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Perspectives concerning the effective use of a small college's resources and assets in a time of declining government support and decreasing enrollments are presented. Attention is directed to improving cash flow, staff reduction and early retirement, external sources of long-term financing, college financial student aid, and managing real estate assets. Specific topics concerning cash flow include: renegotiation of debt payments to the federal government, enrollment decline and debt refinancing, application of reserve accounts and substitution of collateral, reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, cooperation and cost effectiveness, reducing health insurance costs, and income from intangible assets. Additional topics include: financial exigency and termination of tenured faculty, early retirement incentives, midcareer transition programs, phased or gradual retirement programs, financing energy conservation measures, state agency financing and industrial revenue bonds, industrial revenue bonds, tuition pricing and student financial aid, cash-flow sacrifice and student aid, external sources for student loan financing, income producing options for surplus facilities, alternate use of federally-financed facilities, and unrelated business income and tax-exempt status. (SW)

Management strategies that would be useful to college trustees and administrators in the actual situation of institutional merging or closing are discussed, and ways to assess the costs and benefits of taking on a new corporate identity or dissolving an old one are suggested. Trustee responsibilities and the following three typical financial problems are considered: short-term debt, inflated income estimates, and the problem of critical mass. After outlining the options available for corporate change, a general model for evaluating the options that an individual institution finds available to it is presented. Attention is directed to the viability of a merger, preparing for negotiations, and the financial basis for an acquisition merger. Bankruptcy as an instrument for reorganization, and specifically the Bankruptcy Reform Act of l978 provisions, are addressed. The responsibility of the board of trustees in dissolution of the college corporation and some of the procedures that college counsel should research before a resolution for dissolution is adopted are outlined. Other areas of concern include: timing of the announcement to close; charter and legal obligations; making the announcement; academic concerns such as completion of graduation requirements; the library collections; and the alumni association. The following administrative and policy decisions are addressed: severance pay, unemployment insurance, out-placement of staff, the status of pension funds for those who retire, student records, and documents needed by students receiving financial aid. Appended materials include regulations of the states regarding the disposition of student records of private colleges and universities and state regulations regarding the dissolution of nonprofit colleges and universities. (SW)

This second publication in a three-part series called "Alternative Futures" is essentially a workbook that, followed step by step, allows a college to see how its use of space has changed over time. Especially designed for small colleges, the kit makes use of the information that is routinely collected, such as annual financial statements and utilities costs, classroom schedules and course enrollments, staff and student body sizes and composition, and building sizes and conditions. The kit consists of three basic segments. Section 1, Basic Data Forms, contains 14 forms used to collect numerical data from the various sources on campus. Section 2, Institutional Profile, consists of 27 charts and graphs for graphic display of the institutional data. The profile is the planning document for wide distribution within the campus community that forms the basis for analyzing needs and assessing strategies. A series of analysis questions accompanies each of the charts. Section 3, Constituent Views, includes a series of questions designed for use in workshops and for reporting the results of constituent group discussions. A case study example of completed Basic Data Forms and an Institutional Profile is included. (MLF)