One of the most significant activities undertaken by members of small college speech departments has been the development of the Essential Undergraduate Curriculum in Speech Communication at the Small College. This paper reviews six aspects of this curriculum: (1) the "statement of domain"; (2) iterdisciplinary aspects; (3) questions of…

The small college communication curriculum must, by necessity, be more limited than that of the university. However, it can still fulfill the needs of its students while responding to external curriculum requirements, such as those of the institution, accrediting agencies, professional societies, and employers. Two approaches to curriculum…

The ways in which current theories of leadership relate to perceptions of organizational effectiveness are examined in a study looking at these interactions and relevant demographic factors in 11 small, private, midwestern colleges. A model of transactional and transformational leadership proposed by Bass (1985) is investigated along with an…

The workshop was convened by the Social Science Research Council of Canada as part of its annual meeting. Its purpose was to explore the possible usefulness of a large-scale conference on the same topic. The three papers presented are included in the final report: (1) social science research needs of smaller Canadian universities (John T. Sears);…

This investigation of how ten small, private college libraries go about collecting books focuses on the degree of responsibility and control those libraries exercise over what is included in their collections. The findings and conclusions of the study are based upon interviews with library administrators and acquisitions librarians at Middlebury…

In the spring of 1996, the Board of Regents of Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minnesota, decided to ask the administration and faculty to do what was needed to change the small private church-related two-year college into a small private church-related four-year college. The first designated major was to be Communication. The first step in…

A survey of institutional researchers at 243 New England colleges and universities examined respondents' (N=127) views on the current and projected roles of institutional research. Results document limited resources particularly in small institutions. Also, a majority of institutional researchers reported that they were engaged extensively in…

This study investigated the role and scope of institutional research in regionally accredited, private colleges with a headcount enrollment of less than 3000 students located in the southeastern United States. The study queried 252 individuals (155 responses) who were primarily responsible for institutional research about the activities and role…

Strategies used by small liberal arts colleges to maintain adequate enrollment levels were assessed, with attention to colleges that were classified as private liberal arts II colleges by the Carnegie Commission. The baccalaureate degree was the highest degree offered by the colleges in programs in the arts and sciences and in teacher preparation.…

A collection of brief addresses made by Richard Daniel Weigle to successive entering classes at St. John's College at matriculation convocations over three decades (1950-1980) are presented. The 25 convocation addresses concern the following topics: Plato's cave and St. John's College; history; liberal education and women; Subiaco and community;…

This paper describes the process involved in envisioning Delta State University (Mississippi) Division of Computer Information Systems/Office Administration's (CIS/OAD) long-range approach to addressing the university's identified curricular needs. The process included: examining of community needs, assessment of current resources, curriculum…

The advent of writing-across-the-curriculum programs at the college level has necessitated the development of institutional measurement schema to internally assess their pedagogical and curricular efficacy and to externally demonstrate to concerned constituents that specific institutions are effectively fulfilling the educational mission for…

This examination of the impact of technology on the educational role of small academic libraries focuses on the information access aspect of technology. Librarians at 26 colleges in Illinois with enrollments of under 3,000 students responded to a survey which measured the libraries' access to databases through online searching and the use of…

A study examined the kinds of skills that minority students felt prepared them for college and helped them to succeed. All 80 minority students enrolled at Illinois' Millikin University (enrollment, 1,800 students) were interviewed for 20 to 30 minutes each. Results indicated that: (1) students reported that English composition/writing classes,…

The University of Wisconsin-Parkside offered an experimental course on international business in seminar form as a means of trying an interdisciplinary venture in a new area without commitment to a course structure. The seminar was developed as part of the international studies program, which draws on existing courses in several disciplines, and…