The BC Ministry of Education announcement about 2012-13 operating grants estimates includes "new" funding to districts of $11.2 million for vulnerable students, $10.7 million for districts to implement elements of the Education Plan, and $21.8 million to address "districts' differing geographic circumstances." This makes for a…

This article considers the role of higher education in state budgets. It empirically models and tests the balance wheel hypothesis in a robust framework. The balance wheel model posits that in good economic times, higher education is an attractive area for states to fund and tends to be funded at a higher rate than other state budget categories.…

This study examines how five diverse California elementary schools--two underperforming and three high achieving, with statistically significant subgroups of English Learner, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and minority students--have allocated resources to improve student achievement. The applied research contributes new information to the…

Public higher education's changing financial environment is well documented. Facing shrinking budgets, competing priorities, public resistance to increasing state levies, and prohibitions on deficit spending, state legislators more and more often find themselves in the unenviable position of debating the relative essentiality of state services,…

Erie County Community College (New York) has developed a zero-based program budgeting system to meet current fiscal problems and diminished resources. The system allocates resources on the basis of program effectiveness and market potential. (LH)

The relative incidence of across-the-board cuts in higher education for all institutions that experienced decreasing revenues between 1976-1977 and 1980-1981 was studied. Factors that affect the extent to which administrators employed across-the-board cuts versus selective cuts were also assessed. Attention was focused on the effects of the…

This report discusses some of the financial issues and choices with which Harvard University will have to cope in an environment of increased stringency: issues of money-allocation, money raising, and money management. Part I presents highlights of Harvard's recent financial history and its prospects in quantitative terms. Part II presents some…

When a college or university is faced with financial problems, it can either seek more revenue or reduce costs. With the constantly growing costs of education and research and the increasing resistance of legislators and other financial contributors, cost reduction is becoming the necessary alternative. In taking this route, 11 problem areas need…

Facing severe budget reductions in 1991 despite institutional restructuring in response to budget cuts in the mid-80s, the Chancellor's Ad Hoc Budget Planning Group at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) proposes a process for fiscal change while aiming to retain institutional excellence. A first section states the current problem, reviews…

The development of program discontinuance guidelines and their implementation at the University of Michigan is described. Draft policy guidelines from the University of Pittsburgh, Michigan State University, and University of Wisconsin, and guidelines on academic freedom and tenure from the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) were…

Five State courts have handed down decisions which may have nation-wide impact on the manner in which tax revenues are raised and allocated for public education. (DM)

A discussion is presented of the process of resource allocation and the use of performance indicators in public sector higher education in Britain. First, background is presented on the method of providing resources to institutions of advanced further education (AFE) and non-advanced further education (NAFE) on the basis of pooled recurrent…

Offers a set of criteria for evaluating the impact of state funding plans on the diversity of a college's mission; educational quality, outcomes, and effectiveness; educational access and equity; and "fair share" divisions of resources. Considers alternatives to enrollment-based funding. (DMM)

This booklet for trustees of institutions of higher education offers guidelines for strategic financial decisions required in light of the financial challenges higher education faces in the 1990s and beyond. "Strategic response" is defined as a decision that requires changing a major policy, program, or practice and involves some risk. Five…

The study identifies specific financial indicators for higher education, indicates the recommended source of data, and suggests a survey for the Higher Education Panel that could be used to supplement the data. The use of the indicators is explored and it is explained that the indicators allow the grouping of institutions for comparative analysis.…