Background: In school year (SY) 2014-2015, 128 schools in 24 districts and 14 states were randomly assigned to receive either onsite or online support to implement a school-based wellness program. The objective of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness (CE) of the 2 models of implementation support: onsite and online. Methods: We adapted…

Athletics are big business on many college campuses, but does this come with a price tag? This issue brief looks at academic and athletic spending in NCAA Division I public universities between 2005 and 2010. Among a host of findings, this brief shows that the athletic departments of most public colleges and universities competing in NCAA Division…

Almost 7 million young Americans (age 16-24) are insufficiently attached to school or work. Based on conservative estimates, we can generate over $1 billion just by helping a mere 0.1 percent earn a high school credential and complete their first year of college through Back on Track Designs. This brief lays out the cost of setting up these GED-…

Background: School-based screening for health conditions can help extend the reach of health services to underserved populations. Screening for mental health conditions is growing in acceptability, but evidence of cost-effectiveness is lacking. This study assessed costs and effectiveness associated with the Developmental Pathways Screening…

Funders and program planners want to know: What does it cost to operate a high-quality after-school or summer program? This study answers that question, discovering that there is no "right" number. Cost varies substantially, depending on the characteristics of the participants, the goals of the program, who operates it and where it is located.…

In the current context of accountability, analysis of early intervention program costs can help decision makers allocate resources. This paper describes a cost analysis approach, known as the ingredient method, and demonstrates its applicability for evaluating the costs of a universal home visiting program designed to reduce child abuse and…

Public sector economic analysis differs from private sector analysis in that the former assumes continuous functions and very small departures from existing conditions while the latter is generally concerned with large discrete either-or decisions. This paper (1) defines an analytic measure that relates effectiveness and cost so that the…

How to compare the costs of activities you are responsible for with the benefits resulting from those activities. (Author)

A method using estimates of individual time allocations was developed to produce a profile of departmental functioning as a whole. Previous research suggested that staff estimates were a reasonably accurate and economical method for obtaining estimates of time. Each staff member estimated the percentage of his or her time spent on different tasks…

A hospital administrator and a nursing school director point out the value of realistic allocation of costs to determine the economics of the diploma program. (Editor)

The paper describes a simple, yet effective method of computing a comparative index of instructional costs. The Instructional Cost Index identifies direct cost differentials among instructional programs. Cost differentials are described in terms of differences among numerical values of variables that reflect fundamental academic and resource…

Cost benefit analysis may in the future become a valuable tool for management in higher education, provided the benefits of acquiring a body of knowledge can be defined. Since higher education is not subject to the disciplines of the marketplace in the sense that private business is, we need to find other reasons for influencing our decisions on…

The costing procedures in this manual have been selected to give postsecondary educational institutions a way to determine the full cost of resources used in achieving institutional objectives. The procedures have been tested by a limited number of institutions within a wide range of activities, and are being released in a filed review edition at…

Unit cost analysis provides a rationale for distributing capital costs of physical facilities. (Editor)

The study presented in this paper is part of the National Institute of Education's effort to study federally sponsored compensatory education programs through demonstration projects. One aspect of the study of demonstration projects concerns the cost associated with the changes in allocation procedures and concentration levels which result from…