Distinguishing between long-range and strategic planning is key to governing boards guiding their institution's future. Strategic planning is defined as the framework that guides the choices that determine the nature and direction of an organization. The trustees' role is described. (MLW)

The experiences of Wellesley College (Massachusetts) with developing a long-range plan for institutional survival in the 1990s illustrate the value of two strategies: devising a planning process that reflects the institutional culture, and spending time early in the process to gain broad agreement on basic financial principles and planning…

In this advance report on an AGB-NACUBO project, governing boards are advised to work within clearly visible financial conditions and policies to do effective long-range planning. They need: routine, periodic reports; presentations for discussion; overview reports; and a positive communications environment. (Author/LBH)

Endangered small, private colleges can take steps toward survival, including mission clarification, expanding services to existing and potential clienteles, introducing management by objectives, and developing public relations and fund raising. Long-range options include avoiding the postsecondary mainstream and striving for efficiency of…

Serious but sustained institutional planning can be of help to any institution preparing for the challenges of the next two decades. A planning model at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences is described. (MLW)

In the 1960s Siena Heights College decided: to become coeducational; to develop programs in business; and to develop a board of trustees who would have fiduciary authority and be the policy-making corpus and legal entity for the institution. The creation of a new board of turstees is described. (MLW)

The magnitude of funds needed to rectify the college deferred maintenance crisis make a quick fix unrealistic. However, by increasing funding levels and shifting spending patterns over time, institutions can address the problem without jeopardizing other goals and projects. A consortium of higher education associations recommends a…

Faced with deteriorating physical plants, a need for new facilities, and a shortage of financial aid funds, colleges and universities have become players in a debt-financing game, which can hasten the organization's demise. The board must ensure that today's securities do not become tomorrow's junk bonds. (Author/MSE)

Today's graduates must be able to graduate with a set of abilities that will last many decades. A university is seen as a conscious social artifact, and both students and faculty need to develop a long-term outlook. (MLW)

The major theme of the Carnegie Commission's report is that higher education has a good record for integrity. However, there are serious concerns: grade inflation, recruiting practices, vandalism. Governing boards can play an important role in addressing the problems. One example is the survey inspired by the University of Delaware board.…

As advances in technology create world economic and social interdependence, governing boards should make a long-term commitment to an expanded international agenda of curriculum and program development to prepare students at United States colleges and universities for excellence in the world community. A checklist is presented to assess…

The predicted faculty shortage of the late 1990s requires early institutional preparation. To identify their own potential shortages, colleges must review their own situation, linking demand projections with information on national, regional, and local supply of faculty. (MSE)

AGB's accomplishments of the year are discussed: formulation of Three Year Plan for expansion, membership growth, corporate support, record conference attendance, two significant new publications, products of major research projects, and initiation of a project to assist boards of predominantly Black institutions. (Author/MLW)

Trustees' concerns and strategies will increasingly include: periodic reexamination of college mission, infusion of real purpose into educational policy committees, involvement in personnel matters and conservation of human resources, more aggressive searches for alternative funding, performance and accountability issues, and participation in…

The article presents key demographic facts and trends to guide long range planning by institutions of higher education. Effects on future enrollments of such trends as increased ethnic diversity are identified. Consequently, trustees are encouraged to support structural flexibility in programs of study and changes in the direction of increased…