Proceedings of the 1981 CAUSE conference include both professional and vendor presentations. Track 1, on decision support systems, examines such areas as system design, the EDUCOM Financial Planning Model System (EFPM), the evolution of support systems, and a Mississippi approach. Track 2, "Managing the Information Systems Resource," focuses on the nature of managerial work, the socio-technical approach to designing an information system, recruitment of computer services personnel, computer center performance measurement, and management success formula. The third track, "The Emerging Technology," discusses: VISICALC budgeting, modeling with VISICALC and EFPM, word processing at Carnegie-Mellon University, electronic mail, and improving financial aid delivery through an electronic delivery system. Track 4, "Small College Information Systems," examines: an online fund raising system for a private university, the college as a knowledge organization, support systems for private college admissions, personnel/payroll entity-relationship model, and management information systems (MIS) at a small college. In track 5 on applications, the following are covered: user control management at Florida, strategic planning as a new role for MIS, table driven general ledger system for fund accounting, university stores, improving systems development at Clemson University, and course offerings as a university resource at the University of Georgia. Track 6, "Professional Techniques," includes: a wholistic approach to applications development, automating the clerical control function in data processing, evaluation criteria for higher education computing, the systems analyst role, finding and keeping performance-oriented individuals, and general methodology and linear model for planning and evaluation. Vendor presentations are from: Integral Systems, Inc.; Arthur D. Little; and CBORD Group (universal campus ID system); Digital Equipment Corp..; IBM Corp.; Management Science America, Inc.; National Computer Systems, Inc.; Pansophic Systems, Inc.; Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and Co.; and Westinghouse Information Services. (LC)