Learning Resources

Abstract: What does it take to plan for and move from a two-year to a four-year institution and implement a baccalaureate degree in applied psychology? Here’s how Kwantlen University College (BC) did it.

Abstract: The study presented in this article focuses on strategic planning in developing countries, drawing on the author’s experiences in a dozen developing countries in Asia and Africa and focus groups in three of those countries: Afghanistan, Madagascar, and South Africa. It looks at the special challenges faced by planners in developing countries and the strategies used to respond. The enormity of the problems, the magnitude of the needs, and the difficult economic environment found in developing countries posed major obstacles. What is striking in a review of these cases is what can be done through careful strategic and budget planning. The creativity, resilience, and genius of many of those involved were remarkable. For most of these nations, strategic planning was a critical catalyst for change.

Abstract: The University of Houston-Victoria’s (UHV) approach to addressing salary equity, which has been successfully implemented for a decade, employs a methodology that derives salary targets by field, rank, and seniority from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) national salary survey. Based primarily on a model developed (and still employed) at Frostburg State University and published in the Journal of Higher Education in the fall of 1996, this approach could also work for similar institutions in search of a proven model.

Abstract: The idea that the physical design and configuration of a campus can elicit and support studying behavior has important ramifications, as all academic institutions underscore learning in their mission statements. This article evaluates the learning value, or ability of a campus space to support studying behavior, through the use of a post-occupancy evaluation. The findings suggest that specific physical design configurations and landscape elements may be influential factors in supporting studying within campus spaces. The results of this study indicate that campus designers and university officials should further examine the relationship between campus design and studying behavior to increase the learning value of campus spaces everywhere.

Abstract: The demand for interdisciplinary teaching and research suggests the need to understand how universities are undertaking and fostering interdisciplinarity. Through an examination of strategic and master plans at 21 research universities, this article explores how institutions plan and foster interdisciplinary engagement through the use of space on campus. The construction of such space acknowledges that the discrete functions of the university, frequently attributed to the disciplines and departments, are not generally conducive to interdisciplinary engagement. Physical space is a necessary component for successful interdisciplinary initiatives both functionally and symbolically.

Abstract: Global job shifts will affect the future form and function of U.S. higher education. To respond effectively to 21st-century realities, U.S. colleges and universities must diversify their curricula and research, becoming nimbler and more entrepreneurial agents for change.

Abstract: This article critiques the diversity crises model of diversity planning in higher education and presents a decentralized diversity planning model. The model is based on interviews with the nation’s leading diversity officers, a review of the literature and the authors own experiences leading diversity change initiatives in higher education. The model proposes three-year cycles of diversity planning and implementation to achieve secondary or deep organizational change. Ten action phases are offered to help senior leadership, institutional planning professionals, diversity officers, and others, to establish a strategic diversity planning and implementation process that is multifaceted, dynamic, coordinated, and evolving.

Abstract: The higher education literature continues to highlight difficulties with efforts to implement and sustain institutional effectiveness activities. This article describes an implementation effectiveness model from the field of organizational management and applies it to the implementation of institutional effectiveness initiatives in higher education. As a predictive or evaluative tool regarding implementation success, the model can assist administrators, faculty and staff in developing targeted approaches to institutional effectiveness work within any institution of higher education. The authors share their experiences at the University of New England, illustrating the importance of key variables in the model.