Learning Resources

Abstract: As Mongolia progresses through major economic, political, and social transitions, the higher education sector has had to react to rapidly changing conditions. The paper explores several of the major issues that were addressed and describes the lessons learned from attempts to employ strategic planning at various levels.

Abstract: A program cost study was conducted at a large midwestern university to determine department level expenses and revenues associated with the mission-critical activites of instruction, research, and service. The analysis is patterned after a controversial study conducted at the University of Rhode Island (Swonger and Mead, 1996: Cordes, 1996, Roush, 1996) but includes significant improvements based in the availability of well-developed models for allocating costs (Responsibility-Centered Management, or RCM) and attributing faculty effort to these mission-critical activites (Instructional Effort Report/Capacity Model). Rcm has been used for nearly a decade to allocate all campus revenue and expenses to academic units. The IER/Capacity Model has developed over the course of the ten years from a system for illustrating faculty teaching loeads to one concerned with total faculty workloads. The results of the cost study ere promulgated through a series of reports and meetings with university administrators. The reports provide to them a wealth of cost information to supplement exisiting evaluation mechaisms assesing program process and quality and were incorporataed into the annual planning and budget proceses across all campus units.

Abstract: Book Review of Dancing With the Devil : Information Technology and the New Competition in Higher Education, by Richard N. Katz and Associates. Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1999. 128 pages. ISBN 07879-4695-8 (paperback).

Abstract: If a strategic plan at a college or university is to succeed, the process must be participative. For true participation to occur, a basic level of trust must exist among the key stakeholders of the institution. Trust presumes risk. For true participation to occur, the president (and other leaders of the institution) must risk trusting the stakeholders in the planning process. The president must provide the participants with the capacity and support to make changes so that the plan succeeds. Effects of Low Trust on Strategic Planning Practical experience, supported by an extensive literature review, indicates that lack of trust in an organization manifests itself in several forms: poor communication; increased suspicion of others' views and proposals; and inaccurate perceptions of others' motives and actions. More specifically, when an organization with low trust attempts to develop a strategic plan, the following problems arise: little or no involvment of certain stakeholders; not all ideas are offered because of fear of rejection; tough issues are avioded; and the document becomes an inflexible, legalistic contract rather than a flexible guide. Building Trust Organizational development literature, as well as, our experiences in planning indicates that trust can be development in several ways: demonstrating competency, opening communication, building relationships; and creating a fair process. Competency means demonstrating technical and professional ability and good sense. Without achieving results, the rest of the "softer" approaches for building trust will fail. (Shaw, 1997). Colleges need to rebuild relationships within the insitution. When trust ca be first developed at the personal level, it will be easier to develop trust at the organizational level (Alberthal, 1995). Creating a fair process is an intergral step in building trust. Trust is strengthened when individuals feel they are treated as legitimate participants in the process

Abstract: In light of globalization, technology advancements, decreased funding, and changing demographics, colleges and universities today face the challenges of transforming their institutions for the future. Through use of case studies, this book demonstrates how several institutions are transforming their traditional model for student services into a learner-centered model. The institutions, all participants in IBM's annual Innovation in Student Services Forum, provide a pragmatic view of how they have brought their vision to a reality. And with this book, you'll be ready to respond to these trends on your campus.

Abstract: This paper revisits anaylsis done in the 1996, using data from the Delaware Study of Instructional Costs and Productivity. That analysis found that tenured and tenure track faculty generate a much larger proportion of undergraduate teaching activity then might be expected in light of public criticism of American higher education. The 1996 methodology is replicated using data from two most recent iterations of the Delaware Study. The result is a three year trend line that more clearly indicates how much faculty really teach, and associated coast and productivity measures.

Abstract: The university faced extraordinary changes in the characteristics of its students and its mission, and the policy environment of its administrative decision making. That context and the strategic planning process undertaken by its leadership to guide rather than react to the changes are outlined. The campus adminstration had three major tasks: (1) to stimulate a more open dialogue about the university's future; (2) to plan a major external grant to ensure an institutional focus rather than a disciplinary one; and (3) to link the institution's academic program review, regional accreditation self-study, and state-mandated strategic planning to campus perceptions of critical issues and the external grant agency's criteria. The planning and evaluation center coordinated and strengthened the university's institutional responses to various external agencies by convincing the campus of the intrinsic value of such a planning process for faculty, students, and staff and by implementing a participatory process for their involvment and contribution to its new direction. The university's model and inital outcomes are described. The approach and exeriences should be relevant for other commuter institutions that are attempting to address issues of accountability and academic excellence for "non-traditional" students.