Managing Institutional Self-Study
David Watson and Elizabeth Maddison
Both at University of Brighton, UK

This book is about using evidence in leading and managing universities and colleges. The role of institutional self-study in establishing strategy and measuring progress is examined across the full range of institutional activities.

Organisational learning is a key concept for complex enterprises at the start of the 21st century. Because of the nature of the business (i.e. knowledge production and use), universities and colleges should be better at this than they are. This book offers practical guidance, set in the context of theory and with worked examples, showing how disciplined self-study underpins key decision-making, institutional processes and reputational positioning, supporting general effectiveness in universities and colleges.

At the heart of the book is the case for the development of the university or college as a mature, self-reflective community, capable of making full use of its analytical and other resources, thereby meeting the internal drive towards evidence-based practice and satisfying the requirements of external agencies..

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Foreword - Acknowledgements - List of acronyms - List of figures and tables - Part One: An introduction to institutional selfstudy- Self-study and organisational learning - Self-study in higher education: An international survey - Self-study: A university perspective - Part Two: Self-study in action- The data cycle - The quality cycle The planning cycle - Part Three: The uses of self-study- Self-study and decision-making - Self-study and reputational positioning - An institutional balance sheet - Bibliography - Index.

Open Univerity Press
February 2005 160pp
0 335 21502 5 Paperback £22.99
0 335 21503 3 Hardback £60.00