The purpose of this study was to gain essence of understanding of the phenomena of the influence of culture on the change process at small, private colleges. Research questions included cultural characteristics of a campus, the impact of policy and procedure on shaping culture, the role of leadership in shaping culture, and contextual conditions…

This paper intends to describe the recent experience of a small, rural, two-year technical college. After four decades of success, the college had found itself in a difficult situation with a substantial loss in enrollment and diminished state and local support, coupled with low campus employee morale. In response, the college team closed ranks…

Scarcely a week goes by without a headline about the unsustainability of higher education as we know it, under threat from new models, for-profits, or online education. Most threatened are small liberal arts colleges--with commentators predicting the demise of colleges with fewer than 1,000, or even 1,500 students. Are these trends inevitable, or…

The study examined the transformation of Mercer University from a small liberal arts school into a comprehensive institution. The purpose of the study was to explore the historical transformation of Mercer University and the role of leadership throughout the process. The qualitative study was a historical case study of Mercer University based on…

This article examines the factors that influence presidents' perceptions of board effectiveness in relation to their boards' fundraising role. Data from a survey of small college presidents are used to see what factors influence each of four areas of satisfaction: deciding policy, making financial contributions, referring donor prospects and…

To help improve the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics's image, its leaders have proposed a package of restrictive measures for consideration at its annual meeting. The regulations would set freshman-eligibility standards, tighten academic-progress rules, put limits on sports seasons and financial aid, and create competitive…

Management theories tend to simplify the complex needs, desires, motives, and abilities of teachers who are also counselors, researchers, planners, and parliamentarians. The task of the academic administrator is to seek coherence of goals and a commitment to student development by focusing disparate visions toward common ends. (MLW)

The way private liberal arts colleges choose to answer the question, "How shall we govern ourselves in the 21st century?" has a great impact on what kinds of institutions that they can and will become. The urgency of this issue is apparent in public criticism, in governance disputes on many college campuses, and in recent publications on…

The experiences of Wellesley College (Massachusetts) with developing a long-range plan for institutional survival in the 1990s illustrate the value of two strategies: devising a planning process that reflects the institutional culture, and spending time early in the process to gain broad agreement on basic financial principles and planning…

Guidelines that include policies, goals, and procedures for the governance of small colleges are presented. The following guidelines suggest how different elements of an institution's governance system might be expected to operate: (1) as a corporate body, a board of trustee has at least four responsibilities; (2) individual members of a board…

The repercussions from the Supreme Court decision in National Labor Relations Board v Yeshiva University are discussed. The court held that the university's full-time faculty members include managerial employees excluded from collective bargaining rights. The verdict is seen as preventing compulsory collective bargaining from spreading. (MLW)

A case study of the campus-wide governance system at Carleton College is presented. Problems addressed in the last eight years include faculty evaluation, tenure, administrative problems, curriculum development, minority needs, career awareness, and educational finance. The governance process is analyzed and a recommended model is described. (JMD)

The final chapter of a study of the failure of four small private colleges implicates their trustees. Trustees were found to have had inadequate participation in planning and operational realities, the consequence in part, of a lack of critical information. (LBH)

A research study examined the computing strategies of colleges and universities with enrollments of 5,000 or fewer. The management/governance structures were studied and responding institutions indicated that the concept of collegiality was prevalent in setting overall computing policy. (MLW)

The Atlanta University Center, Inc., a consortium of six institutions (Clark, Morehouse, Morris Brown, Spelman, Atlanta University, and Interdenominational Theological Center) represents the world's largest nucleus of Black private higher education. Its background and the problems faced in dealing with each institution's desire for autonomy are…