Small private colleges should not succumb to the view that being as inexpensive as public colleges is the only way to compete. By doing some aggressive marketing, these institutions can enjoy a significant edge and thrive in what promises to be a difficult decade. (Author/MSE)

Higher productivity must become internalized in college institutional cultures and recognized as a strategic issue for long-term reasons of educational quality and robust survival. The primary challenge is not downsizing but right-sizing for available resources, mission, and quality standards. The concept of selective excellence must prevail. (MSE)

Different models of academic governance and their implications for management and leadership are examined. It is argued that the United Kingdom's universities and polytechnics have relied on increased managerialism rather than the essentially collegial cybernetic model in recent years and may have sacrificed long-term goals for short-term success.…

The case of a fictitious small, private college illustrates how such colleges may require planning strategies differing from those used by other institutions. Such "enlightened brinkmanship" requires exceptional intuitive and market-oriented skills among campus leaders and faculty and a well-run organization. (MSE)

Enrollments will not see steady growth again for five years. Most of the struggling colleges that have managed continuing success so far are predicted to survive. Some will endure specifically because administrators and trustees have incorporated the procedures and programs that have been successfully implemented in other institutions. (MSE)

Two reports on institutional fund raising ("The Quest for Major Gifts: A Survey of 68 Institutions," 1983, by Addison L. Winship II, and "Seeking Major Gifts: How 57 Institutions Do It," 1991, by Anne W. Altizer) offer examples of how a healthy college endowment provides stability through difficult economic times. (MSE)

College presidents respond to an article by Richard Nolan challenging college and university presidents and chancellors to transform their campuses for survival and competitive advantage in the information age. Respondents include Richard D. Breslin, David M. Clarke, Joseph Cronin, Thomas Ehrlich, Donald N. Langenberg, Harold McAninch, and Donald…

This report examines the change process at a regional university in achieving a higher level of excellence in all its programs and activities. Results from 30 interviews are discussed in explaining how this university endured a major retrenchment and survived and thrived while simultaneously contributing to the surrounding community's economic…

Three position papers, originally presented at a special symposium of economists and educators, are presented concerning the policy impact that the changing economic environment will have on colleges and universities in the financing of higher education in the United States. The position papers are: "The University and the Reemergence of…

The momentum of the individual rights movement has placed such an emphasis on individual claims and needs that all the nation's institutions have become suspect. These include churches, the family, and schools--those structures that mediate between the individual and the impersonal megastructures of society. These institutions are part of the…

After a period of rapid expansion, two-thirds of the branch campuses of United States universities in Japan have closed. A study suggests that the branch campuses were established largely to capitalize on short-term political, demographic, and financial factors, with little benefit. A deeper commitment to sustaining the overseas program and to…

Ways that population trends, societal pressures, and changing economic conditions affect learning needs are addressed. Small and large colleges are given information to help them evaluate their missions, chart new directions, and make necessary adaptations in their curricula. The three issues addressed are the theoretical formulation of the…

Strategic planning can successfully counter crises threatening a college's survival by clarifying the mission, by shaping institutional reorganization and curriculum development and by focusing marketing efforts and attracting new support. Crisis background, financial exigency, and reorganizing strategically are discussed. (MLW)

The "postindustrial" environment for higher education, with shrinking revenues and enrollments and increasing competition, demands that all colleges and universities become more integrated organizations. Planning can be a powerful instrument for achieving better integration in highly differentiated academic organizations, and good organizational…

Discusses the effects of information technology on the environment within which the typical academic library must operate and the effects of the resulting environmental turbulence on the general social context of the university and on the relationship between the university and its libraries. (Author/CLB)