The application and selection processes involved in filling a full-time assistant professor position at a small liberal arts college are discussed, as are the results of a survey returned by 64 undergraduate departments that undertook a search for a similar position during the 1995-1996 academic year. The survey involved departments that offered…

The experience of Coastal Carolina College (South Carolina) suggests that, although the small college often has the same academic reporting demands for intercollegiate athletics as a large institution, the nature of the institution creates different recordkeeping and reporting challenges. Computerization and active institutional research staff…

Discussion of child care for college personnel, fast becoming requisite in every benefits package, presents three composite cases illustrating the range of child care options available, looks at the kinds of flexibility parents need and program options available, and examines federal child care initiatives and program legal liabilities.…

This collection of essays attempts to describe the status and role of the rural community college in higher education, highlighting the special challenges faced by these institutions. The following articles are included: (1) "Opening the Shutter," by James R. Valadez and Jim Killacky; (2) "The Comprehensive Mission of the Rural Community College,"…

This collection of charts is intended to be used by participants in the tuition discounting study to interpret and present institutional results vis-a-vis comparative peer groups. The three peer groups included in the study are: small colleges, lower tuition; small colleges, higher tuition; and large colleges and universities. The document is…

Lessons learned by five small, private colleges about meeting the challenges facing higher education are described. Each of the colleges developed a unique educational program emphasizing the liberal arts that responds to current challenges. Each school has experienced increased enrollments and retention, growth in endowments and plants, larger…

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)

A case study of financial turnaround at the highly specialized New England Conservatory of Music describes five strategies to balance costs and resources within the framework of the school's objectives. Areas of cost minimizing and revenue maximizing are outlined and discussed. (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…

Without an institutional research office to look at recruitment and retention programs, DePauw University (Indiana) relies heavily on institutional trend data and comparative information to assess the effectiveness of three initiatives: recruitment of large numbers of minority students, strategic use of financial aid, and use of market…

The process that Kenyon College (Ohio) used in researching development of a campus-wide information system (CWIS) is outlined, and the most important issues to be considered in launching a successful CWIS are identified, including resources, needs, ownership, access, personnel, content, policy, design, staffing, marketing, and ongoing development.…

This book presents the story of small colleges in American higher education and how they can best respond to meet contemporary challenges. Chapter 1, an introduction, discusses the importance of the topic, small schools' strategic strengths, and market and institutional realities. Chapter 2 looks at the history of the small liberal arts college,…

A field-based master's degree program offered by a small private university is sequenced so that students may complete course requirements identical to those offered on campus. The program at the University of Portland (Oregon) offers selected courses at key locations not more than 50 miles from campus and is staffed by university faculty. This…

Discusses the expansion of a two-year pre-engineering program into a four-year engineering degree program. States that faculty, administration, industry, and community must work together to meet the program's objectives. (RT)

The challenge of bringing information literacy to university students is greater than at small colleges. A survey of librarians at large universities revealed unique problems and instructional solutions. The Brigham Young University (Utah) program, in which information literacy is integrated into every academic division, offers one example. (MSE)