Successful human resource strategic planning at colleges and universities requires that: (1) outcomes contribute to the bottom line; (2) the plan is linked to the institution's long-term strategy; and (3) the plan is simple to understand and follow. Staff retreats are essential and should involve environmental analysis, departmental analysis,…

Strategic planning models seek order in a disorderly world. However, chaos science offers a language of concepts to discern deeper patterns in organizational life that appears out of control. Many of these concepts apply to higher education institutions. Interpretation of chaos theory principles suggests five tools for making high-leverage change…

A model for strategic planning using a new definition of management by objectives (MBO) is outlined and illustrated in the context of college or university administration, including department-level planning. Routine objectives, personal objectives, team objectives, budget performance, problem-solving objectives, innovation objectives, and…

A computerized method for managing institutional information to use in creating college planning documents is described. Development of the database, manipulation of the data for reporting, uses in strategic and long-range planning, and the model's implications for improvement of planning processes are discussed. (MSE)

Information on retirement investment planning is provided for college and university human resource managers, focusing on what employees need to know about maximizing contributions to the 403(b) plan without becoming liable for penalties for excessive savings. Calculations are explained and illustrated with a hypothetical case and data charts.…

College and university strategic planning works best when staff performance appraisal and development are used together to bring about both organizational and individual change. However, these must be more than bureaucratic exercises unrelated to daily staff management. Individual staff must be able to see themselves as important in carrying out…

In retirement planning, the college or university human resources manager is positioned as representative of both the college administration, which has a simple legal obligation to employees, and employees, who must plan for financial security and independence. This administrator can affect employees' financial well-being by effective retirement…

The approach taken by Virginia to analyze and establish policy for college and university administrator salaries, as they relate to other institutions and to the salaries of instructional faculty, is outlined. A methodology felt to be appropriate for this analysis, tested on eight institutions, is described and illustrated. (MSE)

The challenge of recruiting, retaining, and retraining college and university information technology (IT) staff affects the entire institution. Some issues in the impending IT staff crisis are outlined, particularly trends in demand for technology workers, and steps are suggested for campus IT leaders to take to minimize the effect of staff…

Colleges and universities should place less emphasis on the leadership of one or a few individual administrators and concentrate on creating a culture of leadership that will empower all members of the institution. The human resource development program at Boston College (Massachusetts) exemplifies the dynamic possibilities of leadership…

For those institutions endeavoring to increase the likelihood of older workers' leaving, a diversified set of retirement options is suggested. Many employers are offering an interim period of part-time employment before final retirement. Evaluations should not be used to drive employees into retirement. (MLW)

A staff development program at California State University at Long Beach trains faculty and other personnel to participate in earthquake-related search and rescue operations on campus if needed. Vendor-trained staff members prepared a campus training program in emergency operations, fire suppression and protection, casualty assessment, urban…

When the University System of Georgia (USG) felt the information-technology (IT) staffing squeeze, it ordered a study of IT worker recruitment and retention practices throughout the system and the public and private sectors. What resulted were recommendations that reflect some strategies more familiar in the corporate world than in higher…

In an era of rapid technological advancement and an economy in transition, colleges and universities must struggle to keep up with change. College human resource personnel will be instrumental in helping employees cope with technological challenges and increase productivity, and this will require taking a long-range perspective of personnel…

Important elements of personal lifetime money management are outlined and discussed briefly, particularly as they apply to college and university faculty and staff. They include insurance (disability, health, life, retirement income); the changing monetary environment; taxes; inflation; sources of income; budgeting; risk; death and heirs. (MSE)