While the demand for increased educational productivity is clear, the methods for achieving it are largely undetermined. Cost effectiveness techniques have proved to be valuable tools for commercial organizations, but the relevance to educational problems is less than clear. Theory suggests that these techniques can be useful for dealing with…

The cost system designed as a sub-system of the Management Information System, to record and report cost data for occupational courses funded by the Illinois Division of Vocational and Technical Education, can stand alone if necessary, providing the flexibility essential to the success of the total system. (Flow chart included.) (Author/SA)

The seven articles in this edition show that cost-benefit analysis is emerging from the confusion of the 1980s and is probably going to become the central tool of program evaluation in the future. The modern approach involves incorporating probability distributions into the cost-benefit analysis. None of the articles are specifically…

Two trends in the use of quantitative methods of evaluating libraries that have evolved from general systems analysis are discussed in this literature review. The cost effectiveness approach is aimed at discovering new, improved procedures and devices for providing library services; such alternatives make it possible to evaluate how efficiently a…

Author distinguishes one type of cost evaluation, cost-effectiveness analysis, from other types of cost evaluation, illustrates its use as a decision-making tool, and discusses a few of the problems associated with its application in the instructional development process. (Author)

Education is too complex, multidimensional, and poorly understood to lend itself to a single cost/effectiveness criterion. Rather, analysts in the educational field seek to rank alternatives by their effectiveness, report separately on the cost implications, and leave the tradeoffs to the decisionmaker's judgment. In this context, a program is any…

Progress made on the development of a plan for evaluating the cost performance and educational benefits of the TICCIT and PLATO projects is summarized in this annual report. The basic focus of the first section of the report, Cost Analysis, is to provide answers to the fundamental question of how much these two CAI methods cost compared with some…

A cost-effectiveness/benefit analysis is defined as a technique for measuring the outputs of existing and new programs in relation to their specified program objectives, against the costs of those programs. In terms of its specific use, the technique is conceptualized as a systems analysis method, an evaluation method, and a planning tool for…

The least understood of complex systems is that which produces educated people. Superficially, many key elements of a manufacturing organization are part of the system: a product, product tolerance limits, methods for assessing product deviation, and a feed-back system for making compensatory adjustments. In layman's terms these elements are:…

In 1965, Robert Kennedy initiated federal evaluation policy with ESEA. His conception of political accountability was converted into a system of cost benefit analysis, which periodically justified funding curtailments. This systems approach, similar to Taylor's Scientific Management, is inadequate as the sole evaluation tool for federal programs.…

This guide is a product of a study conducted as part of a broader effort by the Department of Education to identify the causes of rising college costs and find and disseminate ways to contain these costs. In institutions of higher education most costs are manageable and can be contained without jeopardizing key services. This can be achieved by…

A localized system for the evaluation of investment in vocational education in Ohio is described in this four part manual. Following an instruction introduction to the manual, part II provides a description of the analytical framework for this system. Vocational education is analyzed as an investment and an explanation of the criteria used in the…

This manual is basically designed as a self-instructional guide by which postsecondary vocational administrators and educators can conduct cost-effectiveness/benefit studies. (Cost-effectiveness/benefit analysis is an evaluation technique which can be used for assessing outcomes of existing and/or new programs in relation to their specified…

Characteristics of student financial aid systems are reported and a framework for evaluating student financial aid systems and classifying major data processing designs is presented. The goals of a student financial aid system are discussed, including improved service to students, increased utilization of available funds, compliance with…

This summary of the 1973-74 Michigan Cost-Effectiveness Study describes the results of an exploratory inquiry into compensatory education reading programs in forty-eight Michigan schools. The study is said to have as its purpose the development and implementation of evaluation techniques to determine what educational practices bring about changes…