| Negotiation of annual subsidies for public universities between university rectors and the Secretariat of Education had been a major problem in Mexico. For many years complaints by higher education administrators about the lack of mechanisms and objective criteria for the allocation of resources were persistent and common. Finally, in 1979, a national, regional, state and institutional planning system called the National System for Permanent Higher Educational Planning (SINAPPES), was developed. It is through this mechanism that national policies were to be implemented and distribution of resources rationalized. Seven years after its implementation, the national system has had little impact on institutional planning. Why the requirements of SINAPPES have had so little or no effect on the planning experience of state public universities in Mexico? The purpose of this study is to address this question and to examine relationships between central planning and institutional planning from a perspective of organizational states, decision making processes and environmental demands of the institutions. Every Mexican state but one has at least one public university but little is known about the conditions in which planning occurs in the 34 public universities. There is a clear need to know more about their institutional dynamic, and how management and planning systems make a difference in higher education. This study tries to help administrators of higher educational institutions determine what kind of planning will be most effective under specific circumstances and conditions, so they can take steps to encourage the use of that planning process they believe will be the most useful in their specific situation. |
