A Comparative Analysis of Existing Management Systems Utilized in Budget Control and Resource Allocation in Higher Education

Due to effects of current inflation, university administrators have been forced to cope with increased costs and decreased earnings. Those responsible for budget control and resource allocation have tried to administer their finances with respect to fiscal dilemmas and yet preserve the quality of higher education . In order to accomplish this objective, various types of management systems adapted to practical financial planning and budgetary techniques have been utilized by universities. This study was conducted to determine the types of management approaches employed by institutions of higher education. Specifically, the purposes of this study were: (1) to identify existing management systems used in budget control and resource allocation; (2) to assess the effectiveness of the management. systems identified by administrators in charge of business and finance within selected public four-year universities in the United States: and (3) to suggest guidelines for establishing qualified resource and budgetary management systems. Questionnaires were mailed to a randomly selected sample of 216 university administrators of business and finance. A 45.8 percent response rate was obtained. The returned instruments were grouped according to administrators who identified use of a financial management system and those who designated none. The former category contained 92.9 percent while only 4 percent maintained that no approach for budget control and resource allocation existed An analysis of the data collected indicated that numerous financial management systems were being employed by universities, The mean effectiveness ratings for each method indicated that financial administrators generally perceived their system to be moderately successful. Performance budgeting was the most successful while formula budgeting was seen as least successful. Incremental budgeting represented the methodology most often practiced. Data were provided which indicated financial administra­tors needed to improve budgetary and resource allocation systems

An Exploration of the Influence of Dimensions of Organizational Behavior on the Relationship between the Allocation of Financial Resources and Persistence and Graduation Rates

This study was prompted by the limited body of research describing the relationship between the allocation of financial resources and student outcomes in higher education, and by the instance of contradictory and inconclusive results found in that research. With consideration that yet unidentified dynamics might account for the diversity of results, this study explored the influence of dimensions of organizational behavior on the allocation of financial resources at three colleges with differing rates of persistence and graduation rates, but that were otherwise similar in terms of other defining institutional characteristics. Q Methodology ascertained perceptions of senior leadership at the three colleges about the behavioral nature of financial decision making at those institutions. Factor analysis of those perceptions revealed distinctly different profiles for two of the institutions in terms of dimensions of organizational behavior. Factor analysis found a lesser degree of commonality in perceptions about financial resource allocation at the third institution. The results implied that dimensions of organizational behavior differentially influence the allocation of financial resources. Implications for the relationship of financial resource allocation and persistence and graduation rates are discussed, and areas for future research recommended

Outsourcing as an Alternative for Higher Education Financing (HEF) in Nigeria: The Case of Adamawa State University Mubi, Gombe State University and Taraba State University, Nigeria

Socio-political and economic issues relating to financing higher education is broadly deliberated and debated subject in many public mediums and academic gatherings in Nigeria, for over a decade to date. Altogether those deliberations and debates are grounded virtually on two basic principles of, financing adequacy and equitability. Inadequacy of education financing is blamed for the deterioration in the quality of education. Furthermore, inequitable resource allocation between federal and State universities in Nigeria forms part of the key issue in accomplishing efficiency of resource utilization which is missing in academic literatures addressing higher education financing in Nigeria. In the context of Nigeria, considering the practical experiences, especially in the operational mechanism of financing of Higher education, transparency and corruptions became a syndrome that ravishes the educational system. This study focuses on sources of higher education finance and the relative contribution of each source to educational development of the nation. At the same time, implications of the present financing mechanism on parity and efficiency of higher education if Outsourcing is introduced as an alternative source of funding in the subsector. This study examines the matters relating to Higher Education Financing at three levels; financial allocation, resources allocation and education output distribution. This study is exploratory cross sectional survey and collects both primary and secondary data from relevant literatures available. The study revealed that outsourcing is a means of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in higher institution and therefore serve as alternative means of financing higher education in broad and university education in particular. Therefore, this study recommends formal incorporation of outsourcing in financing of university education in Nigeria

Moderator Effect of Financial Aid on Predictors of Community College Graduation Rate

This study examined the resource allocation decisions community colleges make in order to gain insight into the relationship of those decisions to graduation rate and whether those relationships were influenced by the percentage of students at the college receiving financial aid. Much of the literature on persistence and graduation rate in higher education is based on student characteristics such as SAT scores, high school GPA, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, or on college selectivity. This study switches the focus to the characteristics of the college rather than the student. The relative lack of literature on community college graduation rates and the causes of the high variability in graduation rates provided an opportunity for discovery of how college resource allocation decisions and financial aid can influence graduation rate. By using a hierarchical ordinary least squares regression on data obtained from the IPEDS database, this study explored the relationship between college resource allocation decisions on expenditures on instruction, academic support, student services, institutional support, faculty salary, the percentage of instructional staff who are full-time, and professional staff to student ratio to graduation rate, and examined whether the relationship of those predictors of graduation rate was influenced by the percentage of students at the college receiving financial aid. The results of this study indicate that the moderator effect of the percentage of students receiving financial aid was mixed among the predictors and that some of the predictors are significant in predicting graduation rate singly. The results also reveal two fundamental concepts: resource allocation at community colleges has a small but significant impact on graduation rate, and the percentage of students receiving financial aid at community colleges has an impact on some of the resource allocation predictors of graduation rate. The aggregated data of this study provide a generalized picture of the resource allocation variables\u27 impact on graduation rate and establish a foundation for further research on the complex interactions of community colleges and the graduation goals that benefit students and society

HIGHER EDUCATION: FUNDING TENDENCIES, OPPORTUNITIES AND SOURCES

The issues regarding the funding mechanisms of higher education, their application and efficiency have recently become topical in many countries worldwide. Mobilization and efficient use of resources in higher education policy are the priority patterns all over the world. Society is trying to find answers to the questions considering the state participation in higher education funding. How to determine the impact of the state participation and levels of state regarding higher education funding? Is centralized planning necessary for higher education: does the state or consumers of educational services allocate financial resources at universities? There is an opinion that a consumer group has an effective financial tool for resource allocation. Another significant question is whether a person is able to choose the educational ‘product’, which corresponds to the needs of economics. What should an effective student loan system be like? Should the future students’ loan repayments depend on students' future incomes? This study provides information on the global higher education funding trends and opportunities, looking for the answers to the issues mentioned above

Alternative Income Generating Activities for Financial Sustainability of Higher Education Institutions

The huge increase in the cost of universities are starting to seriously ward off potential customers and alienate the public, whose support of colleges is waning. For the last five years, aggregate universities' enrollments in Kenya have fallen, and alternative Income Generation Activities (IGAs) to supplement the tuition income have become a necessity for institutions to grow economically and be sustainable in their business. This paper aims to examine better ways Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) approach financial management, including HEIs choice in allocating institutional resources. In today’s world, competition is a driving force for innovation and entrepreneurship with higher education not spared to unfair practices. For example, Africa, including Kenya, loses approximately 23,000 qualified professionals to the west every year. This is a theoretical paper; based on financial management theory, that explains the gap between the educational knowledge and business practices in the education industry. An expenditurebased budget allocation model for HEIs' resource allocation is developed as a new financial management framework. It is based on the premise that HEIs exists not only to educate students, but also to contribute to the development and furtherance of knowledge, and contribution to the nation's economic growth in terms of expertise and commercialization of intellectual property; this paper contributes to conversations and policies on financial management practices and alternative IGAs for HEIs

Resource Allocation and Public Policy in Alberta's Postsecondary System

Resource allocation in Alberta's postsecondary system has changed substantially since 1994. The changes evident are designed to advance a policy agenda that includes reapportioning financial responsibility for higher education, increasing the vocational outcomes of postsecondary education and increasing the transfer of knowledge and technology to the private sector. This paper outlines how resource allocation has been restructured to advance this agenda and points to some implications of this approach.Depuis 1994, la politique de financement des institutions d'enseignement au niveau postsecondaire en Alberta a été grandement modifiée. Ces modifications permettent d'établir, en priorité, un échéancier clair sur une nouvelle redistribution des allocations des ressources, particulièrement au soutien à l'enseignement supérieur, à l'accroissement de l'accessibilité des finissants au marché du travail et à l'augmentation du transfert des connaissances et de la technologie vers le secteur privé. Cet ouvrage souligne particulièrement comment les modifications à la politique de financement servent l'agenda prévu et certaines des conséquences de son application

The Financialization of US Higher Education

Research on financialization has been constrained by limited suitable measures for cases outside of the for-profit sector. Using the case of US higher education, we consider financialization as both increasing reliance on financial investment returns and increasing costs from transactions to acquire capital. We document returns and costs across four types of transactions: (i) revenues from endowment investments, (ii) interest payments on institutional borrowing by colleges, (iii) profits extracted by investors in for-profit colleges and (iv) interest payments on student loan borrowing by households. Estimated annual funding from endowment investments grew from $16 billion in 2003 to$20 billion in 2012. Meanwhile financing costs grew from $21 billion in 2003 to$48 billion in 2012, or from 5 to 9% of the total higher education spending, even as interest rates declined. Increases in financial returns, however, were concentrated at wealthy colleges whereas increases in financing costs tended to outpace returns at poorer institutions. We discuss the implications of the findings for resource allocation, organizational governance and stratification among colleges and households.1. Introduction 2. Financialization and higher education 3. Data and measures 4. College endowments and financial revenues 5. College institutional debt and interest costs 6. Proprietary colleges and profits as the costs of equity investment 7. Student loan debt and interest payments 8. Quantifying the costs of higher education financialization 9. Conclusions Supplementary material Funding Acknowledgements References Supplementary dat

The Cost of Rankings? The Influence of College Rankings on Institutional Management.

Increasing college costs and financial consequences for students and families have created a need to collect and disseminate information about institutions to better inform students and parents as they make an important education decision. To fill this need, several media outlets started to publish college rankings for commercial purposes. Rankings have proven popular and influential as evidenced by growing sales and attention to their numerical ranking by publishers, educational observers, and higher education administrators and faculty. Despite the growing concerns that rankings intensify institutional competition for prestige, limited empirical research exists on how ranking systems affect the resource allocation behavior of universities. This dissertation explores how college rankings impact resource allocation by higher education institutions, given the unique characteristics of rankings—numerical order, arbitrary grouping, and volatility. Utilizing the U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges Rankings (USNWR) 1987-2009, this study examines changes in institutional expenditures, particularly in the three areas that are heavily weighted in rankings: student selectivity, financial resources, and faculty resources. Employing a differences-in-differences and differences-in-differences-in-differences approach based on the unexpected changes in the methodology of USNWR, this study demonstrates that the numerical ordering of universities encourages institutions comply with what rankings measure by increasing expenditures in all three areas. The event-study specification results indicate that expenses that are related to student selectivity are the ones that schools respond to immediately, while the effect lasts over time for financial and faculty resources. The areas of expenditures that experience significant changes differ between National Universities and National Liberal Arts Colleges. Furthermore, the arbitrary grouping of rankings serves as an important mechanism that drives institutional responses to rankings. Schools ranked near at the cut-off of the ranking groups take on a bigger increase in the expenditures in the areas that rankings directly measure. Year-to-year changes in the ranking positions encourage universities to move resources from a routinized, universal expenditure to categories that are perceived to provide more leverage to improve rankings. The study’s findings have important implications for the use of rankings/ratings systems in higher education as well as future research on the pursuit of prestige and institutional behaviors.PhDHigher EducationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113601/1/okuje_1.pd

ANALISIS PENGARUH KUALITAS SUMBER DAYA MANUSIA TERHADAP KINERJA PENGELOLAAN KEUANGAN DAERAH DI PROVINSI KALIMANTAN BARAT

ABSTRACT This research aims to know and to analyze the influence of the apparatus resources to the performance of the district financial management in Kalimantan Barat during the year 2008 - 2012. The research method used is qualitative research method. Samples of the research cover of four districts, those are Ketapang, Melawi, Kubu Raya and Kayong Utara. The analysis instruments of the financial management performance measurer use the Ratio of Degree of Fiscal Decentralization, Ratio of Regional Financial Independence, Ratio of Effectiveness, Ratio of Activity and Ratio of Revenue Growth. In addition, the influence of the apparatus resource to the financial management performance uses simple regression. Results of the research in period of 2008 -2012 show that the ratios of degree of fiscal decentralization and the Regional Financial Independence of new district are relatively very low, those are less than 10%. Except Melawi district, the Ratio of effectiveness in Bengkayang, Kubu Raya and North Kayong are very effective. The Ratio of activity shows that the allocation of direct expenditure is smaller than indirect expenditures. The ratio of district original revenue growth (PAD) and the District Revenue Growth are fluctuated and only North Kayong district which has a positive growth trend. The analysis results of the influence of apparatus resources which are assumed to the higher education on the performance of financial management show that the higher education only influences the ratio of Effectiveness