Institutional comparison groups can be selected in several ways, depending on the comparison issue. The method chosen involves both technical and political considerations. (Author/MSE)

A framework for analyzing and classifying cost factors in higher education is presented. Costs are located in three sources (individual colleges and universities, the higher education community, and the socioeconomic and scientific-technological environment), and within each source, are a result of either cultural or material conditions. (MSE)

Higher education's search for growth in revenues and missions, largely successful to date, may be reaching its limits. If this is true, future attention in college administration will focus more on reducing expenditures, with implications for institutional research opportunities, use of resources, and the institutional research office's…

There is no right way to forecast college enrollments; in many instances, it will be prudent to use both qualitative and quantitative methods. Methods chosen must be relevant to questions addressed, policies and decisions at stake, and time and talent required. While it is tempting to start quickly, enrollment forecasting is an area in which…