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The Information Exchange Procedures (IEP) developed by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) are a set of standard definitions and procedures for collecting information about disciplines and student degree programs, outcomes of instructional programs, and general institutional characteristics. These definitions and procedures have been developed to facilitate exchange of information among institutions of postsecondary education, providing institutions with some assurance that data they exchange are useful for purposes of comparison. The procedures and definitions recommended in this manual and other manuals about IEP are "targets" for institutions. While it is anticipated that most institutions will be able to follow these recommendations, some institutions may not have available the required information, and others may not be able to provide it at a reasonable cost. Any effort at exchange of data among institutions involves some compromise in an attempt to accommodate the wide variation among institutions. Consequently, while comparable information for exchange is the goal of IEP, NCHEMS cannot guarantee the absolute comparability of data as the final result of IEP. Hopefully, the implementation of IEP will represent reasonable progress toward that goal. (Author/PG)

The costing procedures in this manual have been selected to give postsecondary educational institutions a way to determine the full cost of resources used in achieving institutional objectives. The procedures have been tested by a limited number of institutions within a wide range of activities, and are being released in a filed review edition at this time to promote further testing and evaluation. Recognizing that institutions conduct different kinds of cost studies for various purposes, this manual has not identified one particular set of procedures to cover all situations. Those institutions and agencies wishing to adopt a unique set of cost reporting or analysis procedures will need to do so in the context of the specific requirements being addressed. Appendixes include: glossary, program classification structure activity centers, personnel activity survey forms, capital cost study, and support cost allocations illustrated with sample data. (Author/PG)

A report based on a conference on the impact of cost information on statewide budgeting and planning is presented. The conference was organized around case-study reports on the use of cost information in higher education budgeting in Florida, Indiana, Washington, and Wisconsin. Rather than publishing convention proceedings, the case studies were further investigated. Interviews were conducted with institutional staff, state postsecondary education agency staff, executive budget staff, and legislative staffs in each state, and available documentation on costing and budgeting was collected. Information gathered from these sources and from conference papers was put together to develop a case study of costing and budgeting in each state, with a particular focus on innovationand the requirements expected to characterize the environment for higher education in the 1980s. This report also contains a chapter by Harold L. Enarson on the uses and abuses of cost information. He cautions against overemphasis of the value of cost information. A second chapter by Frank B. Pesci provides an overview of the issues in statewide planning and appropriations processes and the relationship of cost information to these issues from the perspective of a state senator. The final chapter of the report presents the editors' views on cost-driven formulas and attempts to draw conclusions from the case studies. (SW)

The field review edition of the Information Exchanges Procedures Manual describes a set of meaningful measures, a structure for organizing the data, and standard procedures to collect, aggregate, and display the data for information exchange purposes. The IEP steering committee, task force, and NCHEMS staff recommended two types of information for exchange: (1) information to calculate costs by discipline, program, and unit of output, (2) information to explain differences in characteristics and costs at different institutions. The measures used in this manual are participant, resources, activity, financial, and outcomes. The structure or framework for this information is the Program Classification Structure. After an overview and a description of structure, measures, and procedures, the study focuses on measures and procedures for determining: (1) general and participant information; (2) resource information; (3) activity information; (4) financial information; (5) direct cost; and (6) outcome information. Appendixes and tables follow the conclusion. (Author/KE)