Learning Resources

Abstract: In January 1976, the author concluded an address to Rutgers alumni in Chicago by suggesting that "the ultimate goal of public policy should be to eliminate tuition" in higher education. His speech, adapted here, supports this visionary idea with a discussion of the high value of postsecondary studies to the individual student and to society--a value best measured on a number of scales and definitely not reflected solely by income and employment statistics for college and university graduates.

Abstract: The author finds that in the last decade important changes have occurred not only in higher education's "planning environment" but in general attitudes toward planning as well, and that a sound plan for the future seems likely to become a top priority in both foundation and corporate funding decisions. There are several key areas of the new order, discussed here by the author, to be considered in trying to gauge the future of a college or university. In addition, as the planner's job grows in complexity, there is a corresponding increase in responsibility for preserving the quality and vision of an institution's programs and policies. This article has been adapted from the author's remarks at the National Conference on College and University Planning, held at The Johns Hopkins University in Janurary 1976.

Abstract: Planners in all settings will enjoy this valuable look at the role "furniture" can play in defining the campus as an aesthetic unit. Those, like the author, who must establish a campus visual identity where clear boundary lines between the world of town and gown do not exist will especially appreciate this account of the evolution of a group of definitive objects that have proved pleasing, functional, and durable at the University of Michigan.

Abstract: In anticipation of Sir Frederick Dainton's address at SCUP 11th Annual International Conference in Washington, D.C., in 1976, these remarks about the applicability of Britain's University Grants Committee (UGC) funding structure to higher education institutions in the United States take on added significance. Sir Frederick is the full-time chair of the UGC, which inquires into the financial needs of the Commonwealth, advises the government as to the application of grants toward meeting these needs, and particpates in the preparation and execution of plans for the development of the universities. With the future financing of American higher education of increasing concern, Sir Frederick's discussion of the theory and operation of the block grant system--in which the annual government grants to the universities are determined every five years and paid monthly--provide an insight into an alternative to the present American system. Here the reviewers of Block Grants for Higher Education by Raymond C. Gibson find their endorsement of the author's enthusiasm for the UGC system qualified by certain inflexibilities that appear to limit its effectiveness in dealing with new problems generated by declining enrollments and a depressed economy. They feel as well that great attention must be paid to the difficulties of adapting such a centralized system to the institutions of the United States.

Abstract: In this article on the history and function of institutional research, the author describes his field as a continually evolving part of the higher education community: "The definition of institutional research," he says, "has changed and must continue to change in order for IR to remain viable . . . in an environment of selective growth and retrenchment." The author cautions that the tendency to emphasize the compilation of raw data at the expense of data analysis must be checked. This article has been adapted from his remarks at the SCUP 1975 Institute on Coordinating the Planning Process.

Abstract: The growth of government particpation in higher education planning over the last two decades is discussed here from the dual perspective of the author--the college planning officer at Western Washington State College and a Washington state senator. He notes that, ironically, the state/federal planning establishment has flourished "after the great growth period in United States post-secondary education" and hopes that "it does not portend the same phenomenon described by Professor Parkinson--that immediately following the building of the new British Foreign Office we witnessed the dissolution of a major part of the British Empire." In discussing the historical develpment and the contributions of off-campus planning boards, the author cautions that, traditionally, successes in higher education have resulted from indigenous planning by faculty and administrations through the "artistry of thousands of persons" in close touch with the needs of their institutions. "Before we accept a new approach," he suggests, "we had better make sure that it will produce a better result." This article had been adapted from the author's address at SCUP's 10th Annual International Conference in 1975 in Minneapolis.

Abstract: This is the 16th in a series of profiles documenting experiences with the use of instructional technology at two dozen colleges and universities. A look at what has been learned at these places may benefit others considering new ways to teach. This report, on South Carolina's ETV network, describes its relationship with individual institutions and how, in their own way, they make use of its services. Through its sharing of resources, its outreach programs, and its linkage of institutions, the ETV system has helped the colleges and universities--and their clientele--achieve goals otherwise out of reach.

Abstract: This is the 15th in a series of profiles documenting experiences with the use of instructional technology at two dozen colleges and universities. A look at what they have learned may benefit others considering new ways to teach. This report describes why and how the use of multimedia has become intrinsic to the educational process at Brigham Young University. Because this institution is large and well to do, the magnitude of its budget for learning resources is extraordinary, and its instructional technology operations are so sophisticated, some readers may suppose that it is hardly a model for them to consider. But just as the corner grocery store can learn techniques from the supermarket, smaller and poorer institutions can learn from the BYU story.

Abstract: Long attentive to the increasingly troubled relationship between the substance of higher education and the socioeconomic factors confronting job-hunting graduates, the author proposes an antidote to some probable effects of population patterns and the economy upon the academic community. Now that all in higher education must focus on the problems of maintaining a vital, populous learning community while the traditional student-age population declines, a steady commitment to the development of new course topics--on the part of those established professors surviving austerity cutbacks--will ensure that postsecondary education remains innovative and attractive to the multifaceted new student population of the years to come.

Abstract: In Israel, the higher education community has grown from 1,635 students and two major institutions in 1948 to 53,000 students (a large percentage of the potential student population) and seven major institutions in 1975. During this period, a pattern of private funding from abroad has shifted to a system of support by the state as the need to balance national manpower planning considerations with the need for local institutional autonomy has resulted in the formation of a University Planning and Grants Committee. Serving as liason between the government, which now funds 80 percent of higher education budgets, and the university communities, the University Planning and Grants Committee promises to facilitate further growth of higher education in Israel.