A methodology for developing a strategic, long-range organizational information architecture is described. The development of a plan to identify key categories of information to enhance decision making and operational productivity is detailed. Figures and tables detail the methodology's application at the University of Minnesota. (DB)

A study used a multivariate approach to assessing college departmental excellence. Factor analysis identified three potentially useful factor clusters ("faculty research,""input," and "student") and seven indicators based on those clusters. Indicators combining faculty research and input and combining all three clusters were found to be the best…

A study of 125 first-year students at Peabody College (Vanderbilt University, Tennessee) investigated psychological processes underlying college success. Results indicated students' rules of reasoning about effort and ability, motivational goals, and confidence in their intelligence were strongly related to types of participation in college and…

A study compared three methods for measuring college student growth and development in the course of a college education: (1) gain scores; (2) residual scores; and (3) repeated measures. Analyses indicated that all three are seriously flawed, although repeated measures offer the greatest potential for adequately representing student change.…

Using discriminant analysis, a study examined (1) the extent to which the new Student Adjustment to College Questionnaire (SACQ) accurately predicts student departure for a private, comprehensive university (n=1,978 students); (2) SACQ items distinguishing nonpersisters; (3) use with an incoming class; and (4) evidence linking the SACQ with…

The evolution of college and university planning is examined through a review of theory and a case study of DePaul University (Illinois). The discussion focuses on the evolving role for institutional research in strategic decision making and the new skills and knowledge researchers need to support strategic planning more effectively. (MSE)

Improving college stature is an ongoing and essential process needed to regain public support and trust. Administrators can elevate stature through specific techniques in innovative planning, resource allocation, outcomes assessment, and image management, and they can communicate better with the public. (MSE)

A study (n=139 students) used hierarchical structural equation modeling to examine the relationship between intellectual development and identity from the beginning of the freshman year through the end of the sophomore year. Results suggest that the college freshman's sense of identity is important in later intellectual development. Intervention…

College and university marketing departments should use the technique of positioning to increase enrollments. The triangular approach to positioning uses close scrutiny of the student profile, the benefits marketing courses offer, and the competition the department faces within and outside the business school. The technique can also be used by…

Two types of national data sets are described and used to analyze minority student equity in higher education: longitudinal survey data for tracking student persistence and cross-sectional data for monitoring the performance of institutions. Development of additional data sets of institutional characteristics that can provide true explanatory…

The National Science Foundation's Computer-Aided Science Policy and Research database system provides microcomputer-based access and manipulation of multiple national databases for federal and now institutional use. Applications at West Virginia University, Portland State University, and the State University of New York at Buffalo pilot tested the…

Total Quality Management (TQM) and assessment in higher education both focus on processes to improve educational quality, and both require upper-level leadership's commitment. Guided by the proven principles of TQM, assessment can help institutions develop a mechanism for responding in advance to the challenges ahead. (MSE)

The principles of ratio analysis can help measure use of financial resources to achieve college mission by quantifying status, sources, and use of resources and the institution's relative ability to repay current and future debt. Business officers and boards can use these measures to measure institutional performance; ratios can also help focus…

A public relations model provided the basis for the five-step ROPES college fund-raising model: (1) research on the institution, the funding opportunity, and the publics targeted; (2) objective setting for both office output and program impact; (3) programming to meet those objectives; (4) evaluation of the effectiveness, not just efficiency, of…

Describes a variety of current instruments to measure college campus climate, some institution-specific and some commercially designed, ranging from general surveys to instruments that measure perceptions of very specific aspects of campus climate. Some general principles and considerations in such research are discussed briefly, and the…