Unit cost is an anticipated offspring of the pressing notions of accountability, efficiency, and comparability, coupled with the decreasing availability of both public and private resources for higher education, and the increasing cost of deliverance of higher education in general. The two most widely used measures of unit cost in higher education…

Although the program-planning-budgeting system (PPBS) has been used in higher education to improve planning, budgeting, and decision making, examination had not been conducted to determine if the technique was consistent with planning, budgeting, and decision-making "theory." This paper reports the findings of such a theoretical…

The Education Reform Act 1988 obliges the Local Education Authorities (LEAs) to delegate budgets to the colleges within their control by means of a formula, but does not say what should happen within colleges once the delegated budget has been received. This paper reports some of the outcomes of an action learning and training program, carried out…

This guide to zero base budgeting (ZBB) offers information intended to be useful to those implementing this system in schools. Beginning with an explanation of zero base budgeting, the paper then enumerates the advantages of such a system. Zero base budgeting design is then explained as well as the assumptions that underlie the system. Suggested…

Based on one educator's interactions with writing center personnel over the past dozen years--and not based on empirical research--the following are among the most common perceptions that writing center personnel hold with regard to central administration: (1) central administration prefers to keep writing centers powerless and marginalized; (2)…

Education is both a service enterprise and a product enterprise. Each view has direct bearing on the program structure that ties budget, accounting, and reporting data into classification matrices capable of computerized analysis. Service is defined as an activity or as a tangible object delivered to a specified client. An educational product is a…

Cost-effectiveness/benefit analysis is an analytical technique for assessing outputs of educational programs in relation to the program objectives and the associated program costs. It combines the two concepts of cost-effectiveness analysis and cost-benefit analysis into a comprehensive model. The cost-effectiveness/benefit analysis model has been…

This study considers the implementation of parent choice and parent information in the Alum Rock demonstration as a case study in organizational response to innovation. Analysis of the implementation process focuses on two dimensions: the division of the implementation process into three phases--initiation, implementation, and…

A program cost study was conducted at a large midwestern university to determine department-level expenses and revenues associated with the mission-critical activities of instruction, research, and service. The study (or program) is based on a model for allocating costs, called responsibility centered management, that has been used for nearly a…

Zero-base budgeting (ZBB), a systematically structured approach to budgeting, has the potential to improve policy attainment, resource reallocation, program review, and information systems. Some 300 businesses, a dozen states, one municipality, and one school district in the United States have operationalized the concept. Many private and public…

A three-year longitudinal description is presented of a college health aide program, and an assessment is made of the changes resulting from a cutback in funding. In this program students are trained as paraprofessional health aides and serve in this capacity in their group residences for a small weekly salary. A record of the number of visits…

Questions are raised regarding the purposes of teacher assessment, the teacher performance to be assessed, and the level of training and skill individuals who do the assessing must have. In each question area, several courses of action are presented. Different cost levels are associated with each option. It is suggested that the task for the…

Educational administrators considering the use of management by objectives (MBO) as a management technique are advised to place MBO in its proper perspective as an additional tool, not as a panacea. Understanding that MBO is a joint decision-making process is vital for a successful implementation. The experience of South-Western City Schools would…

This paper offers a look into the future of educational program auditing and presents a detailed discussion of the notion of a districtwide educational audit. To date, virtually all program audit activities have occurred as a result of specially funded State or federal education programs. Once the program ends, or changes its requirements, the…

Presents edited lecture text given at the 1984 Scottish Educational Research Association annual conference. Reviews the history of the Scottish Education Department's involvement in educational research. Discusses annual research funding and allocation plus initiation and selection of projects. Lists 11 research projects with "awareness"…