Joseph S. Wholey is Professor Emeritus in the University of Southern California's (USC) School of Public Policy, Planning, and Development. He received his BA from Catholic University, Phi Beta Kappa and his MA in mathematics and PhD in philosophy from Harvard University. His work focuses on the use of strategic planning, performance measurement,…

Research findings point up the need by vocational educators for better ways to apply labor market information in doing program planning and evaluation. This report describes a procedure that state and local education agencies can use to develop a long-range program plan for vocational education, and special emphasis is given to the many ways in…

This document contains a description of the activities, concerns, findings, and recommendations of the Idaho Industrial Arts Futuring Committee. It will serve as the foundation upon which subsequent revision of the state's industrial arts programs, to be renamed Industrial Technology Education (ITE), can be built. Section I on philosophy and…

A model for involving local planning and support committees in the process of planning Wisconsin county extension education programs was developed as a way of improving the planning of extension programs statewide. The key components of the planning model developed were (1) the use of influential officials and community representatives and (2) the…

The Commission on Innovation (CI) was an independent citizens' panel formed by the California Community Colleges (CCC) to investigate the improvement of college services without relying on increased funding. This report presents 13 specific strategies and 73 action steps developed by the CI, organized into three broad areas of improvement. First,…

In an era of diminishing public resources, community college departments need a budgetary system in which options are clearly spelled out, consequences projected, priorities delineated, and budget requests made that are functional and provide useful results. Unfortunately, few colleges and even fewer departments are developing and utilizing such…

The future of higher education institutions rests on the extent to which they meet the needs of society. A systemic mode of planning provides an ongoing mechanism that assures an institution's responsiveness to society's changing needs. Achieving consensus by appropriate groups regarding environmental assumptions that affect an institution is an…

Developed in accordance with a legislative mandate, this master plan for Connecticut's regional community colleges provides baseline data on the current status of data processing; identifies issues, trends, and constraints; and sets forth specific plans for computing activities and services within the community college system. Introductory…

Since the establishment of a two-year college system in Kansas in 1917, funding has been a source of consternation, with governance issues often exacerbating financial problems. The colleges received no state financial support until 1961, when an expenditure of $3 per credit hour was authorized, increased as of 1996 to $28.40 per credit hour. The…

Staff development in the public schools has become a serious concern only since the 1970s. Staff development is not inservice education, although it includes inservice teacher education. Rather, staff development should be a process by both administrators and teachers who set goals to improve the school or school system and meet the needs of…

This planning statement on improving vocational education in Oregon high schools and community colleges is intended to guide schools in the further development and improvement of vocational education. Discussed in the first section are the concept of a comprehensive curriculum, the relationship of career and vocational education, and the broad…

This report contains a condensation and highlights of public hearings held by the Illinois State Advisory Council on Adult, Vocational and Technical Education (SACVE) and the Illinois Employment and Training Council (IETC) on the subject of community colleges in the state. During the hearings on this topic, 100 witnesses testified. The report is…

Effective strategic planning has clearly become a skill that is essential to the survival of managers in public and private sector agencies alike. While sometimes thought of as being an overly quantitative and excessively time-consuming activity, strategic planning does not need to be characterized in these terms. In its simplest and most…

Discusses the importance of program evaluation, detailing the first step, selecting and working with an evaluator, and the terminology and uses of evaluation. Argues that evaluations should be cooperative ventures between evaluators and those evaluated, and should be part of a program from its inception; and that evaluators have both rights and…

An examination of the reasons for the gap between academic and vocational courses of study in secondary schools showed problems in the basic competencies of vocational completers and proposed strategies for improving them. The following issues were identified: (1) presently, there is no such thing as a vocational program of studies in the average…