Our current transformation to a computer literate, high technology, information society has numerous implications for a new role for postsecondary education. To help define its own role, North Central Technical College (NCTC) has developed a strategic planning and human resource development model that specifies assumptions on which to base subsequent planning and then states goals and objectives. NCTC has used this model to project its data/word processing needs for the next several years and to implement an institutional commitment to computer literacy. Within postsecondary education as a whole, the implications of the coming information society can be seen with respect to both internal and external planning. Factors relevant to institutional planning include the increasing problem of illiteracy; changes that technological advancements have made in technical fields, such as engineering; the growing role of data and information processing in almost every occupational field; the professional preparation and continuing education of instructors in technical fields; the educator's new role as learning facilitator; and the expansion of institutional planning, management, and evaluation to include needs assessment, market analysis, environmental scanning and trend analysis. In the past, postsecondary education's relationship to the economy has been seen in terms of providing an educated workforce. The future will require a new proactive role in facilitating the transition to an information society. (KL)