A Proposed Taxonomy of Postsecondary Education Subject Matter Areas
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 125 382 HE 007 782 AUTHOR Allman, Katherine A.; And Others TITLE A Proposed Taxonomy of Postsecondary Education Subject Matter Areas. (Preliminary Draft). INSTITUTION Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Boulder, Colo. National Center for Higher Education Management Systems. PUB DATE 75 NOTE 278p. AVAILABLE FROM National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Post Office Drawer P, Boulder, Colorado 80302 EDRS PRICE MF-$0.83 HC-$15.39 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Cataloging; *Classification; *Codification; Higher Education; *Information Systems; *Post Secondary Education; *Taxonomy ABSTRACT The development of the NCHEM taxonomy came about because of a need for standardized and comprehensive structures for cataloging and organizing information on the multitude of instructional programs and activities presently functioning in the various levels and sectors of education. Although considerable effort has gone into the development of the NCHEMS postsecondary education subject matter taxonomy, the final result is not entirely satisfactory. This is due in part to inadequacies in the foundations upon which the proposed taxonomy has been based (that is, two existing taxonomies, both of which have internal inconsistencies) and in part to the restriction of the taxonomy to a four-digit coding structure. This proposed taxonomy has not attempted to resolve these issues but does seek to lay out issues and alternatives for consideration by others who may be concerned with the development of subject matter taxonomies. (Author) *********************************************************************** Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * materials not available from other sources. ERIC makes every effort * * to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal * * reproducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality * * of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC makes available * * via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). EDRS is not * responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original. * *********************************************************************** Artr'' A . A . 'S A A 4,1k 4 I Lei ,-16. 4'4 !, , d./ ,7,--,cf-z. ,(2 4r National Center for Higher Education Management Systems 00 at WICHE An Equal Opportunity Employer Executive Director, WICHE: The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) is a public agency through which the 13 western Robert H. Kroepsch states work together . to increase educational opportunities nor westerners. Associate Director. WICHE. and . to expand the supply of specialized manpower in the Director, National Center for West. Higher Education IVIaniii!ement Systems . to help universities and colleges improve both their at WICHE: programs and their management. Ben Lawrence . to inform the public about the needs of higher educa- tion. Deputy Director. NCHEMS: Robert A. Wallhaus Associate Director, NCHEMS. The Program of the National Center for Higher Education State and National Products Unit: Management Systems at WICHE was proposed by state Melvin D. Orwig coordinating agencies and colleges and universities in the West to he under the aegis of the Western Interstate Com- mission for Higher Education. The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems at WICHE pro- poses in summary: To design. develop. and encourage the implementation of management information systems and data bases including common data elements in institutions and agencies of higher education that will: provide improved information to higher education ad- ministration at all levels. facilitate exchange of comparable data among institu- tions. facilitatereporting of comparable information atthe state and national levels. Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education Post Office Drawer P ---Boulder, Colorado 80302 A PROPOSED TAXONOMY OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION SUBJECT MATTER AREAS (Preliminary Draft) Katherine A. Allman Paul Wing James N. McLaughlin 1975 This document, which has been produced as part of a program supported by the National Institute of Education, is one of two NCHEMS documents on classification systems for postsecondary education subject matter. This one proposes a postsecondary education subject matter taxonomy that might be used on an interim basis in conjunction with the NCHEMS Program Classi- fication Structure. The other, entitled A General Discussion of Classifi- cation Systems for Postsecondary Education Subject Matter, provides a general discussion of the subject with special attention to characteristics ofthe ideal" taxonomy and the strengths and weaknesses of existing tax- onomies. Both of these documents are being given very limited distribution in the hope that a new project being considered by the National Center for Edu- cational Statistics will be initiated to develop a subject matter taxonomy for all of education that is far more comprehensive and systematic tfixl any existing taxonomy, including the one described in this document. By limiting distribution of the two NCHEMS documents, it is hoped tLitmore attention will be focused on the development and review of this long-term solution to the taxonomy problem. National Center for Higher Education Mantgement Systems at Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education P.O. Drawer P Boulder, Colorado 80302 An Equal Opportunity Employer 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This field review edition of the Statewide Structures Taxonomy document is the product of the efforts of many individuals.The authors are particularly indebted to the members of the Statewide Structures Task Force, who generously contributed their time and efforts in the development of this edition. Thomas Baker Charles Hopkins Administrator, Financial Affairs Coordinator of Planning Division of Community Colleges Oklahoma State Department of Florida Department of Education Vocational and Technical Education Robert Barlow L. Felix Joyner Assistant to the President Vice-President - Finance Cornell University, New York University of North Carolina Don Brown F. Dean Lillie Assistant Provost Director Purdue University, Indiana Colorado State Board of Community Colleges and Occupational Education Rick Burke Legislative Analyst T. Harry McKinney, Professor or State of Oregon Administration and Higher Education College of Education Don Cole Michigan State University Business Manager Western Washington State College Daryush Nowrasteh Director, Management Infmation Louis A. Dimasi Systems Director Wisconsin Board of Vocational, Penn Technical Institute, Pennsylvania Technical and Adult Education William S. Fuller James Stevens Assistant Commissioner Vice-President - Finance New York State Education Department Knox College, Illinois Richard Harris Kenji Sumida Director of Continuing Education Coordinator, Planning and Budgeting Grays Harbor College, Washington University of Hawaii 5 iii Special thanks to Cynthia Labuda and Barbara Baker for their administrative assistance. 6 iv PREFACE The primary mission of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) at WICHE is to assist organizations and agencies involved in postsecondary education with the development of improved procedures and tools for planning and resource allocation. A related objective is the development of procedures that facilitate the exchange of comparable data among these institutions and agencies. This document, which has been developed jointly by the NCHEMS staff and the Statewide Structures Task Force, reviewed by the staff and the Task Force and approved for limited distribution by the Current Projects Committee of the NCHEMS Board of Directors, is intended to further these general objectives. Work on the postsecondary education subject matter taxonomy described in this document was initiated for two basic reasons: First, an immediate need for a unified subject matter taxonomy was seen for both the emerging state post- secondary education commissions and the community/junior colleges. Second, NCHEMS was interested in exploring the possibilities of extending the utility of its products to all of postsecondary education. As work on the taxonomy progressed, it became clear that it was a problem that could be dealt with only on an interim basis with the resources available in the NCHEMS project. The work on the present taxonomy therefore shifted from trying to develop an alter- native that would be recommended for actual use to providing an example of what might be done and documenting problems in existing taxonomies. It is hoped that in this way further effort on the development of postsecondary subject matter taxonomies, specifically new projects being considered by the National Center for Educational Statistics, will lead to a satisfactory taxonomy for all of education. 7 Thus, the taxonomy described in this document is not viewed by NCHEMS as a real alternative for actual use (although it is superior in many ways to existing taxonomies), it is not being recommended for inclusion in the NCHEMS communication base, nor are there any plans for maintaining or updating it in the future. Any institution or agency that adopts or implements this taxonomy should be aware that there is a strong possibility that yet another new taxonomy will be developed through NCES and adopted for federal reporting purposes within the next three to five years. It is doubtful that