Putting data-driven decision making into practice requires the use of consistent and reliable data that are easily accessible. The systematic collection and maintenance of accurate information is an important component in developing policy and evaluating outcomes. Since 1982, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has been collecting…

A case history is presented that recounts the evolutionary development of a unified evaluation, budgeting, and planning system at Michigan State University. It is a system that is strongly based on the collection and analysis of department, college, and institutional data. (Author/MLW)

The conditions facing postsecondary education during the 1980s, it is suggested, call for institutional planning styles that are comprehensive, systematic, public, regular, and expansive. The formal democratic style is described as a comprehensive planning process that requires all departments to submit their plans to the college. (Author/MLW)

The M.I.T. INSITE (INstitutional Space Inventory TEchniques) system, a management information system developed specifically to provide facilities management information for decision making in the planning stages, is described. Since 1973, M.I.T. has shared the INSITE technology with a consortium of users from academic, health care, corporate and…

Alumni research does not yet have its own body of literature and resources. Readings are selected from related areas, such as fundraising, marketing, survey research, and other resource books. (MLW)

The politics of information on college campuses are seen in national, regional, and statewide concern with planning, management, and evaluation. Concepts, methods, and information-processing styles in each of these three institutional functions have been greatly influenced by political pressures in the past 15 years. (Author/MLW)

Advancements and trends in administrative computing are discussed and their implications for management are examined. Trends in software and hardware development as well as cost and capability are also investigated. Sources of information on computer development, including publications and organizations, are listed. (Author/SF)

The Total Quality Management approach is used as a framework for a discussion of methodological issues related to diversity in higher education, including classification of race and ethnic information, data aggregation, and use of several key indicators (access to college, persistence, and student progress). (MSE)