We investigate operating costs at 682 public community colleges in the United States over a 15-year period (2004-2018). The results reveal that costs are spatially correlated across neighboring institutions, indicating the need for a spatial analysis. An institution's actions are associated with changes in costs for that particular institution…

Over the past fifty years, school districts have consolidated in an effort to achieve economies of scale. While the determinants and effects of district mergers on operations have been studied (Gordon and Knight 2006; Duncombe and Yinger 2007; Jones et al 2008), the impact on communities has not. In small towns, schools not only educate, but also…

Studies of "cost and value" in anatomical sciences education examine not only what works, but at what cost, thus evaluating the inputs and outputs of education. This research provides insights into how to use available resources (e.g., academic time, budgets, infrastructure) as a mechanism to obtaining the maximum outcomes available. The…

The current study examines costs, measured by educational and general (E&G) spending, and cost efficiency at 252 public master's institutions in the United States over a nine-year (2004-2012) period. We use a multi-product quadratic cost function and results from a random-effects model with a first-order autoregressive (AR1) disturbance term…

Developmental education is often criticized for its expense. Some believe that it represents a failure of secondary education and is, therefore, a redundant expense. Others believe that developmental education serves a vital role in preparing students for college and is, therefore, a necessary expense. This article provides a review of the…

In an ominously steady progression over the past decades, education in general, higher education in particular, and even honors education have increasingly been contextualized in the realm of the marketplace. Cost/benefit analyses of colleges and universities are examined; institutions in terms of their price to consumers (students and their…

Community colleges are under pressure to increase completion rates, prepare students for the workplace, and contain costs. Colleges need to know the financial implications of what are often perceived as routine decisions: course scheduling, program offerings, and the provision of support services. This chapter presents a methodology for estimating…

Budgetary constraints on the public purse have led Australian Federal and State governments to focus increasingly on the efficiency of public institutions, including Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes. In this study, we define efficiency as the relationship between financial and administrative inputs and educational outputs. We…

This paper takes an innovative approach. We have used the idea of converting international evidence of the size of higher education externalities as a proportion of GDP into Australian-specific dollar equivalents and added these estimates to estimates of lifetime fiscal returns to graduates. This allows us to estimate the expected spillovers over…

We examine the importance of adult functional literacy skills for individuals using a quantile regression methodology. The inclusion of the direct measure of basic skills reduces the return to schooling by 27%, equivalent to two additional years of schooling, while a one standard deviation increase in the score increases earnings by 20%. For those…

Human subject pools have been a valuable resource to universities conducting research with student participants. However, the costs and benefits to student participants must be carefully weighed by students, researchers, and institutional review board administrators in order to avoid coercion. Participant perceptions are pivotal in deciding…

Public school critics often point to rising expenditures and relatively flat test scores to justify their school reform agendas. The claims are flawed because their analyses fail to account for the difference in data types between dollars (ratio) and test scores (interval). A cost-benefit analysis using dollars as a common metric for both costs…

In this paper, the authors begin by classifying the arguments that assert American schools are relatively inefficient into two categories: the "long-term trend argument" and the "international comparison argument." Their focus herein is on the latter of these two. They then describe two frameworks for approaching either of…

Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) is a well-documented, valuable, and integral part of agricultural education programs (Bryant, 2003; Cheek, Arrington, Carter, & Randall, 1994; Deyoe, 1953; Dyer & Osborne, 1996; Moore, 1988; Roberts & Harlin, 2007). Cole and Connell (1993) found that there was little research regarding the…

To be in honors is to be engaged in many different economic arrangements and exchanges. Honors educators work in concert with their admissions offices while recruiting high-achieving students whose decisions often hinge on how much money the institution can offer in the form of discounts to tuition and financial aid. Honors programs that tie…