Managing public higher education restructuring: Understanding college and university cost structures

This paper focuses on understanding college and university costs as a prerequisite for successfully managing ongoing issues associated with restructuring publicly provided higher education. Restructuring is well underway as a result of globalization, the European led Bologna Declaration, and U.S. nationally competitive forces. It potentially affects the mix and level of products that colleges and universities produce. To capture the possible cost implications of those changes, multi-product cost functions are empirically estimated for four levels of U.S. public colleges and universities: doctoral, master, bachelor, and associate degree granting institutions. Scale and scope estimates are derived for research and three teaching outputs, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional education. Findings regarding product specific economies of scale suggest that government reforms to place enrollment growth at lower level associate colleges may increase the costs of providing public higher education. In contrast, reforms that create more specialized institutional missions could generate cost savings. While the empirical estimates pertain to U.S. colleges and universities, the lessons of experience in one country can be valuable to others

Are American Universities Mismanaged?: Tenure vs Non-Tenure Faculty Employment Decisions

This paper empirically tests the extent to which public universities in the United States are potentially mismanaged. The focus rests with university managerial employment decisions regarding the continuing substitution of less costly non-tenure track teaching faculty for tenured and tenure track faculty and the extent to which those decisions affect student graduation success. Panel data covering ten academic years, 2004-05 through 2013-14 are employed using ordinary least squares and stochastic frontier analysis specifications. The latter provides tests of the inefficiency effects of managerial employment decisions and academic year estimates of technical efficiency. In both cases, the results provide statistically strong evidence that tenured faculty lead to increased student graduation success while increases in non-tenured faculty have negative effects on student graduation rates. The stochastic results provide strong evidence of efficiency gains due to tenured faculty and increased inefficiency arising from non-tenure track faculty employment. While universities appear to have managed efficiency gains as a possible result of the Great Recession, those gains quickly evaporated in both 2012 and 2013. Separate estimates for research vs. lower level comprehensive universities, indicate that the former maintain greater operating efficiencies. Given that public universities are being subject to new funding models that tie funding to the production of student success rates, the continuing non-tenure track employment substitution suggests that universities are potentially mismanaged in generating funding support for faculty employment and student success.Keywords: Tenure, non-tenure, faculty employment, stochastic frontier, universit

Efficiency Estimates and Rankings Employing Data Envelopment and Stochastic Frontier Analyses: Evaluating the Management of U.S. Public Colleges

This paper estimates and compares operating efficiencies of publicly owned associate degree granting colleges in the United States using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). Comparisons are based on panel data for 698 colleges over four academic years, 2005-09. Included are both constant and variable returns to scale DEA estimates along with half and truncated normal inefficiency SFA estimates. The values 0.56 vs. 0.45 represent the largest mean DEA-SFA efficiency differential. DEA results indicate that 13% of colleges are fully (100%) efficient while SFA puts that percentage at only 1.7%. Comparisons of rankings based on efficiency performance generated a weak 0.65 correlation. Encouragingly, despite the financial turmoil initiated by the global crisis, the findings indicate that colleges have managed large efficiency gains over the four-year period. By 2008-09, DEA estimated efficiency increased to approximately 60%. Given continuing reductions in higher education public funding and increasing interest in public management reforms, the results should be of both managerial and public policy interest

Operating Efficiencies: Data Envelopment Single-Stage and Tobit Two-Stage Evaluations

Abstract: Managing publicly owned universities has necessitated year after year adjustments to shifts in the dependency on alternative financing sources. The global financial crisis bought new managerial operating challenges with an accelerated decline in government funding and a quick evaporation of investment income. But, in many cases, regulatory constraints prevented offsetting tuition increases. This paper investigates how differences in university finances potentially affect operating efficiencies. The analysis uses panel data on 331 universities for academic years [2005][2006][2007][2008][2009]. Because finances are only partially under the control of university management, they are treated as quasi environmental in the implementation of data envelopment estimation of efficiencies. Single stage DEA estimates are, therefore, generated with university financial environments included under one model and excluded under another model. Results are compared to a Tobit two-stage analysis in which first-stage efficiencies are used along with financial environments. Findings indicate that greater tuition dependency promotes inefficiency while increased government funding yields efficiency gains. Investment income also appears to have a slight negative effect, albeit statistically weak. Despite recent financial shocks, the results reveal public university efficiencies have improved over time

Investigation of possible virulence factors in Candida strains isolated from blood cultures

Background: The Candida species, which are one of the most common causes of nosocomial bloodstream infections, present with high mortality and morbidity rates. This study aims to investigate the production of esterase, phospholipase, proteinase, and biofilm formation ability of the Candida strains isolated from the blood cultures.Materials and Methods: Between June 2011 and July 2012, the Candida strains, which were isolated from blood cultures of a total of 50 patients, were studied. The esterase activity was analyzed in the Tween.80 agar, while phospholipase activity was studied in the egg yolk agar. The proteinase activity and biofilm formation were identified by using the petridish method and microplate method, respectively.Results: Of 50 specimens obtained from individual patients, 17 (34%) were identified as C. albicans, 14 (28%) as C. glabrata, 9 (18%) as C. parapsilosis, 5 (10%) as C. krusei, 4 (8%) as C. kefyr, and 1 (2%) as C. tropicalis. The rate of proteinase, phospholipase, and esterase positivity was higher in the C. albicans isolates. Biofilm formation was the highest in the C. parapsilosis strains.Conclusions: Higher rate of virulence factors in the most commonly isolated Candida species than other species indicates that these virulence factors play a crucial role in the pathogenesis.Key words: Biofilm, blood culture, candidemia, esterase, phospholipase, proteinas

Does Faculty Tenure Improve Student Graduation Rates?

The primary objective of this paper is to determine whether tenure in compari

Is the pharmacy profession innovative enough?: meeting the needs of Australian residents with chronic conditions and their carers using the nominal group technique

Background Community pharmacies are ideally located as a source of support for people with chronic conditions. Yet, we have limited insight into what innovative pharmacy services would support this consumer group to manage their condition/s. The aim of this study was to identify what innovations people with chronic conditions and their carers want from their ideal community pharmacy, and compare with what pharmacists and pharmacy support staff think consumers want. Methods We elicited ideas using the nominal group technique. Participants included people with chronic conditions, unpaid carers, pharmacists and pharmacy support staff, in four regions of Australia. Themes were identified via thematic analysis using the constant comparison method. Results Fifteen consumer/carer, four pharmacist and two pharmacy support staff groups were conducted. Two overarching themes were identified: extended scope of practice for the pharmacist and new or improved pharmacy services. The most innovative role for Australian pharmacists was medication continuance, within a limited time-frame. Consumers and carers wanted improved access to pharmacists, but this did not necessarily align with a faster or automated dispensing service. Other ideas included streamlined access to prescriptions via medication reminders, electronic prescriptions and a chronic illness card. Conclusions This study provides further support for extending the pharmacist’s role in medication continuance, particularly as it represents the consumer’s voice. How this is done, or the methods used, needs to optimise patient safety. A range of innovative strategies were proposed and Australian community pharmacies should advocate for and implement innovative approaches to improve access and ensure continuity of care

Treatment Burden and Chronic Illness: Who is at Most Risk?

Background: There is a need to ascertain the type and level of treatment burden experienced by people with co-morbidities. This is important to identify the characteristics of participants who are at most risk of treatment burden.  Objective: The aim of this study is to identify the characteristics of participants who are at most risk of treatment burden.  Methods: This cross-sectional study was part of a larger project and recruitment was conducted across four Australian regions: rural, semi-rural and metropolitan. Participants were asked about their treatment burden using an adapted version of a measure, which included the following five dimensions: medication, time and administrative, lifestyle change, social life and financial burden.  Results: In total, 581 participants with various chronic health conditions reported a mean global treatment burden of 56.5 out of 150 (standard deviation = 34.5). Number of chronic conditions (β = .34, p < 0.01), age, (β = −.27, p < 0.01), the presence of an unpaid carer (β = .22, p < 0.001) and the presence of diabetes mellitus and other endocrine conditions (β = .13, p < 0.01) were significant predictors of overall treatment burden. For the five dimensions of treatment burden, social, medicine and administrative burden were predicted by the same cluster of variables: number of conditions, age, presence of an unpaid carer and diabetes. However, in addition to these variables, financial dimensions were also predicted by education level, ethnicity and health insurance. Educational level also influenced lifestyle burden.  Conclusion: A substantial proportion of community-dwelling adults with chronic conditions have considerable levels of treatment burden. Specifically, health professionals should provide greater focus on managing overall treatment burden for persons who are of young age, have an endocrine condition or an unpaid carer, or a combination of these factors