The case of a fictitious small, private college illustrates how such colleges may require planning strategies differing from those used by other institutions. Such "enlightened brinkmanship" requires exceptional intuitive and market-oriented skills among campus leaders and faculty and a well-run organization. (MSE)

A carefully orchestrated capital budget, an essential element of corporate management, is particularly important for a small college with limited resources. A simple management system can be adopted to achieve institutional goals. (MSE)

Since the late 1960s, Messiah College, a small, church-related college in rural Pennsylvania, has operated an urban satellite campus in Philadelphia in collaboration with Temple University, a public institution in that city. The campus makes accessible to students of both institutions the best of both private and public, urban and rural, and small…

Offers advice to administrators and faculty in small colleges on planning, building, and managing campus computer networks. Also included are observations about the network as a strategic asset, funding and staffing issues, and planning for unexpected results. (Author/MSE)

A study to provide some measurable benchmarks of the advancement process at small colleges is described. Data are presented on budgets, spending per function, professional staff, chief advancement officer, support staff, recruitment costs, fund-raising revenues and costs, and developing institutions. (MLW)

Characteristics of small college administration as it applies to the future are described. Consideration is given to the process for anticipating change in the circumstances surrounding colleges, identifying opportunities, and planning to take advantage of positive changes in the environment (i.e., future focused planning). The use of the Planning…

A small, private, liberal arts college whose library had been found unsatisfactory during accreditation transformed the library by placing it in the same reporting structure as academic and administrative computing and telecommunications. Application of strategic planning and organizational theory smoothed the transition by modifying central…

A small, Catholic college curtailed expenses without damaging programs by involving faculty, administration, and trustees in a detailed contingency planning process that resulted in a report stressing quality over quantity and outlining short- and long-term strategies for institutional planning. (MSE)

Franklin and Marshall College concluded it would come closer to its educational goals by reducing its size. Use of a planning model to project institutional finances based on tuition, gift, grant, and enrollment estimates predicts a potential major improvement in the college's position. (MSE)

Ten keys to strengthening advancement efforts in small colleges include clarifying institutional mission; knowing and articulating your market position; maintaining a long-term focus; staying aware of global trends; establishing total institutional commitment; allocating adequate resources; promoting leadership; building a selectively…

A committee approach to small-college short-range planning is described that focuses on admissions, financial aid, academic programs, and budget and using task forces, representatives of the board, administration, and faculty, and strict adherence to a schedule of deadlines. (MSE)

This paper reviews the issues facing trustees of liberal arts colleges, including such external challenges as ideological criticism, college costs, national economic trends, and competition from other types of institutions. Trustees are urged to address such issues as external criticism of the institution, concerns of students and parents about…