Examines two cases of university department-based, practice-centered peer inquiry projects as a means of faculty development. Compares the leadership, structure, and outcomes of each department's project. Discusses the role of department culture, the norms of scholarly collaboration, standard work patterns, curricular standards, university status,…

Academic quality rankings of colleges, universities, and individual departments have flourished recently, and Jack Gourman's rankings have had a great impact on U.S. higher education. A study of Gourman's eight books, a comparison of their findings, and a 3-hour interview with Gourman are discussed. (MLW)

Compares how academic department chairs at colleges and universities in Australia and the U.S. define their tasks. Major differences noted include the propensity of U.S. chairs to think of soliciting ideas for departmental improvement as a long-term endeavor, whereas Australian chairs perceive of idea solicitation as an administrative task, and…

Focus is on the allocation of academic staff between university departments. General principles of staff allocation, techniques for allocation, and practical problems in implementing a given method are discussed. Decentralized decision making and allowing some freedom of choice are considered. (Author/MSE)

Literature on academic environments, especially the department, is reviewed. Differences between teaching and learning environments are examined for the social and natural sciences, and the interaction of discipline, personal styles of faculty and students, and faculty-student relationships are examined as primary variables. (MSE)

The effects of the academic environment, which is defined as the organization of curricula, teaching, and assessment on student learning, are examined. Focus is on students' perceptions of their courses and teachers in six departments at a British university, and the different demands that various environments make. (Author/JMD)

The role and functions of university department heads as analyzed in the literature are outlined and compared with the perceptions and expectations of the staff of eight departments in one Australian university, who attached great importance to the administrator's function of encouragement. (MSE)

A small departmental survey revealed significant differences in perception among faculty and students of the chairperson's role as departmental executive officer. Although styles of leadership vary, the chairperson's role in higher education requires further investigation and clarification. (MSE)

Two innovative projects at the University of Utrecht, women's studies and the management and policy program, and the role of incentives in these particular cases are evaluated. Problems with innovation and decision making, entrepreneurial innovation and the planning process, and the organization of innovative projects are discussed. (Author/MLW)

This case study of three university departments was designed to generate substantive theory about decision-making in academic departments. Homans' social systems theory was used as a framework, and it is shown that the rate of interaction affects the crystallization of norm structures and processes of influence and decision-making. (Author/LBH)

A study of the comparability of standards used for awarding first degrees with distinction in Israeli universities found considerable diversity among universities, faculties, and major subject departments of the social sciences. (Author/MSE)

An estimate of departmental cost functions in seven departments at 31 private liberal arts colleges is given. Estimates indicate that departmental costs are relatively inelastic, indicating that financial problems will be compounded in an era of enrollment decline. (Author/MSE)

A program of simultaneous curriculum change in ten Indonesian medical schools is described, in which 75 percent of the departments are using sets of instructional objectives for both teaching and evaluating student performance. An "Educational Bureau" at each school serves as a kind of research and development unit. (Author/LBH)

The Netherlands' higher education context and the problems of systematic evaluation are examined. The Free University's application of an evaluation model, AMOS, (Analyse Model voor het Onderwijs in A Studierichtingen) at the levels of institution, department, and course is described. (Author/MSE)

A study of patterns of perceived management functions in schools of social sciences, physical sciences, and medicine showed deans perceived as paying more attention to outside than inside activities. Correlations of faculty perceptions with faculty career characteristics (publishing, seniority, rank, tenure, and job satisfaction) are also…