This research brief explores why "projection estimates" are not an effective approach to budget planning by comparing past projections to CUPA-HR's database of real-world salaries. The results shed light on why data-informed and data-driven decisions are a more effective way to think about budget planning. In this brief you'll learn…

This case study provides the background for a discussion of the bankruptcy of a composite non-profit corporation under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, and the possible alternatives available to bankruptcy. Topics considered include: reorganizations, the selection of a bankruptcy trustee or an examiner, duties of a non-profit board, the…

Even though the author and his colleagues are part of a major research university, they agonize, in meeting after meeting, over the 5 to 10-percent yearly cuts they need to make in their chemistry department's budget. By and large, those end up coming from education, not research, especially in faculty replacements and teaching assistants. The…

The public higher education systems have received significant budget cuts in the 2009-10 fiscal year, with the University of California (UC) receiving $813 million less than in 2007-08, California State University (CSU) receiving $625 million less, and the community college system receiving $812 million less. It is important to understand the…

One of the primary objectives of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) is to develop methods and techniques to assist institutional decision makers in allocating and utilizing available resources. Besides being key institutional resources, faculties are primary users of financial resources. Their salaries often…

This article discusses how one small liberal arts school, Wheaton College in Massachusetts, devised a strategic plan to improve faculty salaries by linking improvements in salaries to improvements in college resources. The benefits of the salary plan went beyond improving salaries. First, the plan dictated that faculty salaries be determined at…

The approach taken by Virginia to analyze and establish policy for college and university administrator salaries, as they relate to other institutions and to the salaries of instructional faculty, is outlined. A methodology felt to be appropriate for this analysis, tested on eight institutions, is described and illustrated. (MSE)

This survey attempts to: (1) determine salaries being paid to the incumbents of 46 selected professional administrative positions in higher education; (2) determine the nature and dollar value of noncash and total compensation afforded 30 of the 46 reported positions; (3) investigate the compensation relationships among positions and between…

An approach to institutional budgeting designed to alleviate accumulated deficits is described. The proposal introduces flexibility into the salary component, alleviating cash flow difficulties in the short to medium term and encouraging more proactive budgeting, by allowing employees to contract for reduced annual salary in exchange for reduced…

The evolution of California's attempts to determine college faculty salary comparability within and outside the state are chronicled and discussed, focusing on the difficulties inherent in the comparison. (MSE)

The Utah system of higher education data book for 1993-94 offers an executive summary and 12 sections of detailed supporting data and information. The executive summary notes major findings including: awarding of 13,576 degrees in 1991-92; enrollment of 100,200 students in the fall of 1992; growth of noncredit customized training; increased…

A report on higher education in Kentucky is presented, with attention to governance, funding, tuition, financial aid, staffing and salary comparisons for administrators and faculty, enrollment, degree production, cooperation, and quality issues. The statutory organization of the Kentucky Council on Higher Education is specified, along with the…

Identifying higher education cost drivers and working to limit their effects appears to be a necessity if higher education is to retain the support historically allocated by society. Costs occur for three groups: students, institutions, and society. This paper summarizes information about cost drivers in higher education and identifies two that…