Institutions that have organized and centralized their data enjoy an obvious advantage in grappling with strategic planning and other issues. As the drumbeat for accountability, planning, and demonstrating effectiveness to internal and external stakeholders intensifies, the stature and importance of institutional research offices on most campuses…

Methods by which the college, after 90 years, began long-range planning are described along with how it moved to the cyclical model after 12 more years. (Author/LBH)

Progress at NCHEMS is reported on a project to develop indicators of institutional financial condition for higher education institutions. Three steps followed: (1) to develop a framework to reflect dimensions of an institution's financial condition, (2) identification of indicators to measure change in dimensions, and (3) testing of indicators.…

Ten pitfalls for financial analysts are described: information lags, misinterpreting trend data, data shortcomings, sample institutions' problems, misuse of panel ratings, using same indicators for private and public institutions, underdevelopment of conceptual framework, arbitrary financial health scales, shaky use of discriminant analysis, and…

This Catholic college for women in St. Joseph, Minnesota, is adopting components of systematic institutional development in its planning and budgeting. Four programs are integrated: institutional research, the management information system, management development, and management planning. (LBH)

Center College of Kentucky's "central myth," or self-understanding, articulated strategically, became the basis for planning and decisions responsible for significant institutional achievement. (MLW)