Learning Resources

Abstract: This article presents findings from a national study of Chief Academic Officers (CAOs) of four-year institutions on the effect of policy efforts that encourage multiple forms of scholarship on faculty involvement and satisfaction. Findings show that institutions that initiated reforms were significantly more likely than their counterparts to have CAOs report (1) an increase in faculty involvement in the scholarships of application, teaching, and integration, (2) an increase in overall faculty satisfaction with roles and rewards, and (3) that their institution's efforts directly and positively influenced faculty involvement in the scholarships of teaching, integration and application, service-learning, external funding, faculty presentations, student contact, and overall faculty satisfaction over the last decade.

Abstract: This article focuses on the future physical layout of the university in view of the profound social and cultural changes of our time that are affecting the structure of higher education in general and universities in particular. We suggest that the basic architectural prototypes of university design should be re-examined in view of these changes. The main issues related to the characteristics of contemporary (current) society are identified, and their implications on the institutional and spatial structure of the university are analyzed. The article concludes with a methodological generation of alternative scenarios for the physical structure of the university of the future.

Abstract: A fatal flaw in accountability programs is that they leave academic departments-the units most responsible for results-out of the performance loop. This article ties together institutional priorities and departmental performance through a limited list of common departmental indicators. It also links institutional aims and departmental aspirations through a planning process using institutional and departmental feedback loops, which convey performance information but also create new knowledge through dialogue on performance. This planning approach fixes a fatal flaw in accountability programs; a similar process at Florida International University shows it works in practice.

Abstract: Many sectors in American postsecondary education are experiencing rapid growth, largely due to the maintained and increased need for educational services, research capabilities, and public outreach, community service, and civic engagement opportunities. The factors shaping the institutional responses include demographic changes, pressure for increased accountability, higher expectations, and greater competition. These factors, among others, compel institutions to rethink their present structures and activities and to envision a future designed to meet the demands of an increasingly heterogeneous group of stakeholders. This article discusses how these changes are causing academic and institutional planners to reconsider the traditional perspectives in the face of emerging concepts in the delivery of educational services. Particular attention is paid to three topics that are key to the rethinking of service delivery. First, students should be considered learners who participate actively in their own learning. This, in turn, implies that teaching practices must be reconceptualized as learning processes. In addition, educational goals must be reconceptualized to meet the needs of individual and professional goals. The implications of these emerging views for strategies for institutional planning are discussed.

Abstract: A national study on strategic planning in Portuguese higher education was conducted. The presidents or rectors of 61 public and private higher education institutions in Portugal responded regarding their knowledge of and involvement in strategic planning. The questionnaire addressed whether or not the institutions were using a planning process, what specific components of the process were being employed, institutional benefits and problems associated with the process, and personal benefits derived from the experience. A critical analysis of selected results is provided with comparisons to planning in the United States. Cultural differences and similarities related to the process of planning are noted, and projections on future directions for Portugal and the European Union with respect to strategic planning efforts are offered.

Abstract: Universities worldwide are reconfiguring their campus environments to respond to the emerging pedagogy within higher education with its emphasis on self-directed, collaborative, and problem-solving approaches to learning. In particular, there is an emphasis on forming “learning communities.” In this context libraries are increasingly required to accommodate learning that is more active, collaborative, and that involves considerable use of communication and information technology (CIT) in spaces previously consigned to passive, individual learning. Drawing on the author's involvement as a member of the design team, this article examines the approach at one Australian university library to align its spaces and facilities to meet the emerging pedagogy within higher education.

Abstract: Current building projects on college and university campuses tend to be planned and funded according to commercial needs and opportunities. Often planning is done without faculty knowledge or advice. The result can be a distraction of the institution’s mission from its core values of service and community. Campus planners can avoid this distraction by making sure that faculty governance has its say before projects begin.