This chapter describes how the Kansas Study of Community College Instructional Costs and Productivity can be used in state, institutional, and regional accreditation contexts.

Changes in the financial situations among the second tier of liberal arts colleges between 1996 and 2001 are documented using Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System financial and enrollment data. These data show large disparities in net assets per student, expenses per student, and the subsidies per full-paying student and the average…

Discusses various aspects of Training's business profiles, including budgets (salaries, raw materials, hardware, facilities, overhead), employee-to-trainer ratio, number of hours of training, training budget as a percent of total sales, and training budget as a percent of total payroll. (CT)

Describes development of the National Association of College and University Business Officers' (NACUBO's) methodology for identifying the costs of delivering undergraduate education. The tool was developed to help institutions explain their costs to students, parents, and the general public. (EV)

Many school districts and education institutions are making green facilities a greater priority. Green buildings, also called sustainable or high-performance buildings, can provide many advantages for schools and the people who use them. They cost less to operate, last longer and provide a better learning environment. Constructing sustainable…

Spending by school districts on maintenance and operations increased in 2006-2007, reversing years of historic low expenditures. According to "American School & University's" 36th annual Maintenance and Operations (M&O) Cost Study, the median school district spends 9.19% of total district expenditures (TDE) on M&O, up from 7.58% the year before.…

Discusses annual cost and present worth methods as two basic ways of calculating life-cycle cost to make purchasing decisions when replacing training systems. A training cost analysis worksheet to aid in asking comprehensive questions about training costs as they currently exist is included. (MBR)

To maintain good light quality while attempting to reduce energy costs, the University of Illinois (Chicago) investigated a variety of light-related cutbacks. An inexpensive, quickly installed current-limiting device (NO-WATT manufactured by Remtec Systems) on 1000 fixtures resulted in energy savings of $18,000 annually. (DH)

Increasing hydroelectric costs jolted the Tupelo (Mississippi) School District into an energy conservation program. Corrective measures have kept operating cost increases within 10 percent. (Author/MLF)

Measures public school transportation directors are taking to solve their current budget problems. (MLF)

Funding sources and uses, and major expense categories are discussed. Trends indicate most academic libraries get funding from their own universities and in some instances from substantial gifts and endowments. Materials budgets have been redistributed in favor of serials at the expense of books. (Author/MBR)

Suggestions are made for financing and implementing solar energy programs in recreational parks. (JD)

An annual survey of school maintenance and operations (M & O) funding concludes, among other detailed findings, that budgets continue to shrink in the face of a weak economy--the sixth year of dropping budgets and the smallest level since the survey began. (EV)

Asserts that the complexity of interrelated energy management factors means that business officers have to be more closely involved in assessing and communicating the effects of energy on campus maintenance and operations and utility budgets. Discusses identifying appropriate energy initiatives, developing realistic utility infrastructure plans…

Issues in determination of overhead for cost recovery from research funding sources are discussed, including the need to collect overhead, principles involved in charging for overhead, range of activity types to be considered, classification and calculation of costs, pricing policy, and payment to the university versus payment to its components.…