Learning Resources

Abstract: In light of a new state-mandated performance-based funding mechanism for community colleges in California, this article discusses how one district sought to implement new internal evaluation procedures to improve student outcomes in line with systemwide goals outlined in the performance-based funding. These efforts introduced an evaluative environment on campus that reinforced self-serving behaviors among individuals—not an uncommon reaction to perceived external threats to capability and competence. This research concludes that in a climate of external accountability and performance mandates, an institution’s ability to understand and mitigate the need for individuals to take on protective or defensive behaviors in response to external demands for accountability becomes increasingly important in helping the organization to substantially improve its ability to use data and information to bring about positive change.

Abstract: Today, the amount of space devoted to research at research universities exceeds that of classrooms and class laboratories. This research space portfolio presents important policy and management challenges. As stewards of this portfolio, universities must address issues of funding the construction of research facilities, equipping and maintaining them, allocating and accounting for space used for research, and managing, in broadest terms, the physical and administrative infrastructure in which research is conducted. As this article illustrates, managing the balance between the growing demand for and the supply of research space is complicated. To address the issues of research space, universities have developed a variety of space management methods to fit their unique research missions, priorities, and operational culture. This article provides important insights into this little studied aspect of higher education space planning. The article is an overview of research space management across the U. S. on general campuses and in health science centers. It is based on interviews with senior administrators in selected research universities conducted specifically for this study, information about research space management available on university documents on the Internet, and on the work of Ira Fink and Associates, Inc. in programming research facilities on a multitude of campuses nationwide.

Abstract: The increased attention to costs in recent years at colleges and universities draws attention to the matter of whether all costs are reflected and accounted for in the institution’s internal and external financial reports. One category—capital costs—is thought by some to be overlooked at times. The possible neglect of capital costs in institutional planning and in financial reporting has its basis in a theoretical debate on how nonprofit institutions view capital. In order to justify capital as an essential, reportable cost to a nonprofit, it is necessary to see how capital is viewed in the for-profit firm. Even if capital is an essential cost to higher education, accounting and measurement difficulties may arise. This study explores these issues and examines the literature relevant to this topic.

Abstract: The planning and urban design of a new University of California campus reveals the principle issues and guiding values that will shape the 21st-century campus.

Abstract: Will head-to-head competition among degree programs lead to greater quality or less? States are pursuing several policies that increase market competition, such as funding distance education and virtual universities. Planning professionals need to understand what factors mediate whether competition does, in fact, occur, such as the market size, product similarity, the role of profitability, and various student and provider behaviors (e.g., faculty attitudes and institutional leadership). Although no single (or simple) answer is possible, planners should have several ways to assess whether new competition will improve or harm their program’s quality.