Numerous higher education institutions apply a full costing system in their accounting model due to the imposition of formal agents (governments/funding institutions), or by suggestion of informal agents (associations). This paper analyzes whether the rationale applied by these agents to justify the use of the full costing rather than the…

Universities face an uncertain funding environment and turbulent marketplace. Financial scenario modelling offers a potential mechanism to assist in navigating a way forward. Our previous paper on UK universities' practice found some variation in the sophistication of the approaches taken, but the overall impression was of a relatively simple…

Policies on academic probation and dismissal have existed in the American higher education system for decades to maintain academic quality and encourage students to improve their performance. Research has aimed to clarify the relationship between academic probation, dismissal, and retention, yet differing results emerge. Furthermore, the…

In recent decades, education leaders and researchers have increasingly sought to disaggregate key higher education outcome data--graduation rates, attainment, employment, and income--by race and ethnicity in order to uncover and narrow equity gaps. The same is true, recently, for affordability, especially as it relates to the differential impact…

This study examines the relationship between cost efficiency and privatization at 163 public research institutions in the United States between 2005 and 2015. We employ a spatial autoregressive (SAR) random-effects model and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to estimate the relationship between costs and four privatization variables: auxiliary…

The NCAA's 2015 Cost of Attendance (COA) policy allowed Division I schools to increase spending on student-athletes. Using data documenting COA implementation and a difference-in-differences design, we explore the relationships between COA and institutions' financial behaviors. Athletics expenditures grew substantially after COA adoption,…

Using generalized difference-in-difference and synthetic control modeling, this study estimates the influence of the community-college baccalaureate (CCB) on institutional finance over time and by intensity. Leveraging data spanning 19 years (1999-2017), I find no impact on overall revenue but suggestive evidence of upfront costs and slight…

Teacher turnover has adverse consequences for student achievement and imposes large financial costs for schools. Some have argued that high-stakes testing may lower teachers' satisfaction with their jobs and could be a major contributor to teacher attrition. In this paper, we exploit changes in the tested grades and subjects in Georgia to study…

The proverbial clock is ticking for many Kansas school buildings, whether due to implications of a complete slowdown due to code compliance, or due to failure of critical systems. Regardless of the reasons, millions of square footage of learning spaces are in jeopardy of no longer being able to serve students in adequate teaching and learning…

Colleges and universities were hit hard by the COVID crisis. The American Council on Education (ACE) estimated a total impact of $120 billion in a recent letter to legislators. That number reflects both direct expenses and lost revenues. It is easy to identify the direct expenses associated with testing, cleaning, PPE, remote learning technology…

Schools across the U.S. are facing substantial challenges filling positions (Bleiberg & Kraft, 2022) and are considering solutions to address potential teacher shortages. As of 2022, almost half of the States in the U.S. create or support teacher residency programs (TRPs) through statute or regulation (Education Commission of the States,…

Over the past few decades, technology has revolutionized the way colleges and universities operate. This study examines the extent to which investments in information technology (IT) are associated with the number and types of higher education personnel. After accounting for time lags between IT funding and personnel changes, we found that…

This article submits that while the world continues to view education as a human right, it also persists in depriving an important section of it -- namely "adult learning and education" (ALE) -- of adequate funding. Located within the lifelong learning domain, which facilitates both the resolution of challenges and adjustment to the…

College and university leaders are fighting the battle of their lives to maximize their institutions' financial wellbeing. With COVID-19 further weakening institutions' financial positions, are there any hidden sources of savings still to be had? The answer, often, is yes--even for the many institutions who have already made substantial cuts. It…

This article presents philosophical-ethical arguments concerning the extent to which NCAA inter-collegiate ("American" or U.S.) football is a public good and some implausible implications of the claim that it constitutes a public good and ought to be publicly subsidized as part of a component of U.S. higher education generally as is…