Designed to provide information for the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges' review of the state's Master Plan for Higher Education, this two-part report presents background on recent research on the community college mission and describes processes currently available to the Board to establish priorities within the mission.…

The presentations comprising this report examine the approaches that representatives of small and rural community colleges have used in creating and maintaining positive working relationships with state legislative bodies. After introductory remarks by Herbert E. Phillips, Milton O. Jones discusses the fiscal constraints at small colleges that…

This paper examines various ways in which states, colleges, and universities are balancing tensions between demands for greater institutional autonomy and demands for greater accountability to state legislatures. Noted are the states' varying fiscal situations, mixed messages on autonomy given by state governments to institutions, and increasing…

The structure of higher education in Maine and the relationship between postsecondary education leaders and legislators are considered. Maine's state system has a single governing board and a chancellor. It is suggested that the jobs of the chancellor and college presidents do not involve duplication. A postsecondary education commission was…

The role of research and information in legislative decisionmaking is discussed. It is suggested that planning is of marginal utility to state legislatures. The primary obstacles to planning in the legislative arena are the turnover among state legislators, internal shifts of power, and the legislative tendency to deal with discrete policy issues…

The relationship of the state coordinating agency with the governor, the general assembly, and higher education institutions is addressed in relation to meeting budget needs for colleges and universities. Specific reference is also made to the state of Arkansas. It is suggested that the state coordinating agency should be in the position to be…

Proceedings are provided of a seminar on state leadership that focused on: (1) the process of state planning in public, private, and proprietary postsecondary educational institutions; (2) the process of resource allocation in a changing educational environment; (3) the emerging conflicts flowing from the legislated rise in accountability; and (4)…