Evaluation research has established that college student ratings of faculty are reliable, valid, and widely used. However, resistance continues. Minimizing this resistance is crucial, and designating an influential change advocate within the institution can influence acceptance of a new system. Research on institutional contexts for evaluation…

Twelve recommendations for streamlining the transition to new educational technologies in higher education address asking fundamental questions, building a vision, adjusting to permanent change, exercising judgment and trust, rejecting dichotomies, understanding intellectual property and fair use, developing guidelines and policies, preparing for…

Faculty incentives are skewed away from the collegiate ideal, particularly at research universities. It is not inevitable that research-oriented faculty divorce themselves from students and campus life, but active participation requires changes in faculty culture, evaluation/reward structures, and types of conversation in which faculty engage on…

In addition to conventional methods of easing leadership transition in student activities organizations (orderly transfer of significant organizational knowledge, minimizing confusion, sense of completion for outgoing leaders, identification of potential leaders, careful nominee selection), retreats are recommended as a means of creating shared…

Information literacy initiatives provide a vehicle for academic librarians to become agents of positive change. A campus-wide Information Literacy Initiative can improve teaching and learning, and further the mission of the institution. The Instruction Librarian may travel across literal and figurative boundaries. Librarians charged with designing…

A postsecondary degree or credential is increasingly important in the U.S. economy, both for new entrants into the labor force and those already employed. Working adults who want to succeed in this economic climate are pursuing a college education in increasing numbers. Adult students have unique needs that differ from traditional-age, residential…

Contending that the relationship between leadership and the creation and management of institutional culture is critical to the future success of community colleges, this book explores theory, research, and practice associated with this perspective. The following chapters are provided: (1) "Creative Cultures: Toward a New Paradigm," by George A.…

Surveys of Australian (n=293) and British (n=103) college faculty in 1993 assessed reactions to structural changes in the university systems in those countries. The survey investigated perceptions of institutional culture, resources, advantages, status of women academics, the change process, role of research, workload, faculty evaluation, mission,…

A case history of organizational development in the Kent, Washington, school district from August 1967 to April 1972 is presented in 14 chapters and numerous appendixes. The first section contains a summary, the theoretical scheme, and the principles used in building the cadre of organizational specialists. Chapters 5, 6, and 7, concern…

An innovative session was conducted to introduce session participants to a concept and researched model for linking organizational culture and performance. The session goals were as follows: (1) give participants a working knowledge of the link between business culture and key business performance indicators; (2) give participants a hands-on…

This case study was an investigation of the role of the institutional culture of a university in the process of changing to reform-based practices for two college mathematics professors. A framework is presented for identifying and analyzing institutional norms and policies that are present and those lacking in supporting faculty efforts toward…

"The Development Data Book," published by the World Bank presents statistics on countries with populations of more than one million. The statistics relate to economic development and the changes it is bringing about in the world. Sometimes called indicators, the statistics are measures of social and economic conditions in developing and industrial…

This paper offers a traditional but often neglected view of schools as places of work. It argues that schools are best understood as places where people work and face problems similar to those encountered in other work organizations. Good schools are places where the quality and quantity of work are greater and the work is integrated more…

Meeting the demands of the public, policymakers, and the private sector have spurred Education School (Ed School) leaders to find ways of working "smarter" as well as harder. The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education conducted a telephone survey of 32 Education School deans and directors to determine the catalyst and the rationale…

This book follows a ficticious school community called "Dewey Middle School" in its transition from a traditional junior high school to a middle school. The stories were conceptualized around recommendations made in the 1989 report, "Turning Points: Preparing American Youth for the 21st Century." The purpose of focusing on one…