This book investigates the long-term effects of educational development (ED) programmes on teaching perceptions and practices. The research draws comparisons between an ED programme at a university in the United Kingdom dedicated to advancing teaching, an international university where high-quality education is central to its mission, and two…

Increasingly administrators are concerned with inspiring and supporting faculty members in the creation of interdisciplinary programs in response to research and funding shifts and public need. This article presents an initiative undertaken at the University of Colorado Denver, demonstrating a method for identifying and launching a set of…

"Building Institutional Capacity for Data-Informed Decision Making" is the third installment of the Cutting Edge series, which aims to help colleges engage faculty, scale successful interventions, and create a strong culture of evidence through use of data to strengthen their institutional change and student success efforts. Though the…

This past June, the Iowa River overflowed its banks and deluged 20 buildings on the University of Iowa's Iowa City campus. As the floodwaters finally receded, regents and administrators on the Iowa campus began dealing with all the ramifications and lessons of the flooding--including the key roles of testing emergency plans, nonstop communication,…

Brigham Young University (Utah) has addressed the need for maintenance and support of distributed computing systems on campus by implementing a program patterned after a national business franchise, providing the support and training of a centralized administration but allowing each unit to operate much as an independent small business.…

The experiences of three institutions (Oberlin College, Ohio; University of Nebraska; and St. Christopher's School, Virginia) illustrate how effective a carefully developed marketing scheme for planned giving can be. Staffing, budgets, average funds raised, and average deferred gifts are reported for each. (MSE)

The conceptual basis for structured data architecture, and its integration with open systems technology at Indiana University, are described. Key strategic goals guiding these efforts are discussed: commitment to improved data access; migration to relational database technology, and deployment of a high-speed, multiprotocol network; and…

A University of Miami (Florida) project to centralize imaging/document management is described. The system will enable document storage, retrieval, and work-flow management, lower costs, and improve on traditional business practices. Benefits of imaging/document management, the rationale for centralizing, and the three-phase implementation plan…

The Indiana University Expanded Grade Context Record system generates a student record that includes the elements of a traditional transcript plus additional information that places grades in a broader context, including class grade distribution data and the percentage of majors in the class. The system was developed in response to concerns about…

A carefully orchestrated capital budget, an essential element of corporate management, is particularly important for a small college with limited resources. A simple management system can be adopted to achieve institutional goals. (MSE)

The experience of Stanford University (California) in developing the institutional image it portrayed on the World Wide Web is discussed. Principles and practical suggestions for developing such an image through layout and content are offered, including a list of things not to do on a Web page. (MSE)

"Managed competition," a purchasing strategy to obtain maximum value, is recommended as a method for limiting costs in college and university employees' health benefits plans. Models used at Stanford University (California) and the University of California are offered as illustrations, and considerations in implementing managed…

Stanford University (California) restructured its legal services office, for both cost containment and service improvement, by outsourcing legal work. The new system consists of a smaller in-house legal staff, for largely preventive work (academic and medical affairs, policy formation), and contracts with three outside law firms to work in…

The University of Michigan sponsored a 2-day, institution-wide exposition of quality management efforts, which included 64 exhibits staffed by university employees. The underlying principles, planning stages, evidence that the expo was successful, lessons learned, plans for similar future efforts, and ways to obtain further information about this…

Ohio State University developed a formula to calculate the annual and renovation budget necessary to maintain campus facilities. The calculations can indicate whether an institution is gaining or losing ground in facilities upkeep. Many institutions need to nearly double past efforts to retain physical plant quality and maintain facility…