Questions of college performance in the United States are inevitably answered in terms of numbers rather than performance. A Tennessee policy links two percent of state funding to outcomes rather than size. The policy has major implications for funding and performance in colleges and other service-oriented institutions. (Author/MLW)

Three papers from conferences on statewide coordination in postsecondary education are presented as part of the Inservice Education Program of the Education Commission of the States. In "Educational Program Budgeting in Oklahoma," Edwaro J. Coyle and Dan S. Hobbs outline the principles, procedures, and processes utilized by the state in…

Academic program review is analyzed in regard to purposes, process, schedule and timing, criteria, and decisions. Attention is also briefly addressed to the organizational entities that oversee the process of state-level program review. The purposes of program review are linked to budgeting decisions, mission delineation, and potential program…

The value of a statewide analytical perspective to the institutional program review process is discussed. This perspective can also assist in answering the questions of how declining resources can be distributed within and among institutions. The analytical approach was developed in order to provide background information that can be used both by…

An Institutional Goals Inventory (IGI) is used to assess a health science subsystem within a Western statewide higher educational system. Institutional goals are defined as ideal conditions the institution can continuously seek to maximize or perfect. Data were collected from each college and campus responsible for health science education and for…

New directions that state legislatures have taken in regard to accountability in higher education are reviewed, along with the way that the relationship between the legislature and higher education is changing as a result of new developments. In response to public criticism that the legislature is too responsive to pressure groups, does not do its…

The issues of accountability, conflict, and academic freedom in higher education and the relationship between institutions and state coordinating boards (governing boards, voluntary and compulsory coordinating boards, and planning agencies) are addressed. The causes and nature of the inherent conflict between state coordinating bodies and…

Colleges and universities are privatizing various institutional components and are seeking greater autonomy from state government. In defining privatization, the paper makes the distinction between privatizing and contracting, and notes six areas where a good or service can be owned or managed by the government or by the private sector: ownership…

Faculty attitudes concerning the Australian government's proposal for periodic reviews of faculty performance were determined through interviews in 1983. The Australian Senate's report on tenure of academic staff recommended that all staff be regularly reviewed on their performance in teaching, research, and service. A sample of 104 University of…

The functions and structure of postsecondary education at the state level, and goals and problems confronting statewide agencies are considered. Among the state-level functions are the following: short-range and long-range planning, establishing statewide management and information systems, review and approval of programs/centers of all state…

An institutional review of Evergreen State College that was undertaken by the Washington Council for Postsecondary Education is described. A review of a higher education institution by a state agency was unusual but was a compromise action by the 1977 state legislature, which also considered closing the college, whose institutional cost level was…

The trend toward greater state regulation of public higher education is discussed, along with alternative structures or models for state financing of public institutions. The situation in Washington State is briefly described as an illustration. It is proposed that interests of the state, college, and student can be enhanced by allowing colleges…

The recent dramatic growth of postsecondary education is reviewed, and the context in which the state legislature and the higher education community will probably interact in the future is described. The era of rapid economic growth following World War II was accompanied by even more rapid increases in demand for college educated workers.…

The relationships between the public and nonpublic sectors of higher education are considered with respect to planning issues, financing issues, and accountability. Among the planning concerns are the following: to what extent should the nonpublic sector be involved in the statewide review of new and existing programs; how can resources be shared…

Ways that data can be misused in establishing accountability of public higher education are described along with approaches to help alleviate the potential adversary relationships between postsecondary leaders and state agency personnel. It is suggested that scholars fear a future in which educational decisions may be made according to numbers or…