Longwood College's Involvement Project to promote student development is described, and specific assessment materials are provided. Included is an involvement transcript that helps students assess their college accomplishments and how to translate learning experiences into competencies. Fourteen student goals and skills and knowledge areas are…

A project to help small independent liberal arts colleges integrate technology and the liberal arts in the undergraduate curriculum is considered in this newsletter issue. The first two stages of this project on Technology and the Liberal Arts, which is sponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges, are described, along with the progress of…

Twenty-eight deans of instruction (out of 29 contacted) responded to a survey eliciting information on institutional research at small junior colleges (head-count enrollment of 3,000 or less) in Texas. The survey instrument covered four general questions: (1) is there a systematic on-campus procedure for compiling information; (2) what information…

Education is in a period of increasing obligation to produce in a period of decreasing resources. Colleges, gradually adjusting to this situation, are undergoing changes in both staffing and administration. Three categories of change in small amd medium-sized higher education institutions that are likely to occur in the next few years are: (1)…

Five position papers from the American Association of Community and Junior College's (AACJC) task force on small and rural community colleges are presented. On the issue of equal opportunity for the small/rural college, the task force asserts that public policy-making bodies must provide for comprehensiveness in curriculum and in services in all…

In examining research on the characteristics and problems of small/rural community colleges, one finds that a consistent definition of 'rural' does not exist, and that most research has traditionally focused on the differences between private and public colleges, not between small and large institutions. Research indicates that: (1) classes tend…

The planning model was designed to enable independent colleges to come to grips with both the concerns and the expectations of affirmative action. It is divided into three parts: (1) a broad statement about the procedures and expectations of equal employment opportunity, presented from the perspective of a hypothetical small independent college;…

A small, Catholic college curtailed expenses without damaging programs by involving faculty, administration, and trustees in a detailed contingency planning process that resulted in a report stressing quality over quantity and outlining short- and long-term strategies for institutional planning. (MSE)

The issues and processes that were important in the selection and implementation of an administrative computer system at Marymount Manhattan College are described. System analysis, system design, selection criteria, institutional decision processes, implementation steps, user acceptance, and organizational impact are discussed. (Author/MLW)

In 2002, the Policy Center on the First Year of College (supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Atlantic Philanthropies, and Lumina Foundation for Education) sponsored a project to recognize colleges and universities as "Institutions of Excellence" in their design and execution of the first year. Thirteen colleges and…

The application and selection processes involved in filling a full-time assistant professor position at a small liberal arts college are discussed, as are the results of a survey returned by 64 undergraduate departments that undertook a search for a similar position during the 1995-1996 academic year. The survey involved departments that offered…

A report examining the conditions facing Williams College in the 1980s is excerpted. The committee was to emphasize strategies to serve two major institutional goals: maintaining a large pool of well-qualified applicants, and maintaining a faculty that is talented, well compensated and professionally committed. (MLW)

Some misconceptions about the Wilson College Case are discussed, including: the case did not become precedent in law because the degree was superceded by a consent decree; the judge was not a villain; the college was not bankrupt; and the old board did not act wisely. (Author/MLW)

The experience of Coastal Carolina College (South Carolina) suggests that, although the small college often has the same academic reporting demands for intercollegiate athletics as a large institution, the nature of the institution creates different recordkeeping and reporting challenges. Computerization and active institutional research staff…

Discussion of child care for college personnel, fast becoming requisite in every benefits package, presents three composite cases illustrating the range of child care options available, looks at the kinds of flexibility parents need and program options available, and examines federal child care initiatives and program legal liabilities.…