Policymakers often use Rate of Return information in formulating public resource allocation decisions. The World Bank uses this strategy to advise developing nations in setting student subsidy levels, tuition, and allocation by educational level. However, Rate of Return may be an inappropriate policy device for these objectives. (Author/MSE)

Discusses the education financing system approved by the Kentucky legislature following the 1989 Kentucky Supreme Court decision striking down the previous educational financing system. The overall structure of the new system is basically sound. The allocation formula is comparatively simple and should permit both equitable administration and a…

Assesses public school finance equity in Tennessee by investigating the current financing method's impact on the number of locally funded teachers above those possible under the Tennessee Foundation Program. The availability of locally funded teachers varied according to the magnitude of the individual districts' local-option sales tax revenue.…

Lessons learned from experience about shaping science policy include (1) the partnership between health and science interests is fundamental; (2) research fund allocation should be based on scientific merit; (3) better data and careful analysis are vital to decision making; and (4) policy principles should be clear and concise. (Author/MSE)

The usefulness of cluster analysis for comparing programs for the purposes of resource allocation is discussed, based on a study using seven types of cluster analysis to examine key resource and productivity variables in doctoral-granting teacher education programs. (MSE)

Preliminary findings are reported from a survey conducted to determine the apparent absence of compensation for foreign language department chairs at some institutions. It is noted that, compared to the sciences or humanities, the typical foreign language program has greater and more complex tasks administratively and should, therefore, receive…

Budget decisions in large institutions should be decentralized. Decentralization can be accomplished by responsibility center budgeting, block budgeting, or combinations thereof. The system should be designed so that organization unit heads have maximum incentive to be efficient and to optimize decisions on an institutionwide basis where…

Tests the effect of school and school district size on a model of the process used by elementary school principals to allocate teachers. Finds that the decision-making model was appropriate across all sizes of schools and for small- and medium-size districts, but not for large school districts. (FMW)

Argues that, as institutions of higher education make the transition from the initial planning of technological infrastructures to the stage of forming linkages between information technology and academic goals, the chief information officer becomes responsible for forming strategic relationships that integrate the goals of the institutions's…

Faculty members must understand the actual finances of educational institutions in order to achieve less biased allocations. Increased faculty awareness of total resources can help shift allocation patterns, making institutional resources more effective in accomplishing the mission of higher education. (MLW)

The results of a study at Virginia Tech which has a recent history of decentralized computing, are reported. The advantage of increased control in the decentralized environment was offset by the lack of experience in planning for computing at the academic and administrative operating levels. (Author/MLW)

Asserts that, although many arguments in favor of user fees for library services are based on economics, little economic benefit is actually gained by levying charges for some services. A microeconomics model that has been used to demonstrate the benefits of user fees is critiqued, and the issue of accountability is discussed. (23 references) (CLB)

Describes the development of the American university and uses the political economics paradigm to describe the relationship between the academic library and its parent university. The discussion covers the anarchic nature of the university and the implications for the academic library. (35 notes with references) (CLB)

This exploratory resource allocation model for implementing community-based supported employment services for persons with mental retardation uses a multivariate linear regression approach to project the hours required to develop a job site based on the size of the community, the rate of unemployment, and the percent of service jobs. (Author/DB)

An examination of data on school expenditures between 1966-1967 and 1990-1991 in nine school districts chosen as representative of districts nationwide revealed that most of the new resources going to public education in the last 25 years was spent to achieve goals other than academic achievement for students in the regular school program. (MLF)