Community colleges are under pressure to increase completion rates, prepare students for the workplace, and contain costs. Colleges need to know the financial implications of what are often perceived as routine decisions: course scheduling, program offerings, and the provision of support services. This chapter presents a methodology for estimating…

The need for higher education programs is being challenged, and unit cost studies may become an integral part of the funding process for junior colleges. This paper describes the major tasks in a cost study and reviews the problems encountered in the unit costing efforts. The main tasks are: (1) identifying units of measurement (the language used…

Based on the premise that cost measurement for a library can be performed in the same manner as for an industrial organization, this paper presents a hypothetical cost determination problem of a small company which produces bricks. A summary of the five steps taken to develop the various cost figures are: (1) Assign all cost items to the…

Specific objectives of this phase of a nationwide study of vocational education were: (1) to determine the unit cost for vocational-technical education programs in a unified school district and in junior college district, (2) to determine the problems of data collection and analysis under present practices and legal requirements, and (3) to…

To assist decision makers in appropriating funds wisely for vocational school programs, this study was undertaken to: (1) conduct a cost effectiveness analysis of vocational programs administered by the Department of Education, (2) determine variations in unit costs of programs and curricula, (3) identify factors contributing to variations in unit…

The first of two related pamphlets, this guide provides information on how to conduct cost-outcome analyses, with an emphasis on measuring costs. After an introduction that delineates the purpose of the two-part series, the pamphlet is divided into six major sections. The first section, "definitions and rationale," introduces…

Designed for educational administrators, this manual provides suggestions for reducing educational unit costs in Latin America without reducing the quality of the education. Chapter one defines unit cost concepts and compares the costs of the Latin American countries. Chapter two deals with the different policies which could affect the principal…

Describes a cost allocation procedure developed at the University of Texas at Austin for its School of Nursing to project costs for long-range budget planning. Eleven tables illustrate the use of this costing/budgeting/resource allocation methodology, a potentially effective way to justify funding increases. (MF)

This paper reviews the implications of the programming-planning-budgeting system (PPBS) for curriculum planning and decisions at the community college level in the state of New York. Although the state does not currently require that PPBS be utilized by its public community colleges, there is some evidence that suggests that such a mandate may be…