between 1974 and 1986, including facing increasingly diverse student populations and new developments in education. Indicates that the period, which began in financial and educational crisis, was a period of professional…

The ways in which the Medical College of Pennsylvania has coped with exceptional growth in its externally funded research in the last seven years are discussed. Management has used commercially available computer software and two personal computers to establish five databases and facilitate provision of services. (Author/MSE)

National Collegiate Athletic Association revenues and expenditures for 1991-92 and 1992-93 are tabulated. Income categories include television, government grants, royalties, investments, publishing, foundations, dues, and other categories, and expenditures include distributions to members, scholarships, event management, and other program and…

The concept of program life-cycle management is applied to college fund raising. Program life-cycle stages (introduction, take-off, maturation, saturation, decline) and fund-raising steps (identification of objectives, targeting of markets, estimate potential for contribution, organization, strategy development, fund-raising performance…

Experiences from dropout programs that serve at-risk students at a North Carolina school district identify planning and management considerations. Among these are that dropout rates and other measures of success must be standardized; and staff selection, duty assignments, and workloads are different for at-risk educators because of inordinate time…

The University of Arizona's experience with a small-scale fund-raising project to establish a memorial scholarship illustrates that the development office's efforts in guiding a motivated group of donors can pay off. Planning elements included establishing a team, delegating tasks, handling mail and telephone calls, generating enthusiasm, and…

The trend toward decentralization of academic computing is described. Causes for the trend are examined and the best approaches to management and support of computing activities in this environment are explored. The future roles of the central computing center, departments or discipline areas, and individual users are outlined. (Author/MSE)

At Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Texas), the emphasis in computing and information services has been shifted from dividing resources between administrative and academic computing to combined central support for microcomputing. A universitywide computer planning and policy committee and a college computer coordinator acting as liaison…

A regional survey of 141 higher education institutional research offices investigated the following aspects of program administration: research and analysis staff size; educational preparation and experience; location in the organizational hierarchy; functions and tasks; and role in assessment. Four different types of offices are described.…

Selecting computer tools requires analyzing information requirements and audiences, assessing existing institutional research and computing capacities, creating or improving a planning database, using computer experts, determining software needs, obtaining sufficient resources for independent operations, acquiring quality, and insisting on…