This report examines college and university finances during one of the most turbulent economic periods in decades. The financial ramifications of the 2008 recession were vast, affecting students' ability to pay for college, lawmakers' prioritization of public resources, and the budgetary environment facing higher education leaders. The challenges…

This case represents a multitude of leadership dilemmas created by financial exigencies and the difficult decisions that must be made during times of economic austerity. Under the best of circumstances, deciding between programmatic elimination and/or employee termination is agonizing, onerous, and filled with political and social ramifications.…

The intended audience for this primer includes new academic administrators and faculty members who seek involvement in campus governance and need a greater understanding of administrative processes, particularly those related to budgets and budgeting. After reading this publication, readers will have a better understanding of the budget process at…

Managing communities in economic decline takes special management skills, including knowledge of the change process, conflict resolution, organizational decision-making and leadership styles, power-base utilization, and management theory. Planners should consider a multiyear time frame, clear mission, prioritized core services, reallocated…

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…

Offers a practical framework for dealing with budget reductions in community colleges. Describes horizontal cuts, which occur across the institution and affect programs and services proportionally, and vertical cuts, which target programs or services to achieve deeper reductions. Describes planning and revenue enhancement possibilities. (12…

This document contains the testimony of Richard W. Riley, Secretary of Education, on the fiscal year 1996 budget for the Department of Education (DOE), made before the Senate Subcommittee on Appropriations for Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies. The lack of appropriation has two major effects on the DOE and its…

This essay examines the administration of public multi-campus universities, focusing in particular on central administration and the State University of New York (SUNY) system and on responses to the need for fiscal austerity. Before treatment of the main topic begins, the essay offers a look at five reasons for the suspicion and resentment that…

As a result of the economic crisis following the Arab/Israeli war of 1973, many developing countries cannot adequately finance quality education systems. Adjustment options in the education sector include increasing resources, improving the efficiency of current resources, developing cost efficiencies, and retrenchment. A foreign aid fund…

The role of institutional budgeting strategies in promoting institutional change is examined, looking specifically at two budget components (general-purpose lump sums and earmarked funds). Experiences of the University of Utrecht (Netherlands) with internal competition for reduced funds as a means for stimulating change are discussed. (MSE)

Steps taken by Phillips Academy (Massachusetts) to contain costs during a serious deficit included short-term measures (increasing tuition and some fees, increasing enrollment, tightening administrative procedures, reduced personnel costs, and reducing programs) and long-term actions (early faculty retirement, increased retirement benefits,…

This paper addresses the problem of shaping new strategies in the face of current enrollment declines at many colleges and universities. It describes an approach that applies a long term planning model that can incorporate the short-term realities of lower enrollments and budget constraints with projections for new strategic initiatives. The paper…

Examined the perceptions of academic administrators and student affairs administrators as related to budget reduction priorities and successful downsizing strategies at institutions of higher education. Results lead to the conclusion that, as a social and psychological process, "downsizing" represents a relatively complex, multidimensional…

Suggests that Latin American education systems suffered disproportionately from "economic adjustment" programs of the 1980s that addressed external debt. Examines declines in educational expenditures, access to education, and educational quality. Focuses on Costa Rica and Venezuela as highly indebted democracies where education has had…

This article by T. Edward Hollander, offers an overview of the current condition of state funding for higher education, noting that unlike secondary and elementary education, higher education may appear to be a discretionary appropriation which state leaders can expand or reduce depending on the state's fiscal circumstances. Suggesting that…