A study concerning performance indicators in five New Zealand higher education institutions had staff in administration, libraries, and an academic department identify appropriate measures of performance for mechanistic activities. For some activities, particularly at senior levels, mechanistic measures are found inappropriate and impractical;…

The University of Virginia's Computing Survival Skills program, begun in 1997, addresses the ongoing technology training needs of departmental staff. An overview is provided of the program's first year, including background, content, materials, certification, benefits, results, success, and future plans. Tips for designing a training program are…

Communication strategies needed for the specific responsibilities of college and university department heads are presented. Each chapter first describes communication strategies useful in handling an administrative task, and then uses real-life case studies to demonstrate their applications in typical situations. Readers are guided through a…

This framework is designed to help Idaho schools develop a social studies curriculum and to formulate realistic goals for themselves and their students. The guide is correlated to Idaho's performance-based documents and the state-approved social studies textbooks. The framework is built around the 10 themes for social studies developed by the…

This project was designed to develop a uniform statistical reporting system that could be used by all of the library departments at Chicago State University to collect statistical information, both for major statistical reports, and for the library's daily operations. It is noted that the statistical forms were designed to enable the staff member…

Prior to 1980, instructional support services were scattered in various divisions throughout Denver Auraria Community College (DACC), with little sense of mission and coordination. In 1980, the college developed a model for a coordinated instructional support division, based on the identification of the most important instructional and…

This report deals with the function of a department of second language instruction at the University of Rhode Island, which could serve as a model for departments at other institutions. (CFM)

Leadership was the primary issue when the Lincoln Institute of Health Sciences (Victoria, Australia) introduced academic governance regulations in 1978. The issue resurfaced in 1982, prompting a regulations review. This paper analyzes review findings and relates them to contemporary theory viewing leadership as a relationship between leaders and…

Provides summary results on a copy of the questionnaire completed by 91 physiology department chairmen. Also includes tables with data from past surveys for comparative purposes. Areas addressed include faculty, unfilled positions, training support, postdoctorates, salaries, space assigned to department (excluding lecture halls), and others. (JN)

Presents an appendix to the Committee on Professional Training (CPT) of the Division of Chemical Health and Safety of the American Chemical Society. The information is applicable to chemical health and safety policies and practices within the chemistry department of an academic institution. Includes lists of references with safety information. (JN)

The potential roles of department heads, deans, and faculty development directors in guiding and monitoring the effective delivery of faculty incentives are outlined, and key factors in facilitating and inhibiting vitality and signs of increased vitality are listed. (MSE)

States should take an active and direct role in education reform: supporting school reform efforts, providing technical assistance, defining and controlling educational content, and assessing the outcomes of education. (MLF)

Sample guides for both holistic and analytic scoring of elementary school students' writing samples were written by the California State Department of Education. This article describes how the guides were developed and validated and explains complementary uses for the two types of scoring. (PP)

The need in many schools for a clearer definition of the job responsibilities of teachers who are "teachers-in-charge,""coordinator," or "head of department," is addressed by providing details on how to write a detailed and comprehensive job description, specification, or definition. (MP)

An advising program in the James Madison University (Virginia) psychology department recruits and trains students to provide basic information about majors, careers, field opportunities, and graduate schools to their peers. The work of the 20 volunteers, who serve 900 students, is coordinated by a faculty member. Each peer advisor serves on a…