Personnel responsible for telecommunications systems need a way to ensure pursuit of the right technology at the right time does not lead them away from considerations of the right price. A three-step method of historical and monthly reviews offers a straightforward means of regaining control of expenditures and tracking costs. (MSE)

Active asset management has not been consistent or cost-effective for college and university endowment funds. Indexing offers higher returns than median active management, provides more investment stability, is available to small institutional endowments across a broad spectrum of investment asset classes, and at lower cost than active management.…

A study at California State University, Fresno investigated the relationship between Perkins' Loan recipients' (n=429) credit records, loan default rates, and age. For eight different age groups, credit checks revealed student distribution in four credit categories. Results show credit checks could have saved the program a great deal of money.…

The Colorado School of Mines' experience illustrates that with good planning and enough money, a small university can provide a high level of waste management service, complying with government regulations. Considerations in developing the plan include a segregation scheme for incompatible materials, vehicle selection, and costs of ongoing…

An organizational development and quality enhancement effort at the University of Cincinnati (Ohio) incorporating characteristics of several popular quality management systems has produced unanticipated benefits in the administrative services and information technologies division: downsizing was less drastic than anticipated; innovative financing…

Discussion of investment of planned gifts to colleges and universities identifies three common administrative problems (inappropriate investment strategies, tracking of performance, no performance comparisons), three factors focusing greater attention on planned gifts (fiduciary responsibilities, rapid growth in planned giving, donor…

The trend toward outside contracting of college and university services is examined, and issues involved in the decision to do so are discussed. The experience of one university in outsourcing its printing services shop is offered as illustration of how this approach can resolve several administrative issues: cost, quality and extent of services,…

The difference between cost and market value of endowment investments is significant for many colleges and universities. These investments should always be reported at market value to provide relevant, comparable, consistent, and understandable financial information. Nonmanagement users of institutional financial statements prefer market rather…

Colleges and universities with mounting deficits may be tempted to sell surplus land for profit, but this is never a smart long-term choice. Through joint ventures and innovative financing, institutions can transform such holdings into development projects. In the current economy, there may be increased interest in such sites. (MSE)

It is argued that colleges and universities can use direct allocation costing to provide quantitative information needed for decision making. This method of analysis requires institutions to modify traditional ideas of costing, looking to the private sector for examples of accurate costing techniques. (MSE)

Strategic planning enables colleges to direct discretionary dollars into high-impact areas that can enhance critical core activities, improving output. When the institution can disinvest financial resources in weak or noncritical core areas and redirect them through careful budgeting, it improves its chances for success. (MSE)

Two accounting strategies for classifying college or university endowment losses are compared: reduction of permanently restricted net assets and reduction of unrestricted net assets. The approaches differ in their effects on classification of net assets only when capital losses on endowment investments bring the fund below the level required in…

The investment strategy of Orange County (California), which led to insolvency of its investment pool, is analyzed and lessons applicable to institutions of higher education are examined. Focus is on two elements: leveraged investment strategy that depended on stable or declining interest rates, and a liquidity crisis. It is concluded that…

Higher productivity must become internalized in college institutional cultures and recognized as a strategic issue for long-term reasons of educational quality and robust survival. The primary challenge is not downsizing but right-sizing for available resources, mission, and quality standards. The concept of selective excellence must prevail. (MSE)

The current cost structure of higher education, comprised of multiple controllable and uncontrollable costs, is analyzed and promising opportunities to reduce costs are explored. Some innovative strategies that have saved substantial sums for the institutions implementing them are highlighted. (MSE)