The need for information services offers institutional researchers with experience in systems design, data management, and analysis an opportunity to study the key issue involved in providing this service to the campus administrative community. The case of the University of Kansas is described. (Author/MLW)

Artificial intelligence programing for computers is advancing rapidly. The translation of databases into an institutional research knowledge base is explored, including the heuristic knowledge of institutional research experience. (Author/MLW)

The results of a survey of college offices of institutional research in the United States and Canada are presented. Offices were asked about use of computers in developing management information, interaction with the computer, types of hardware available, and the languages used. (Author/MLW)

Academic support systems are characterized as those activities that center around a dean's office--office automation/information systems, institutional research and electronic communication. The basic and design and implementation issues that are encountered in providing these support systems are examined. (Author/MLW)

A strategic plan for the University of Miami charts specific objectives, programmatic and financial, that will lead it to prominence among the nation's teaching and research universities. Long-range plans for the information systems and academic systems of the university are discussed. (MLW)

The Office of Information Services at Kent State University, responsible for academic and administrative computing, is described. Its goals are to support and facilitate instruction research, which requires the planning, acquisition, preparation, management, and maintenance of equipment and equipment sities. (MLW)

The evolution of executive reporting and decision support systems at the University of Hartford is described, including a definition of concepts, discussion of the decision support roles of the planning and institutional research office and computer service, a description of several systems already developed, and the strategies underlying…

A description of how the decision support systems at Pepperdine University are helping its office of institutional research and planning provide the support necessary to keep the university's administration well-informed in their decision-making role is presented. (MLW)

It is recognized that growing management information systems will require increased user involvement in acquiring, maintaining, and manipulating essential institutional data. A technique called Service/Requirements Analysis has been developed for incorporating user input into system design and development. (MSE)

The independence and objectivity of institutional researchers is discussed. It is suggested that university administration has some control over institutional research but that administrators do not dictate the findings or conclusions of the research. (BH)

The experience of a small liberal arts college in trying to develop a usable and understandable planning, management, and evaluation (PME) system is described. PME tasks in small colleges center upon selecting starting points, demonstrating how different procedures can facilitate operations and decision making, and educating people. (Author/MLW)

The nature and form of useful management information in a variety of situations is discussed. It is suggested that questions posed by managers may determine the effectiveness of the management information system. Questions concerning demographic trends and enrollment declines are used to illustrate this point. (SF)

A methodology for developing a strategic, long-range organizational information architecture is described. The development of a plan to identify key categories of information to enhance decision making and operational productivity is detailed. Figures and tables detail the methodology's application at the University of Minnesota. (DB)

A study to survey CAUSE member institutions concerning the use and evaluation of data base management systems and associated fourth-generation products is discussed. Characteristics of respondents, their standards and methods, the automated tools they use, fourth-generation language usage specifics, and future plans of respondents are described.…

To increase the value of administrative information for universitywide decision making, the office of institutional research at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University has undertaken a project to standardize data elements and codes across all administrative systems and institutionalize an ongoing standardization process. (Author/MSE)