Learning Resources

Abstract: This is the 17th 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. Since, presumably, we learn from failures as well as successes, were these profiles to describe only the success stories, the mission of this series would be unfulfilled. Stephens College, the subject of this report, is a strong blend of both. It was one of the first institutions in the country to commit its energy, time, and money to the extraordinary possibilities of educational telecommunications.

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: 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: 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: Responding to the need for reduced energy consumption, administrators at Worcester Polytechnic Institute have dscovered since 1973 that "common sense and good management techniques," and the cooperation of an involved campus community, could lead to significant savings without disruption of college routines. A 27 percent saving over a two-year period has led to special recognition by the Federal Energy Commission and the state of Massachusetts.

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: 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: 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: 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.