Learning Resources

Abstract: This study examines the relationships among college prices, expenditures, and revenues within four groups of public institutions and three groups of private not-for-profit institutions. To provide context for the analysis, aggregate trends for 1988–89 to 1997–98 were compiled. These data were analyzed through the use of statistical modeling techniques, in which separate models for the public and private not-for-profit sectors were identified and updated with more recent data. In each of these models, the associations between “sticker prices” (published tuition levels) and costs, revenues, and other factors were explored to provide some insight into the nature of higher education finance.

Abstract: Colleges and universities are faced with increasing demands for accountability and performance data with respect to faculty activity and productivity from diverse audiences and constituencies, ranging from academic planners and legislators to parents and taxpayers. This article argues that different audiences have different information needs and that a one-size-fits-all approach to describing faculty activity and productivity is both inappropriate and potentially harmful. Concrete strategies are proposed for providing appropriate information to these disparate groups.

Abstract: This article examines the academic planning implications of “The Senior Citizens’ Freedom to Work Act of 2000.” The act sharply reduces Social Security retirement benefit penalties previously imposed on 65- to 69-year-old professionals who earned more than nominal incomes after enrolling in the program, potentially delaying their retirement decisions. Further, the average salary level of senior professors in U.S. colleges and universities places them among those who will most heavily benefit from the act, which might change the age composition of academic faculties significantly over time. This article closes with a discussion of the act’s potential impact on faculty turnover rates, academic staffing patterns, and the age distribution of academic faculties.

Abstract: In response to student and faculty complaints about the amount of time available to travel between classes, an analysis of the time between classes problem was conducted at a large, public research university. Using facilities, course scheduling, and student survey data, we discovered that many students had distances to travel between classes that would normally take longer than the allotted 10 minutes. This forced them to leave class early, arrive to class late, or skip class altogether and often left them with an inadequate amount of time to complete exams. These analyses supported a decision to implement a policy regarding student scheduling.