New student success interventions generate costs for colleges (for example, staff time and supplies). However, if they lead more students to remain enrolled, cause students to attempt more credits, and improve longer-term student outcomes, they can also generate tuition revenue and state funding (for public institutions in states that allocate…

The purpose of this report is to support educational administrators and policymakers in becoming informed consumers of information about online learning and its potential impact on educational productivity. The report provides foundational knowledge needed to examine and understand the potential contributions of online learning to educational…

A conceptual framework for considering the costs and benefits of postsecondary education assessment is presented, along with a typology linking the costs of evaluation to their informational benefits. A number of cost-analysis paradigms and techniques for assessing alternative evaluation projects at the institutional level are also examined. The…

This paper presents a standard costing model appropriate for determining real costs of programs which are not entirely self-contained. Central to the model is the concept of allocation pools involving resources which are not attributable to a single program or program component, but whose costs must be shared by any given program which is part of…

Offers suggestions for spending staff development money effectively. Ideas include the following: (1) keep your money close to the classroom; (2) use consultants to train your own trainers; (3) beware of embarking on numerous small-scale reforms; and (4) beware of pressure to copy other school improvement methods. (CJH)

Streamlining involves the modification of cost-analysis methods to make them more appropriate for the limited time and resources, and immediate information needs, of local-level program evaluations. It can also enhance the reliability and validity of district-level studies. A review of existing texts of cost analysis and of studies of traditional…

This article describes examples of five orientation programs for new college faculty (presemester centralized, presemester mandatory, during semester decentralized, during semester centralized, and adjunct faculty). A summary of results and costs considers attendance, value for individual faculty members, and value for the institution. (DB)

This handbook is a "how to do it" set of definitions, instruments, and procedures based on program effectiveness and related costs (PERC) evaluation at Empire State College (Saratoga Springs, New York) and four other cooperating institutions. The handbook focuses first on program effectiveness and then considers program costs. It…

An analysis is provided of three alternative solutions to the problem of overstaffed departments and underutilized faculty in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD). After providing a brief history and background to the staffing problems facing the district, section I examines three alternative solutions: (1) maintaining the status…

This report is an edited version of the transcript of a seminar held to explore the problem of increasing costs and defining productivity in higher education. The main paper, by William Massey, presents a conceptual model explaining the forces driving up costs in academic departments of institutions of higher education. Under the model there have…

This study established a cost-benefit analysis model for use by local school practitioners to assist in efforts to determine the economic outcomes of their vocational education programs. The model, the components of which were costs, process, and benefits, was established with the assistance of a panel of experts that included a local school…

A project was undertaken to develop a model for establishing normative costs and budget guidelines for California's community colleges. The model was developed using adaptations of microcomputer software and tested using data from the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges and from the Marin Community College District (MCCD).…

Focuses on techniques used to gather data on costs of library and information services. Uses of library cost data are identified, including setting prices for services, making informed management decisions, and communicating with funding agencies. (CLB)

This speech addresses the need for institutions of higher education to develop economic models to assist in the management of academic information systems (including both print and computerized systems) in light of restricted economic resources. Steps in development of a comprehensive model of information costs are outlined. (DB)

This report provides a comparative cost analysis of three different methods of developing final examinations for secondary schools in the Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland. Based on expenditure reports and interviews with central and school-based staff, cost estimates were developed for three kinds of exams: (1) the county-wide final…