Learning Resources

Abstract: Too often, Boards of Trustees feel that final approval of the institution's Strategic Plan is sufficient. However, most Plans will only be successfully implemented if the Board has complete ownership and a commitment to be actively involved in many areas of the institution (not only fund raising). This article describes a successful process and key strategies to develop Board engagement and ownership of the Strategic Plan and ongoing involvement in the successful implementation of the Plan.

Abstract: A look at the long-term impact of trends on the future of higher education suggests that climate change, access to energy post-peak oil production, as well as globalism and international terrorism are the major externalities to be considered in strategic planning.

Abstract: This study addresses several common shortcomings of current university campus sustainability initiatives, including a lack of attention to integrative issues such as land use, housing, and transportation, and a generally reactive rather than proactive approach to sustainability. To engage these concerns, we develop a model for assessing the relative sustainability of three different future configurations of campus land use, including a "current trends" scenario and two "smart growth" scenarios. The model uses computer-based mapping software to measure a set of six sustainability indicators for each land use scenario. We test the model using the University of Michigan's North Campus as a case analysis.

Abstract: To provide access to and retain both students of color and low-income students, community colleges must change to create environments in which all students can succeed. Change strategies must focus on the core mission of the institution and rely on data regarding the experiences of students at the institution. When student data are used to inform the planning and decision-making processes at a college, a "culture of evidence" is fostered. This article explores how colleges in the "Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count," a funded national initiative, use the Community College Inventory of: Persistence, Learning, and Attainment, to develop a culture of evidence.

Abstract: In 2004, the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education published Ensuring Access with Quality to California's Community Colleges, funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. That report called attention to the considerable challenges facing the community colleges and the importance of addressing these problems. A central critique included in the report's findings was that current community college finance mechanisms "serve to provide barriers to progress rather than promoting it." The "essential first step" in aligning resource allocation mechanisms to programmatic priorities was to perform a policy audit of the system's finance infrastructure, the Ensuring Access report concluded. The Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy at Sacramento State University was subsequently funded by the Hewlett Foundation to perform the policy audit. This paper summarizes the methodology and the findings of the research and discusses the prospects of using the policy audit to influence public policy regarding the financing of California's community colleges.