In order to meet two key objectives, enrollment managers at colleges and universities make extensive use of single equation probability models. The first objective is to generate sufficient financial resources to educate the students enrolled. The more dependent the institution is on tuition revenues, the more important is this objective. The…

Because school budgets are limited and becoming more so, the wise use of school finances to enhance student learning is imperative. This digest examines the ways public schools are redistributing existing resources and changing policies to increase student academic achievement. Information is provided on the most effective means for allocating…

In fiscal year 1995, about 26 million students in about 94,000 schools nationwide were served lunches each day through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). In response to concerns raised about the amount of food thrown away by students (called plate waste), the General Accounting Office (GAO) surveyed a random sample of cafeteria managers in…

In order to develop a financial plan for and identify constraints on the production of distance learning materials, a total human resources development (HRD) plan must be produced, and endorsed by the highest level of management. The HRD plan sets out the human resources needed to secure the organization's future in terms of people and their…

The paper focuses on the Title I Evaluation Technical Assistance Centers to illustrate issues of measuring costs and deciding on outcome criteria before promoting "cost-effective" approaches. Effects are illustrated for varying resource allocations among personnel, travel, materials, and phone costs as a function of emphasizing…

The needs assessment process must begin first with the determination of "what should be." The next process in needs assessment is the determination of "what is." The gaps or discrepancies between "what is" and "what should be" are the needs of the school or district. The results of this needs assessment must then be viewed in terms of the resource…

Higher Education has experienced limited growth in recent years. Institutions, state commissions on higher education, and legislatures are faced with the prospect of providing educational services under steady-state conditions. Decisionmakers need to consider alternative means of providing educational services within resources available to the…

This paper examines the proposition that management information systems (MIS) for colleges and universities are not achieving their original objectives of supporting better management decisions by providing more and better information in a more timely manner. As a consequence, the MIS activity should be reduced in scope, and standardized to…

This report is one of a series prepared by the National Research Council for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This report takes a critical look at the relationship of energy and the environment and focuses on three main policy questions: (1) Do environmental regulations make too great a demand on scarce resources of energy and the…

This paper discusses several concepts and techniques from the areas of systems theory and economic analysis that can be used as tools in an effort to improve the productivity of the educational enterprise. Several studies investigating productivity in education are reviewed, and the analytical problems in conducting cost-effectiveness studies are…

A major challenge in higher education is to build evaluation models that first of all spell out various effectiveness measures and then related cost data. The Program Effectiveness and Related Costs (PERC) framework addresses this problem. The five components of PERC are outcomes, costs, students, learning programs, and faculty. An overview and…

This paper focuses on the concerns associated with the use of systems analysis in higher education. One fear is that systems analysis will increase the need for centralized authority and highly structured activity, thus contributing to further alienation and dehumanization. A second objection pertains to the increased requirement for specifying…

Although the public is best served by governmental agencies which have integrated the major functions of planning, managing, and budgeting, it can be asserted that the planning function is paramount. A review of the evolution of public agency administration in the U.S. reveals that until recent years the planning function has been largely…

In the past decade institutions have been troubled with problems of increasing enrollment and increasing expenditures. This study proposes to identify common cost patterns as a guideline in determining approach to full utilization of resources. This research will assist government policy makers to identify institutional educational resource…

This paper identifies the curricular-instructional implications of PPBS. The author (1) describes the purposes of PPBS, (2) proposes a feasible implementation strategy for local schools, (3) identifies potential pitfalls that should be avoided, (4) formulates a possible role description for supervisors, (5) identifies local schools using PPBS, and…