[Note: This is a re-formatted manuscript that was originally published in On the Horizon, 1992, 1(1), 3-4. It is posted here with permission from Jossey Bass Publishers.]

The purpose of On the Horizon is to alert members of the higher education community to driving forces and potential developments in the macroenvironment that constitute threats or opportunities to colleges and universities. We do this by reporting news from the social, technological, economic, environmental, and political (STEEP) sectors, local though global levels. And we suggest the implications of these developments or potential developments for higher education. Members of our editorial board will write pieces on developments they see on (or perhaps beyond) the horizon that could affect your work and future in higher education and will speculate on the implications these developments have for colleges and universities. You may not always agree with what they say, but we hope you will agree that their articles stimulate your thinking. (And what better way to begin than with George Keller's piece in the next column!)

We want to be of service to you. As you will note in this issue, we have a section called Tools, written by our managing editor, Bernard Glassman, an information consultant with expertise in software for both DOS and Macintosh computers. In subsequent issues we will add other sections. The Issues section will be an ongoing dialogue focusing on critical issues facing higher education. Using Scanning Information will illustrate how some colleges and universities use scanning information in academic or institutional planning. Book Reviews will bring to our attention those new books that will assist us anticipate the future. Letters to the Editor will offer you the opportunity to respond directly to items or to their implications in case you disagree with our assessments or wish to add to them.

You are invited to participate in all sections of this newsletter. In fact, the sections on Issues, Letters, and Using Scanning Information depend upon your input. We welcome items that serve as signals of change in any of the STEEP sectors. Please also provide a statement of the implications of these signals for higher education. If we use your contribution, we will give you credit for its submission.

A final note. We are thinking of two additional services we may offer. One would be a site license to copy and distribute On the Horizon to your colleagues as a regular function of your office. The other is to publish periodically our scanning database in electronic form in a text or bibliographic data base format for both DOS and Macintosh computers. This growing data base consists of abstracts of books and articles and their implications for colleges and universities. Please let me know if you would be interested in either service. (Phone, mail and internet information is on the masthead.)