Discusses the nature of and steps required in building an expert system. Includes comments by students given an assignment to choose a suitable topic and develop a small expert system related to that topic, as well as favorable faculty comments on the strategy. Also includes a student-developed expert system on rock-blasting. (JN)

Discusses difficulties within higher education management in achieving expected outcomes because of problematic elements in: artificial internal structures, funding formulae, the relative importance of system parameters versus system structure, and the significance of time scales and delays in influencing system behavior. Suggests that university…

In a 1981 national survey, nearly 80 percent of the surveyed institutions reported they were either already using or were planning to use computer-based administrative information systems. This survey is discussed and institutional predictors of the impact of information systems are analyzed. (MLW)

To be useful for management decision making, the college or university's cost accounting system must capture and measure improvements. Activity-based costing (ABC), which determines more accurately the full costs of services and products, tracks improvements and should proceed alongside reengineering of institutional accounting. Guidelines are…

The Management, Administrative Profile System (MAPS) was developed to permit assessment of a college on three levels. The detailed discussion of each level is preceded by a general process model which identifies the specific instrumentation, available options, and the major action steps associated with a particular level of assessment. Level "A"…

The development and implementation of an institutional framework to guide the management and use of information technologies (computing, office automation, and telecommunications) at Mount Royal College in Calgary, Alberta, are described. (Author/MLW)

With increasingly large quantities of management-oriented information being produced for decision-making, administrators are finding that they have insufficient time to adequately review and digest its meaning. This paper discusses the development of a computerized graphics system that will permit nearly all types of management information to be…

Developed at Brigham Young University, Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) is a technique for enhancing the probability of success in any system by analyzing the most likely modes of failure that could occur. It provides a logical, step-by-step description of possible failure events within a system and their interaction--the combinations of potential…

The need for management information by college and university administrators is becoming more intense. Recognizing that computerized information systems have not been able to satisfy this growing need, an alternative approach to the preparation of management information is described. This approach places the needs of decision makers before those…

The planning, management, and evaluation system is discussed as an effective aid for academic decision makers during a period of retrenchment for higher education institutions. (Author/SF)

The use of prototyping and simulation at St. Louis University to evaluate the implementation decisions and design of a student information system are described with regard to their impact on, and interaction with, institutional policies and procedures. (Author/MLW)

Stanford's Terminals for Managers Program was undertaken with two objectives: (1) to create a decision support system that would demonstrate the functional, technical, and economic value of electronic mail and other information technology services for university administrators, and (2) to educate these executives in information technology and…

This paper is based on the assumption that in shaping academic strategies for long-range planning purposes, educational institutions must be able to gather adequate information on which to base administrative decisions. Information on how the institution has operated in the past as well as how it is currently operating are critical items for valid…

Four major goals of Loyola University affect decisions concerning computing resources. These goals include: excellence in education and the growing role of computers; emphasis on research and attracting quality faculty, competition for students, and meeting administrative and health care needs. (MLW)

Focusing on management decisions in academic libraries, this article compares management information systems (MIS) with decision support systems (DSS) and discusses the decision-making process, information needs of library managers, sources of data, reasons for choosing microcomputer, preprogrammed application software, prototyping a system, and…