Recognizing that many Western institutions of higher education are developing management information systems, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) Management Information Systems (MIS) Program is proposing the standardization of data elements in the data bases of these independent systems to develop common programs for data analysis and to facilitate the rapid exchange and processing of similar information from several institutional sources. The purpose of this technical report is to respond to the question: How can management information systems be developed which will respond to the unique needs of the individual institutions and at the same time be sufficiently compatible to permit valid interinstitutional information comparisons? WICHE MIS program objectives involve the development of exchange formulas and models, beginning with models that will facilitate the interinstitutional exchange of various types of unit cost data. These models will be used to identify data elements to be specified in a standard data element dictionary. A supplementary objective is to develop standard codes, field formats, and file structures for data storage, and present them in manuals that will explain how a total information system should be developed, so that small institutions with limited analytical research and computer capabilities may develop management information systems. The report explains the WICHE MIS concept of compatibility and defines system components for the derivation of certain data. (WM)