Studies of existing best practices cannot determine whether the current "best" schooling practices could be even better, less costly, or more effective and/or improve at a faster rate, but we can discover a cost effective menu of schooling options and each item's minimum cost through market accountability experiments. This paper describes…

Financial accounting methods fall short of fully accounting for the relative sustainability of college and university operations. Management of social, environmental, and economic performance will be aided by changes to and new developments in financial accounting practices to complement other indicators of sustainability.

The differences between decision making in public and private organizations are examined with particular attention to questions of educational costs. (MM)

In this article, the authors present the results of a research study in which they used two national datasets to construct and examine a model that estimates relative faculty instructional costs for specific undergraduate degree programs and also identifies differences in these costs by region and institutional type. They conducted this research…

This paper presents a standard costing model appropriate for determining real costs of programs which are not entirely self-contained. Central to the model is the concept of allocation pools involving resources which are not attributable to a single program or program component, but whose costs must be shared by any given program which is part of…

Describes the use of the charge-back system to foster better financial decision making, organizational efficiency, and waste prevention. Discusses an example of the charge-back system in reducing copying costs, including charging criteria. (GR)

A Minnesota school district uses microcomputers for many functions including a copier control system and an energy management system. (MLF)

In college and university administration, overhead costs are often charged to programs indiscriminately, whereas the support activities that underlie those costs remain unanalyzed. It is time for institutions to decrease ineffective use of resources. Activity-based management attributes costs more accurately and can improve efficiency. (MSE)

Describes selecting and installing a computerized point of sale for a district food service program; the equipment needed and preferred; and the training of trainers, managers, and cashiers. Also discusses the direct benefits and side benefits of the system. (MLF)

Life cycle costing establishes a realistic comparison of the cost of owning and operating products. The formula of initial cost plus maintenance plus operation divided by useful life identifies the best price over the lifetime of the product purchased. (MLF)

To maintain its 17 school buildings, the Albany, New York, school system uses private contractors whose services for labor and materials are obtained at a fixed price for a one-year period through a competitive bid. (MLF)

The new Uniform School Accounting System has all the advantages of standardized accounting procedures and also enables standardized cost comparisons of schools. (MLF)

Federal guidelines are detailed and specific as to what data are needed for full-cost accounting by school districts participating in federally funded school food service programs. (Author/MLF)

Outlines techniques to determine expenditures by type of service and maintenance area. (MLF)

A closed circuit television system was used to instruct school personnel in the use of a cost-based accounting system in order for school food service programs to receive federal funds. (MLF)