In this paper, a model and tool is proposed to assist universities and other mission-based organisations to ascertain systematically the optimal portfolio of projects, in any year, meeting the organisations risk tolerances and available funds. The model and tool presented build on previous work on university operations and decision support systems…

Since 1998, the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities in Ontario, Canada, has required that data on specific key performance indicators (KPIs) be made public by its publicly funded universities. The information is intended to be used by universities to demonstrate their achievements, to improve their programmes and services, and to…

The fiscal climate of restraint in the Canadian province of Ontario has led to increased calls for a more diversified higher education system. Significant diversity in the university sector in Ontario has not been achieved that underscores the importance of understanding government policy and its related influences on institutional diversity. This…

This article looks at the range of financial reporting models available for use in the Australian higher education sector, the possible application of activity-based costing (ABC) in faculties and the eventual rejection of ABC in favour of a more qualitative model designed specifically for use in one institution, in a particular Faculty. The…

This paper explores perceptions of the UK's Research Excellence Framework (REF) and its implications for individuals, institutions and wider academia through an analysis of media coverage of the REF over a 2-year period. In recent years, the importance attached to the REF has become an increasing focus of concern for academics and other…

This exploratory study examines the dimensions that are relevant to brand reputation, particularly in the context of master's degree programmes. The data analysis is based on Vidaver-Cohen's "Business school quality dimensions and reputational attributes". The qualitative data for the case study comprise a student questionnaire…

While several studies have examined the impact of expenditures on graduation rates in higher education institutions, historically Black colleges and universities have strong government dependencies that suggest that these links might be different than for other universities. This paper investigates these links by estimating the production function…

A number of countries with public higher education systems have implemented privatisation policies. In Japan, the national government introduced the National University Corporation Act (NUCA) in 2004 and changed the legal status of national universities from that of government-owned public institutions to independent administrative agencies. Its…

Funding higher education has increasingly become a paradox for many nation states. The paradox rests with the recognition that the nation state acknowledges that university education has long-term benefits for the state with a better educated society, an increased opportunity to provide an innovative, creative and high technology work force for…

This study examined the ways that the "public good" of higher education is being conceptualised as economic benefits and cost/benefit rationalities in the current economic downturn. Based on the case of Arizona in the United States, a discourse analysis of speeches was performed on the way public, state and institutional leaders…

This article has two main aims: to analyse relevant literature on the doctoral degree, and to assess whether recent funding changes in the UK have changed the nature of the PhD in the social sciences in a research-intensive and prestigious UK university. Data were collected at BlueSkies University where interviews with social sciences PhD…

Student-staff ratios (SSRs) in higher education have a significant impact on teaching and learning and critical financial implications for organisations. While SSRs are often used as a currency for quality both externally for political reasons and internally within universities for resource allocations, there is a considerable amount of ambiguity…

This paper evaluates the performance of national higher education systems in 48 countries as measured with 20 variables grouped under the four headings of Resources, Environment, Connectivity and Output. Rankings within each module are then combined into an overall ranking that is topped by the United States followed by Sweden, Canada, Finland and…

This article considers how higher education institutions change over time, using the United Kingdom system as an exemplar, and focusing on the 15-year period between 1994/95 and 2009/10. While there are many aspects of institutional change worthy of study, the focus here is on how institutions appear to others. Thus, the article examines the…

The focus of this paper is the coalition United Kingdom government policy on university funding in England as a political economy. It depicts higher education as a public and private good in the context of international trends in "cost sharing" and it addresses the centrality of economic drivers for the profile and orientation of higher education,…