The Synergistic Model of Organizational Career Development is a new model of organizational career development that combines the best of career development practice and organizational development into a unified, coherent model. The model has three levels of organization: philosophical, strategic, and practical. Expanding circles are used to…

This booklet for trustees of institutions of higher education offers guidelines for strategic financial decisions required in light of the financial challenges higher education faces in the 1990s and beyond. "Strategic response" is defined as a decision that requires changing a major policy, program, or practice and involves some risk. Five…

This booklet, intended for trustees of institutions of higher education, offers some instruction on the principles of risk management. Introductory information provides a definition of risk management, which is seen as a planning and strategic function, not solely as a financial or safety assessment. Individual sections then address the following…

This paper discusses the role that the Office of Institutional Research and Strategic Planning played in providing data support, planning, and cohesiveness as Utah Valley Community College worked to become Utah Valley State College. The two tier model adopted at Utah Valley State College aspires to describe a cost-effective four-year college with…

Goal 1 of the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Strategic Plan, "Our Call to Action: Pursuit of Excellence" (MCPS, 2004), is to "Ensure Success for Every Student." One measure of success for students who plan to attend college is their preparation for college-level course work. The Advanced Placement (AP) program offers MCPS students an…

The number of high school age students who do not complete high school is receiving increased attention as a serious challenge facing our educational and workforce systems. Moreover, the magnitude of the problem is becoming clear at the same time as a consensus is emerging that education beyond high school is critical to economic self-sufficiency…

With a fifty-year history of commitment to serving adults, Widener University's University College recently volunteered to participate in CAEL's (Council for Adult and Experiential Learning) Adult Learning Focused Initiative (ALFI) by using the Institutional Self-Assessment Survey (ISAS) and the Adult Learner Inventory (ALI) from the ALFI…

"Marketing" and "branding" were once considered dirty words on campus but faculty, staff, and board members now appreciate the value of getting their message out and managing their reputation. The question is not so much whether to invest, but when, how, and most important, what's the return on investment? A roundtable of accomplished marketing…

This issue of "NERRC Focus" describes the activities of Vermont's Special Education Program and Fiscal Review Panel (the Panel), created by the Vermont Legislature in 1998, to study the delivery of special education and other support services in Vermont school districts. The Panel's primary goal has been to review the programs and…

Though trustees may communicate informally via telephone or e-mail, the board's formal meetings are the primary setting in which issues of great consequence are discussed and decided. That's why it is vital for those responsible for planning board meetings to be certain each meeting accomplishes the business at hand. Beyond common sense, planning…

To document the effectiveness of instruction, a retrospective pre-post type of evaluation was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a continuing education program designed for adults involved in community economic development. At the conclusion of the learning experience, the 35 participants were asked to complete a brief questionnaire that…

This study examines the perceptions of faculty, staff, and administrative participants involved in Northwest Community College's (Oregon) strategic planning process. Section 1 profiles the present-day community college, emphasizing changes in students and curriculum, increased competition, technological imperatives, and faculty development.…

Simply changing the structure of a school will not produce fundamental changes. The culture, the belief system of a school, must also change. One promising strategy for substantive school improvement is developing the capacity of school personnel to function as a professional learning community (PLC). This guide provides a conceptual framework for…

This strategic plan highlights the mission and objectives for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board through the year 2007. It contains an assessment of external and internal factors that impact the state's 50 community college districts. Some of the external factors include changes in demographics and technology; internal factors include…

This strategic plan was prepared to provide an overall direction for, and to enhance the quality and credibility of community colleges for the decade 1997-2007. Hawaii's community colleges are administered under the University of Hawaii system. The basic mission of the community colleges is to provide accessible postsecondary education to all…