This report by the New York State Comptroller states that the state is currently making decisions regarding higher education based on short-term fiscal and political concerns rather than basing such decisions on long-range strategic plans founded on carefully deliberated policies. Specifically, New York has been without a comprehensive review of…

A nationwide process in the Netherlands is discussed in which a number of specific disciplines were concentrated in one or a few Dutch universities. The decisive roll of political arguments and consequences for future government and academic planning are addressed. Both universities and government believed that ongoing retrenchment could no longer…

The development of the role of higher education associations based in Washington, District of Columbia, from the 1960s to the present, is traced, with attention to events, problems, and issues. Also considered are: reasons for joining voluntary associations; the policy-making arena for higher education and the general principles that guide federal…

Influences on the California Supreme Court's educational policy decisions were studied for the 26 California Supreme Court Justices who served during 1954-1982. It was found that the intensity of political party affiliation was significantly related to support for college students' and professors' claims of civil rights and liberties in…

A variety of hypotheses dealing with the participation in decision-making of members at different levels of rural schools and the degree of implementation in these schools of planned organizational changes are explored. Participation is examined in two spheres: decisions relating to the operations of the school district in general, and planning of…

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…

Three political scientists diagnose the current state of political influence on jury selection in political trials, based upon personal experience, upon the literature of political theory, justice, and law, and upon recent action of lawyers, judges, defense committees, and some defendants. Political trials are interpreted as formal examinations of…

Exploratory case study research, conducted in selected Individually Guided Instruction (IGE) elementary home-school environments, focused on four objectives: describe IGE implementation and home-school-community relations, explain objective one in political terms, generate hypotheses, and make recommendations. Approximately 50 interviews were…

This book focuses on the question of how citizen participation affects the making of the school budget, the crucial controlling instrument of modern bureaucratic organizations. The four communities studied differed in size, social and economic characteristics, and form of government. Chapter 1 introduces the topic and begins the discussion of the…

Reputational and pluralistic methods of community analysis differ; their findings, conclusions, and philosophies are frequently at variance. Reputationalists find an economically dominated power elite. They picture a community's power and influence structure as pyramidal -- the power elite forming a monolithic power pyramid. Thus, according to…

This paper by the former president of the University of Liberia on building consensus for higher education reform in Africa begins by identifying three obstacles to reform: (1) lack of understanding of the complex African context which could result in setting the wrong goals for reform; (2) a political situation that inhibits freedom of thought…

The relevance of Richard E. Neustadt's presidential choice making theory to a university presidency is analyzed. This theory, which was introduced in Neustadt's 1960 publication "Presidential Power," is examined in regard to situations that occurred at Kent State University (KSU): the KSU Black United Student (BUS) confrontation with the…

Management aids required in strategic planning are divided into three categories: (1) assessing the environment, (2) providing a process for reaching decisions, and (3) presenting criteria to evaluate strategic decisions. A model for scanning the environment has four dimensions that concern economic, social, knowledge-technology, and public policy…

The integration of issues management into the institutional strategic planning process at Pennsylvania State University is discussed. The significance of issues management as an organizational process is also considered. Stages of the issues management process are: (1) scanning the external environment to identify strategic issues; (2) analyzing…

This handbook is addressed to organizations with goals related to post high school learning. Basic information is provided about future societal developments in the United States that should be taken into consideration in making organizational decisions. Some practical methods for long-range planning are also outlined. Four areas of societal…