Learning Resources

Abstract: In the vast majority of building projects, decisions made in the first 10 percent of project activity directly determine 90 percent of the final cost and schedule. When a project is poorly planned, project costs can expand beyond estimates by as much as 50 percent. Since the owner's rate of spending increases as a building project proceeds, comprehensive planning is a must. The best way to do this is to prepare the owner through an “owner preparation process.” The results of diligently following such a process include: (1) unexpected and unnecessary costs are kept to a minimum, (2) the project successfully meets its end users' needs and goals, and (3) the architect, builders, and other players all perform at their very best. This article outlines principles inherent in an owner preparation process and offers owners concrete examples of how such planning significantly protects the bottom line.

Abstract: The balanced scorecard, introduced by Robert Kaplan and David Norton, has evolved from an improved performance measurement system to an integrated strategic planning, implementation, and scorecarding system. Simple yet powerful second-generation balanced scorecards depict the organization's strategy through a series of strategy maps and scorecards that describe and measure the cause-and-effect linkages that occur between the organization's high-level vision and its desired strategic outcomes. Although the balanced scorecard has been widely adopted in private, government, and not-for-profit settings, there have been only a few attempts to introduce scorecarding in the education sector, and these have been primarily in administrative functions rather than in key operating program areas. This article presents a description of a second-generation balanced scorecard specifically designed for a graduate program at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada and provides a comprehensive walk-through and discussion to illustrate its strengths and limitations.

Abstract: This is a case study of a state institution granted charter status in l992 in exchange for capping its request for state funds. St. Mary's College of Maryland received widespread freedom from state procedural controls, including procurement, personnel, and some capital development processes. The state, however, retained its oversight of the institution's basic role and mission. The findings indicate a win-win for both the state and the college but caution that such a status should be extended only after careful consideration.

Abstract: Faculty who are selected to be academic department chairs generally lack leadership preparation and have little understanding of the demands of the position. Good experiences as a faculty member do not necessarily translate to being a good department chair. As strategic planning becomes increasingly essential to the well being of colleges and universities, department chairs will be expected to provide leadership in that process because it is at the departmental level that innovation is initiated and academic policies are implemented. This article reviews the relevant literature on department chair leadership and offers insights into how faculty can be prepared for the challenges of academic leadership based on one university's approach to professional development for department chairs.

Abstract: Camden, New Jersey, a city of 80,000 located directly across the Delaware River from center-city Philadelphia, is, by any index of urban decay, one of the nation's most distressed urban centers. While severely ineffective, the city houses the essential building blocks of future recovery: branches of four colleges and universities and two major hospitals. A failure to recover during one of the strongest economic upturns in the nation's history, coupled with an unfortunate history of corruption and mismanagement, caused the state legislature to take two extraordinary actions to stabilize and revitalize the city: installing a state-appointed chief operating officer for the city, whose powers supercede those of the mayor and council, and putting forth an investment plan for the city that built upon its remaining institutional strengths in higher education and health care. A working group, the Camden Higher Education and Healthcare Task Force, was formed by the city's higher education and health care institutions at the behest of key legislators to coordinate their development efforts in order to advance the recovery of the city.