The principal importance of small, church-related colleges is in their contribution to the existing diversity in the pluralistic, competitive, public, and private way of doing things in America. As in health, culture, social service, and business, this diversity is traditional and considered desirable. (MSE)

Small private colleges should not succumb to the view that being as inexpensive as public colleges is the only way to compete. By doing some aggressive marketing, these institutions can enjoy a significant edge and thrive in what promises to be a difficult decade. (Author/MSE)

The experiences of Wellesley College (Massachusetts) with developing a long-range plan for institutional survival in the 1990s illustrate the value of two strategies: devising a planning process that reflects the institutional culture, and spending time early in the process to gain broad agreement on basic financial principles and planning…

Small, independent colleges are endangered the most by public misconceptions of their role, value, and stability. New understanding of these colleges' financial and other support needs must be reflected in public policy if they are not to become a lost national resource. (MSE)

Endangered small, private colleges can take steps toward survival, including mission clarification, expanding services to existing and potential clienteles, introducing management by objectives, and developing public relations and fund raising. Long-range options include avoiding the postsecondary mainstream and striving for efficiency of…

A new system instituted by Aquinas College is described. It retains tenure as one possibility for a newly hired faculty member, although each faculty job-opening would on a case-by-case basis be placed either on tenure track or rolling contract track. (MLW)

The experiences of Aurora University, a small university that not only raised money but established new links with donors, are described. The key to fund raising is selling an idea. As donors become more sophisticated, sentiment and traditional patterns play a less significant role in motivating donors. (MLW)

Douglass Cater, president of Washington College, a small liberal arts college that was Maryland's first chartered institution, is profiled. The president's attitudes on liberal arts and specialization, the stated role of the college, and details of the inaugural ceremony are noted. (MSE)

In excerpts from his inaugural address, Washington College's president reaffirms the value of the small liberal arts college in a highly specialized educational system, denounces the university's scientific approach as inappropriate for providing a value system for students, and notes the need for several distinct approaches to learning. (MSE)

The role and responsibility of trustees of private colleges in fund raising are discussed. Four areas are identified: (1) concentration on large gifts, (2) alumni financial support, (3) the voluntary support of the friends and non-alumni of the college community, and (4) deferred gifts. (MLW)

Changes occuring in the student body of small private liberal arts colleges between 1975 and 1983 include shifts in college choice factors, the perceived importance of the school in getting a job after graduation, and cost considerations. Colleges must carefully develop new markets before crises occur. (MSE)

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)

Some misconceptions about the Wilson College Case are discussed, including: the case did not become precedent in law because the degree was superceded by a consent decree; the judge was not a villain; the college was not bankrupt; and the old board did not act wisely. (Author/MLW)

Trustees, it is suggested, should keep an eye out for burgeoning short-term debt, over-optimistic income estimates, hidden enrollment problems, student attrition, and loss of special revenue sources. The absolute size of a college is seen as a factor in making the decision to close. (MLW)

Berea College keeps to its original ideals "to furnish the facilities for a thorough education to all persons of good moral character, at the least possible expense, and all the inducements and facilities for manual labor which can reasonably be supplied by the board of trustees." (MLW)