Describes Fault Tree Analysis, a tool for systems analysis which attempts to identify possible modes of failure in systems to increase the probability of success. The article defines the technique and presents the steps of FTA construction, focusing on its application to education. (RAO)

This booklet aims to provide policy advice and support to decision-makers and managers in the area of quality assurance in higher education. In order to do so, the authors describe and discuss major issues that decision-makers in charge of quality assurance need to consider for the creation or development of an external quality assurance (EQA)…

In illustrating how systems analysis can aid university planning, a report is presented of the early results of the application of systems analysis to problems of planning in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Analysis is reported of various alternative policies concerning enrollment, curriculum, involvement of teaching, hospitals,…

This study, based primarily on the experience of Seattle, Washington, deals with the application of the systems approach to educational planning. Section 1 defines and describes the concept of a system and the systems approach, and gives a general introduction to the use of systems analysis. Section 2 describes the development and use of the…

This volume concerns a procedure for setting the districtwide goals and objectives to be used in planning STEP (System for Trenton's Educational Planning.) The report contains the analysis of a Trenton community opinion survey conducted in March-April of 1971. One vital element of the analysis is the development of "indicators of…

This volume consists of papers presented at a meeting of scientific and technical personnel who examined and evaluated applications of systems analysis and operational research, and who related techniques to practical educational planning. Topics represent a variety of new management techniques available to educational administrators including…

This document, composed of 3 separated papers under 1 cover, is a case study of 1 institution's attempt to develop a system to permit optimum utilization of limited resources. The part of the system discussed here assumes that the institution has already made the decisions as to what it can do well and has to some extent allocated such resources…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS SHOULD BE APPLIED TO SCHOOL PLANNING TO PROVIDE A GENERAL FRAMEWORK WITHIN WHICH EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED IN THE MOST REASONABLE MANNER. SYSTEMS ANALYSIS METHODS INTEGRATE THE DIFFERING VALUES OF EDUCATORS INTO COMMON OBJECTIVES. SUCCESSFUL USE OF PROGRAM BUDGETING DEPENDS ON (1) PLANNING, STRUCTURAL DESIGN, AND…

Some of the major elements of administrative information systems design as applied to higher education are described. Differences between the application of computer technology in the commercial environment and the educational environment are discussed. The major steps in systems development from problem definition through implementation are…

This volume presents background information on the project and explains the needs and decisions that actuated its implementation. First year activities and some preliminary teaching material on the concept of PPB (planning-programing- budgeting) in education are also described. The major focus is on a description of the proposed system, a…

This ESEA Title III report describes fault tree analysis and assesses its applicability to education. Fault tree analysis is an operations research tool which is designed to increase the probability of success in any system by analyzing the most likely modes of failure that could occur. A graphic portrayal, which has the form of a tree, is…

This volume describes an automated procedure for multiyear enrollment forecasting in the Trenton, New Jersey, public schools. Enrollment forecasts generated by this procedure will provide enrollment estimates in each district's instructional program. Data required to operate the forecaster will be collected during the second year of its operation.…

Any general systems approach has five basic elements, which serve as the tasks for the researcher using systems analysis. The five are (1) the objectives, (2) the alternatives, (3) the costs, (4) the model (or models), and (5) the decision rule. With these five steps, the researcher should be able to specify the objectives, select alternatives,…

This annotated bibliography contains 97 entries to aid those interested in the problems and techniques of comprehensive program planning. It is designed for educators who feel that systems analysis, cost-benefit studies, and mathematical models have some relevance in the planning processes of a large school system. Three major sections are…