ERIC Number: EJ894210
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 3
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1938-5978
EISSN: N/A
Making It Real: Incorporating Cost Management and Productivity Improvements into Financing Decisions
Wellman, Jane
New England Journal of Higher Education, v24 n3 p30-32 Win 2010
Higher education is being challenged to increase access and degree attainment for all student groups--a tall order under any circumstances, but particularly daunting in the current economy. To do this, institutional and policy leaders will need to find ways to reduce costs and permanently reduce spending demands while they maintain access. This means both restructuring costs and increasing productivity--difficult concepts within higher education because of the traditions of institutional finance and an academic culture that views "productivity" as a bureaucratic codeword for "budget cutting." To get past some of the rhetoric that typically surrounds the topic, this article explores how this could be done, beginning with language and concepts. This article discusses the difference between budget cuts, cost shifts, cost reductions, and productivity improvements.
Descriptors: Productivity, Higher Education, Costs, College Faculty, Academic Achievement, Educational Attainment, Budgeting, Retrenchment, Student Attrition, Access to Education, Cost Effectiveness, Expenditures, Educational Finance, Finance Reform
New England Board of Higher Education. 45 Temple Place, Boston, MA 02111. Tel: 617-357-9620; Fax: 617-338-1577; e-mail: info@nebhe.org; Web site: http://www.nebhe.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A