The Report on the Chartering Process.

A year-long research project was conducted concerning chartering as a potential management and communications tool in vocational-occupational education. Chartering is defined as a management tool which allows two individuals in the same or related organizations, sharing different levels of the same mission, to achieve an understanding of each other's needs and capabilities by establishing a mutually helpful relationship. The process is one whereby: critical issues are identified through scanning; essential parts of a critical issue are organized through mapping; agreement and validation are achieved through communication with significant others; and the performance record, value and worth of programs are reported through showing evidences of accomplishment. Preliminary interviews were conducted with 51 local, State and Federal vocational occupational administrators to determine their perceptions of the need for chartering and the process itself. Field tests of the process were then conducted with 56 high school and community college administrators. These administrators received training in the chartering process in two workshops. Through a questionnaire and followup interviews, data were gathered concerning the participants' perceptions of the process. Analysis of the data indicates that most participants viewed the process as beneficial to them and the time to be trained in the process as the primary cost. Recommendations for future use of the process are offered. (For related document, see JC 740044.) (Author/KM)