This document is intended to provide a systematic aid for planning and managing academic units (schools, colleges, departments, or divisions) within an institution. It consists of a comprehensive set of techniques and procedures that can be used by academic unit administrators to examine the internal operations of their units--their functions, demands, faculty and financial resources, and outcomes. While implementation of this manual can occur at various levels within an institution, it is designed to focus on the academic departments. The document has been designed to be flexible in its use and to rely on the administrator's experience and judgments in applying the tools to examine various planning situations. It is organized into several "modules," each of which addresses a particular aspect of the overall planning and management process within academic units. Modules are: (1) structures module, (2) academic demand module, (3) faculty planning module, (4) finance module, (5) outcomes module. Appendixes describe: (1) contributions on NCHEMS products to the academic unit planning manual; (2) the NCHEMS program classification structure; (3) program measures; (4) completion of worksheet 3B, the faculty planning form; (5) inventory of higher education outcomes variables and measures. (Author/KE)