A Vanderbilt University (Tennessee) program designed to instill workplace values in the institution's business and finance areas is described. Program elements include a focus on the values of a specific work group, acknowledgment of the relationship between work performance and institutional success, and recognition of the good work of…

The challenge of containing health-care costs continues despite a break from cost increases. Most experts would advise school employees to replace existing health plans with a triple-choice HMO plan using $10 copayments. Armed with quality data and a choice-based plan design, school business officials can improve their chances for long-term cost…

School board members can increase their knowledge of the budget process by the following actions: (1) meet with the school business official; (2) assemble school statistics; (3) evaluate each potential cut in its own right; (4) investigate new funding sources; (5) establish a budget adoption calendar; and (6) expect periodic reports from…

With many impending retirements of school business officials, school districts and universities should collaborate in assuring smooth transitions in the nation's school business offices. Forward planning includes offering internships in the school business office and extensive cross-training for presently employed specialists. (MLF)

School districts should develop a risk management program with policies and procedures that demonstrate reasonable care and that include regular inspection of all buildings and grounds. Highlights areas of potential legal difficulty. (MLF)

An Educational Risk Management Plan (ERMP) should be incorporated throughout every school district. Discusses property and liability insurance classifications and features of a good ERMP. (12 references) (MLF)

Several experts in the field of college financial administration offer their insights into the emerging relationship between high technology and financial management, focusing on the role of the institution's chief business officer. Topics include efficiency, cost effectiveness, organizational communication, homegrown vs. packaged software…

A discussion of the relationship between the university and industry in research looks at the challenge of balancing the academic institution's pursuit of entrepreneurial and sometimes precedent-setting industry relationships with its responsibility for ensuring the integrity of its scientific enterprise. Development of reasonable policy for…

Voluntary severance plans for college employees offer a possible solution to the problem of limiting labor costs in an inflationary economy, particularly when mandatory retirement is eliminated. The severance package must be carefully budgeted, constructed, and communicated to the employees, and the institution must be disciplined in carrying it…

Gina Kranitz, the new chair of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) board of directors, the first from the community college sector, is profiled, and her plans for the next year, including several major initiatives for the association, are discussed. (MSE)

Introduces the concept of college and university campus master planning, describes factors and actors in the process, discusses the relationship to capital budgeting, and offers a typical master planning and capital-budgeting process as illustration. Developing a comprehensive institutional master plan can profoundly affect the institution's…

A National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) task force has developed a process guide, list of policy issues and unsolved questions, and recommendations for colleges and universities to use in complying with the reporting requirements of the Tax Relief Act of 1997, which provides parents of college students with tax…

Examines demographic changes in American education over recent decades and makes near-future projections. Increased enrollment will occur throughout 2005, especially in the West. Hispanic enrollments are rapidly increasing. The number of teachers will rise 17% from 1992 to 2004; pupil-teacher ratios will remain stable. State and federal…

Today's purchasing professionals recognize the need to reduce non-value-added procedures (clerical functions) while emphasizing strategic planning. Results-oriented supply-chain managers need superb communication, negotiation, and leadership skills to achieve long-term value and resist the lowest, first- cost bids. (Contains 13 references.) (MLH)

School districts are subject to many audits each year. Offers a guide to school district business officials on managing their various audits effectively to maximize the benefits of each audit and minimize public-image damage and disruption. (MLF)