Lessons and strategies for the institutional researcher dealing with faculty reduction are reviewed: developing a database; defining circumstances necessary for retrenchment; developing policies regarding participation and program discontinuance; examining alternatives; reviewing role and mission statements, legal standards and procedures;…

The superintendent (1975-85) of the Mansfield (Connecticut) Training School, officially closed in 1993, reviews the history of that institution for people with mental retardation. The failure of the institution to provide a normal lifestyle and the superintendent's support for deinstitutionalization of all Mansfield residents and integration are…

Addresses the implications and impacts of a board of education decision to close an outdoor education center. Stresses the rationale for outdoor and environmental education, the connection between classroom curriculum and outdoor education, and the reduction in systemwide services that would result from the closing. (LP)

A University of Maryland at College Park faculty member describes the recent retrenchment process, focusing on the role of the faculty senate and the academic planning advisory committee in decision making. The administration is credited with conducting an open and decisive process. (MSE)

Developed by the Academic Senate Educational Policies Committee, this document focuses on program discontinuance issues faced by local academic senates. Addressed foremost is the need to identify key factors for developing a fair, equitable, and faculty-driven program discontinuance process. Although college districts are required by current…

This paper considers implications of the findings of the Texas Performance Review concerning mental retardation services, in light of decreasing numbers of students at state schools and budgetary restraints on major investments in both institutional operations and community service programs. The paper concludes that Texas should consider closing…

It is not enough for university governing boards and chief executives to decide the system must change; leadership must convince constituents that everyone has something to gain. When the University of Maryland's campuses could not reach consensus in paring programs, the system board stepped in to foster collaboration and cooperation. (Author/MSE)

Legal issues in program discontinuance and resulting lawsuits are considered, including liability to the faculty, students, and other constituencies; freedom of speech; due process; contractual obligations; legal defense; and consideration of program alternatives. A list of related resources is appended. (MSE)

This articles examines litigation which has been generated as a result of fiscal cut-backs at institutions of higher education and looks at the rights and obligations of college and university administrators and students as well as possible future trends. A first section details the effects of budget reductions at California state institutions…

Adjustments that state policy-makers and institutions of higher education will need to make as they face cutbacks in public support and declining enrollments are described, based in part on a research project on retrenchment in higher education conducted by the Southern Regional Education Board. Given the long-term contractual obligations of…

Results of a 1979 survey of 46 states on patterns of program reduction are presented, and the institutional shrinkage process currently being implemented at the University of Michigan is examined. Additionally, several hierarchical and sequential reduction strategies, including Balderston's budgetary strategies, are reviewed. At the University of…

Proceedings of the 1980 conference of the Southern Association for Institutional Research (SAIR) are presented. The conference focused on problems and perspectives for institutional research in the 1980s. Contents include: reports of preconference workshops and sessions, reports of conference sessions, abstracts of contributed papers, and…

How institutional research can improve the quality of institutional performance of colleges and universities in the face of funding constraints is discussed. An example of the use of instructional research to assist in documenting institutional quality in Australia is noted. Institutional research uses data collection, analysis, and interpretation…

Various topics concerning assessment in higher education are considered in five papers. In "Defining and Measuring the Competencies of a Liberal Arts Education," David G. Winter proposes that liberal arts competencies can be assessed by creative new quantitative strategies and outlines five important criteria, or standards, as well as measures of…

Proceedings of the 1981 University of Arizona conference on responses to fiscal stress in higher education are presented. Topics include the impact of the federal government on higher education, state and institutional responses to new federal policies, developing responses to fiscal stress, alternate perspectives on fiscal stress, and tactical…