In order to strengthen midwestern higher education, and despite two previously unsuccessful attempts, the possibility of pursuing regional cooperation in higher education through a higher education compact among the midwestern states is once more being explored. This report seeks to facilitate the decision making process by providing background…

The concept of fuzzy time series is introduced and used to forecast the enrollment of a university. Fuzzy time series, an aspect of fuzzy set theory, forecasts enrollment using a first-order time-invariant model. To evaluate the model, the conventional linear regression technique is applied and the predicted values obtained are compared to the…

Information to help local school districts in Minnesota plan for and use revenue reserved for staff development is provided in this research-referenced planning guide. Following the introduction, chapter 2 focuses on decision-making aspects of staff development and offers a conceptual model of decision-making choice points in the planning process.…

This report is intended to identify opportunities for rebuilding the South's economy on the foundations of technology and innovation; to describe some of the conditions in the region that affect the creation, transfer, and commercialization of technology; and to present specific recommendations to help the South make more effective use of its…

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has not succeeded in establishing overall energy conservation goals or in developing and implementing a comprehensive, coordinated national energy conservation plan. These failures continue to perpetuate confusion over how much energy conservation is needed, how well the country is conserving energy,…

Increasing demands for accurate forecasts in such areas as student enrollment, energy expenditures, and facility capacity are placing new demands on the institutional researcher. A variety of forecasting models and methods are available, all to be used with caution in long-range forecasting. (Author/MSE)

This article reviews the scenario planning process implemented at the College of Marin (California). Scenario planning is a creative process in which a group of people who share a common fate develop stories about different ways their future might unfold, and use these stories to make decisions about what path to take. The Global Business Network…

This study sought to examine whether the growth in the District of Columbia's criminal justice expenditures was impacting on the financing of public higher education. Text, graphs, and figures focus on: (1) the impact of criminal justice policies on the University of the District of Columbia (UDC)--the only publicly funded institute of higher…

This study compares the changes in funding of universities and prisons in Maryland during the 1990s. Data from the Department of Public Safety, Division of Corrections, and the Maryland Higher Education Commission were analyzed for trends in correctional and college populations. The study notes that funding for Maryland's prisons increased by 50…

This essay reflects on observations made during the four-year American Council on Education (ACE) Project on Leadership and Institutional Transformation, an effort to help 26 diverse colleges and universities succeed with comprehensive or transformational change. Insights were drawn from three sources: biannual campus visits and monthly phone…

After principals have involved all stakeholders in developing a school mission and identifying critical success factors, the planning team must analyze strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats within and outside the school; establish strategic goals (outcomes) to support the future vision; and develop objectives and target dates. Includes…

The financial reductions to Britain's polytechnics has been largely subjective, and the atmosphere of crisis management has damaged morale, made long-range planning difficult, and endangered educational quality. These problems may necessitate a radical restructuring of British higher education. (Author/MSE)

The European strategy of institutional self-regulation is a step back from the centralized control accompanying higher education's recent growth, requiring a new management approach, perhaps in strategic planning. Viewed through organizational theory, self-regulation combines two fundamentally different concepts, and a "new autonomy"…

A model for strategic planning using a new definition of management by objectives (MBO) is outlined and illustrated in the context of college or university administration, including department-level planning. Routine objectives, personal objectives, team objectives, budget performance, problem-solving objectives, innovation objectives, and…

The enormous potential of computing in support of instruction in colleges and universities is tempered by rapid technological change, funding limitations, and organizational issues. There are some long-range strategies institutions can adopt including encouraging computing unit self-sufficiency. decentralization of support services, flatter…