This paper uses micropolitical perspectives to analyze the ability of a prominent but under-studied reform, student based budgeting (SBB), to substantially engage teachers and parents in decision-making processes at the school level. We test this particular strand of SBB's theory of action on an in-depth study of a "critical case" of…

This research examined postsecondary policy in Louisiana, which utilizes performance incentives, in order to: (a) provide clear distinctions among three commonly used types of performance incentives, and (b) use performance indicators defined in the LA GRAD Act to determine if Louisiana policy is primarily faculty oriented, state oriented, or…

(Purpose) The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between certain characteristics of US states and their budgeting systems for higher education (HE), and to derive implications for Japanese HE budgeting policy from the results. (Methodology) The US's State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) conducted a 30-item…

(Purpose) While numerous data and research indicate that the fiscal practice of institutions has been influenced by National University Corporation Act (NUCA), what exactly the effect NUCA has had on institutions is not known beyond anecdotal experiences and stories. The contribution of this paper is to provide hard evidence on such institutional…

The paper offers a sample budget for the operation of a Committee on the Handicapped. The rationale for the existence of a budget is discussed and the development of the budget is examined. It is explained that the budget should be developed by those most familiar with the operations of the committee and that budget assumptions should be shared…

This report examines tax reform in Vermont. A unanimous state supreme court decision in 1997 ruled that the state's educational finance system was unconstitutional. In response to this ruling, the legislature passed a new statewide property-tax system with two tiers: a block grant of $5,010 per pupil and a guaranteed yield for spending above the…

Higher education is part of a world that is rapidly changing. This observation is discussed in relation to a study by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems and the National Commission on the Financing of Postsecondary Education. Emphasis is placed on policy formulation and implementation at the institutional level. The…

This study examined the implementation of Responsibility Center Management (RCM) systems in two institutions of higher education: the Graduate School of Business at Institution and the Center of Collaborative Education and Professional Studies at Institution B. RCM is a management and budgeting process for universities that decentralizes authority…

With tighter budget allocations, funding for different university budgets items must be managed more judiciously. Subjective criteria are often used to allocate funds to colleges within a university, with the result that allocation decisions can be based on spending differences that are not statistically significant. A statistically based method…

The Education Reform Act 1988 obliges the Local Education Authorities (LEAs) to delegate budgets to the colleges within their control by means of a formula, but does not say what should happen within colleges once the delegated budget has been received. This paper reports some of the outcomes of an action learning and training program, carried out…

In response to the nationwide trend toward increased financial pressures and growing demands by state legislatures for accountability, several large universities (including Indiana University) have adopted various forms of "responsibility center budgeting" (RCB), which has fiscal implications for programs in speech communication and…

As one considers the almost incredible array of guidelines, regulations, requirements, and contract provisions affecting the allocation of the local school's resources, one must wonder how it is possible to conduct the business of the school at all. Time is not traditionally considered a resource, and local school administrators are rarely trained…

Basic concepts concerning state-level resource allocation to higher education are discussed. Attention is directed to principles of budgeting regardless of context, the pluralistic nature of higher education, characteristics of higher education production functions, and the typical form of the budget. In addition to the distribution of resources,…

This study provides a brief overview of the current status of performance funding programs around the country, and compares California's Partnership for Excellence for Community Colleges with programs applicable to two-year institutions in five other states: Florida, Illinois, Missouri, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The comparative analysis…

This paper describes the activity-based costing approach used to report and capture the time spent by faculty for specified activities at one Midwestern university. For each department, four major areas (instruction, research, public service, and administration) and 14 activities were identified. During the annual goal-setting period, each faculty…