Issues management in strategic planning

The concept of issues management is gaining the increasing attention of both researchers and practitioners in the field of strategic planning. Issues management—which is concerned with the identification, analysis, probability, and timing of a developing issue and with the organizational response—can spell the difference between the success and the failure of the planning effort. This paper delineates the attempt of a major public university to integrate issues management into the institutional strategic planning process. The intent is to make issues management an ongoing and systematic organizational exercise.Paper presented at the Twenty-fifth Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Portland, April 28–May 1, 1985.     

INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS AND STUDENT COLLEGE CHOICE: Exploring the Impact of Championship Seasons on Undergraduate Applications

Among large universities, success inhigh-profile intercollegiate athletics appears to be onefactor among several in the college choice process foraspiring undergraduates. Winning a national championship in one of the two most visible college sports— football and men's basketball — isroutinely accompanied by significant positive attentionfor an institution. That attention appears to translateinto increases in applications received for undergraduateadmission in subsequent admissions cycles. We comparedyear-to-year and multiyear changes in the number ofapplications submitted following winning a national championship with changes in parallel sets ofdata from peer institutions that did not experience achampionship, thereby isolating athletic success as afactor in the college choice process. We found that notable increases generally occurred inadmissions applications received-both in absolute termsbut more importantly relative to peer schools — inthe years following the championship season.     

Effects of key state policies on private colleges and universities: sustaining private-sector capacity in the face of the higher education access challenge

The relationship between key state policy variables — (1) relative (private–public) tuition prices, (2) state student-aid funding, and (3) public institution density — and the competitive position of private colleges and universities is examined. Elite private schools are found to be nearly impervious to state policy. Large and moderately selective private institutions are adversely affected by public institution density and low public prices. Such prices divert students who would otherwise prefer these private institutions to similar public schools. State student aid funding most affects the enrollment market shares of the small, low-selectivity private colleges enrolling the greatest proportions of minority and modest-income students. The findings suggest state policies in this era of strong demand for higher education and constrained public sector capacity should use price signals (student aid and public institution pricing) to encourage students to consider seriously whether private higher education might serve their needs as well as or better than public institutions.     

Academic stratification and functional theory

This paper examines empirically a set of propositions on organizational stratification drawn from functional theory. The data consist of 38 departments of a large university which are treated as contextual units, as well as the responses of individual faculty to a survey. The findings present an interesting theoretical paradox: (1) functional arguments do not appear adequate to account for differences in income stratification among departments, but (2) they do explain participants' beliefs and judgments about the legitimacy of organizational reward systems. The implications are discussed, and a line of inquiry is suggested that would focus on the problem of establishing legitimacy with the environment(s) as a major source of organizational structure. It is suggested that organizational features act as symbolic devices that inform others that a given organization is a competent member of its set. In short, it is conforming to agreed upon definitions of the appropriate—most rational—structure for thattype of organization.     

Structure of Scientific Knowledge and Curriculum Design

In the theory of teaching, the problem of interrelation between two types of cognition — the scientific and the educational — has been discussed for a long time. The author of this paper has come to the conclusion that logic of an educational subject does not unambiguously follow from the logic of science (paradigm). The same content of the course can be realized with the help of several isomorphous structures of equal value and consistent with the existing logic of science. The choice of structure is determined by educational aims, types of education institutions, periods of studies, the presence of connections between subjects and other conditions.     

Planning models in higher education: Historical review and survey of currently available models

The use of planning models in higher education has been receiving increasing attention in recent years. The article summarizes the planning model literature from its earliest use to the present, emphasizing the generalized resource allocation models. An organizational chart is presented which allows a more specific categorization of models. Several examples of each category are cited from the current literature. Conceptual issues such as implementation, acceptance, suitability and effectiveness are discussed in terms applicable to models in general. The article concludes with an in-depth analysis of the six significant resource allocation models: HELP/PLANTRAN, RRPM, SEARCH, CAMPUS, TRADES, and EFPM.     

Towards a strategy for increasing student mobility between less developed countries in the ‘commonwealth’ through third country training

The paper discusses the policy of third country training, i.e. the efforts by the economically more developed countries to provide, through their aid programmes, the opportunity for students from the less developed countries to study at educational institutions outside the donor's country. The current practices in this area of the major aid-granting Commonwealth countries—Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain—are examined along with the advantages and limitations of such training and suggestions are put forward for overcoming some of the problems which arise from efforts to implement this policy. One of these is for the development of ‘centres of excellence’ of a type somewhat different from the ones normally proposed. The paper discusses what should be the nature and purpose of such institutions if one of their aims is to permit them to make a significant contribution to increasing our understanding of the problems of the less developed countries and facilitate further the flow of students between them.     

Concepts of globalisation and their impact upon curriculum policy-making: Rhetoric and reality - A study of Australian reform

In last few years there has been an increasing amount of attention paid to the concept of ‘globalisation’. A precise definition has yet to emerge but there is some agreement that it involves a worldwide shift in economic operation which is feeding down into a number of social institutions — not least, education. In response, it is often noted that school systems are all following one path.This paper seeks to examine and challenge the ‘one path’. Current conceptualisations do not account for the variety of examples already seen. It is argued that there are four related phenomena which can go under the heading of globalisation: globalisation per se (as a form of colonialism); globalism (a sharing of mental constructs); convergence (following a similar path); and mimicry (joining in hoping to gain benefits).Leaving aside the impact this has on the organisation of education it is argued that it has immediate effect on our conceptualisations of curriculum; the language we use and the conceptions it takes with it can constrain our educational opportunities. This is illustrated with reference to curriculum reform and environmental education in Australia.     

Moving on: A cooperative study of student transfer

With no statewide student tracking system in place for California's tripartite postsecondary education system, three of the state's leading institutions joined in a study of the effectiveness of student transfer—the bridge between community college and university-level education. Transfer success was measured by student preparation, persistence, and performance both before and after transfer. The study examined whether the need for remediation before transfer affected students' progress and degree attainment. The findings run counter to the traditional notion that few remedial students persevere and transfer. A comparison of graduation rates with other community college transfers and with native university students indicated these transfers performed better.Presented at the Thirty-first Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, San Francisco, May 26–29, 1991.     

A configural analysis of differences among higher education consortia

In order to plan appropriate cooperative programs for particular higher education consortia, it is necessary to identify the characteristics of these organizations. The spatial configuration technique was used to illustrate the impact of eleven variables of the member institutions in differentiating among four consortia. Six of the variables — Control, Highest Degree Awarded, Percentage of Males, Math SAT Scores, Conventional Orientation, Scientific Orientation, and Endowment — were found to be significant in differentiating among the consortia. It was concluded that the spatial configuration technique was an effective way of visually comparing those consortia composed of member institutions, which as groups had similar and dissimilar characteristics.     

Educational choice (vouchers) and social mobility

A quantitative approach to study the impact of vouchers is thought to yield more meaningful results than theoretical arguments. This paper makes use of a model of the behavior of young people and schools to simulate the effects of vouchers of varying sizes on students in different income categories, living in three communities — poor, average and wealthy — under two assumptions about how public schools spend their resources. The first assumption is that public schools minimize their offerings to individual students (i.e. maximize their surplus) in order to further objectives not valued by students. The second assumption is that public schools act as competitive firms, maximizing their educational offerings to individual students.Findings from the simulation are neither uniformly positive nor negative. They do not support the argument that poor young people will be better off with a voucher system. Even in the most favorable case — when public schools maximize surplus — a systemic choice system would not come close to equalizing educational opportunity across income groups.     

Socio-Cultural Analysis of Two Cases of Distance Learning in Secondary Education

Virtual Schooling for primary and secondary students is becoming increasingly common across the United States. Although distance education has typically been used to address the needs of adult U.S. learners, its use with schoolchildren has been limited. The rapid development and diffusion of ICT has prompted advances in the use of distance education to serve these students educational needs—particularly those in remote rural settings. In this paper we analyse and contrast two case-studies that were gathered to inform researchers and practitioners of online schooling—a case in which two rural schools ‘coordinated’ the use of two-way interactive video to provide live synchronous learning, and a school ‘replacement’ model that provided an interactive online course for dispersed students with periodic live interactive synchronous learning sessions. Analysis drew on Cobb and his colleagues’ (2003) techniques to delineate communities of practice and Wenger’s (1998) work on boundary encounters, brokers, and boundary objects.     

Political correctness and the neoconservative reaction

Political correctness is a social vision that includes feminism, multiculturalism, gay liberation, and affirmative action. Liberal ideals are at the heart of this social vision — and this explains its success. But despite its liberal inspiration, political correctness has a tendency to betray its liberal instincts in favour of the newfangled assumptions of postmodernism — and this explains its failure.     

School Security Solutions: Bringing Corporate Safety to Schools and Colleges with EasyLobbyTM Software

This paper describes software for Electronic Visitor Management (EVM), EasyLobby^TM, currently in use in thousands of federal and corporate installations throughout the world and its application for school and campus environments. Protecting the physical safety as well as providing security safeguards regarding internet access of students, faculty, and teachers—K–12 or at the college level—has, unfortunately, become a necessity, especially in the United States at day care centers, schools, hospitals, and campus facilities. This paper describes the technology and its features which allow schools and campuses to use EasyLobby^TM software to (1) replace the visitor log; (2) capture and store visitor data electronically, including the purpose of their visit; and (3) provide badges that quickly allow anyone in the school to recognize authorized strangers. EasyLobby^TM, defined Electronic Visitor Management, has won major awards for innovation and achievement from the security industry and is quite inexpensive. Its web address is www.EasyLobby.com. Documented benefits to the corporate and government world can provide security for educational institutions as well.     

Designing a decision-support system for enrollment management

Over the next two decades, effective enrollment management is going to be critical to the future of tuition/enrollment-dependent colleges and universities, especially in states where the number of high-school graduates is expected to decline by 30–40% (WICHE, 1984). This paper outlines the conceptual framework, design, and implementation plan for building a decision-support system (DSS) for enrollment management at the college level in a private, comprehensive university. It begins with a brief overview of the DSS as a concept, the computer-hardware environment, and the fourth-generation software tools used to implement the system (Briggs, 1982; Goetz, 1982; Moore and Greenwood, 1984). Research designs and application-development strategies are reviewed to illustrate the potential of the DSS approach to enrollment management.Paper presented at the Twenty-Fifth Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Portland, April 28–May 1, 1985.     

Educational needs of the 16–19 age group: A sociological perspective

This paper attempts to draw a sociological profile of young people in Europe between 15–19 years of age. It points out changes in the socialisation functions of the three institutions, family, school and peer group.The second half of the article surveys quantitative aspects of the educational performance of this age group, pointing out similarities and dissimilarities between the various European countries.The final part is concerned with the effects of inequality of opportunity (socio-cultural, sex-based, and regional) on educational achievement. It is evident that education for this age group is in a state of ferment — new aspects include: the growing importance attached to guidance, the abolition of traditional types of examinations in many countries, the individualisation of instruction, the increased emphasis on technological training, and the greater range of options.

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Zusammenfassung In diesem Aufsatz wird versucht, ein soziologisches Bild von Fünfzehn- bis Neunzehnjährigen in Europa zu geben. Dabei wird auf die Wandlungen der Sozialisierungsfunktionen der drei Einrichtungen — Familie, Schule und Kameraden — hingewiesen.Im zweiten Teil bringt der Artikel einen Überblick über die quantitativen Aspekte der Erziehung dieser Altersgruppe, wobei die Ähnlichkeiten und Unterschiede zwischen den verschiedenen europäischen Ländern gezeigt werden.Zum Schluss folgt eine Auseinandersetzung mit den Auswirkungen der (soziokulturellen, geschlechts-bedingten und regionalen) Chancen-Ungleichheit im Bildungsbereich. Offensichtlich befindet sich die Erziehung dieser Altersgruppe in einem Gärungsprozess — zu den neuen Aspekten gehören: die zunehmende Bedeutung der Bildungsberatung, die Abschaffung traditioneller Prüfungsmethoden in vielen Ländern, die Individualisierung des Unterrichts, die wachsende Betonung der technischen Ausbildung und das grössere Angebot an Wahlfächern.

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Résumé Cet article s'efforce de dresser un profil sociologique des jeunes Européens de 15 à 19 ans, et met en évidence les changements qui se sont opérés dans les fonctions de socialisation des trois institutions: la famille, l'école et les camarades.La seconde moitié de l'article passe en revue les aspects quantitatifs du rendement éducatif de ce groupe d'âge, établissant similitudes et différences entre les divers pays européens.La dernière partie traite les effets de l'inégalité des chances (socio-culturelles, sexuelles et régionales) sur le rendement en éducation. Il apparaît clairement que l'éducation pour ce groupe d'âge est dans un état de fermentation; les nouveaux aspects comprennent: l'importance croissante accordée à l'orientation, l'abolition des types traditionnels d'examens dans de nombreux pays, l'individualisation de l'enseignement, davantage d'accent mis sur la formation technologique et la gamme plus étendue des options.

     

Reconsidering curriculum development: A framework for co-operation

Conventional approaches to curriculum development employed in western countries have proved to be unsatisfactory. Much of the literature as well as the practice of curriculum development have focussed on two traditional stances — the administrative and grass-roots models — and neither has been able to accommodate concurrently the theoretical and practical objectives, skills, and needs of central administrators, teachers, and curriculum specialists. In this paper, a brief examination of the characteristics, prevalence, benefits, and major shortcomings of these two models provides a basis for describing an approach that may better fulfil the multiple and competing demands of educational administrators and users. The article elaborates upon and defends a theoretical plan for involving administrators and educators in co-operative curriculum development, and specifies additional organizational requirements and constraints which would need to be dealt with in order to effect its intent.     

THE PERFORMANCE OF ADMINISTRATION ON AGING MULTIDISCIPLINARY GERONTOLOGY CENTERS FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING

The Administration on Aging (AoA) Multidisciplinary Gerontology Centers (MGC) play an important role in the history and development of aging in educational institutions. As MGCs are institutions that form a key part of the educational foundation of gerontology, it is important to document and assess their development. This study analyzed the historical development of the original set of twelve MGCs that were awarded developmental grants by the AoA in 1976; it assessed the organizational performance and success of MGCs by evaluating compliance with Older Americans Act guidelines; and it determined factors and patterns that contributed to the successful development of MGCs. Results indicate compliance with AoA guidelines alone could not assure or predict the continuing support and cooperation of MGCs in educational settings. Creation of a strong foundation based on multiple budgetary and environment components was the critical factor that predicted the continuing success of an individual MGC.     

Managing mergers — governancing institutional integration

Despite striking similarities, the adoption and implementation of policy shifts regarding higher education governance vary considerably across the globe, suggesting a mixed picture of diversification and isomorphism both within and across national higher education systems. By unpacking one particular structural reform process, this paper focuses on mergers as both a governance tool and a governance result in higher education. The paper analyzes the strategic decisions taken by Norwegian higher education institutions during 2014 in the light of a proposed national reform to merge institutions in order to enhance quality in higher education. The empirical basis of the paper consists of analyses of the commissioned self-evaluations of the higher education institutions, and the strategic choices and dilemmas they expressed. The process can be seen as organizational engineering in the sense that it emerges from the self-evaluation process, but is also subject to governancing on the part of the ministry.