When people talk about the future of public universities, they are usually talking about the flagship state universities. Flagship state universities have greatly increased expenditures in the past decade. The goal of the flagship institutions has been to compete with the best private universities, based on the assumptions that state funds will be…

The development of program discontinuance guidelines and their implementation at the University of Michigan is described. Draft policy guidelines from the University of Pittsburgh, Michigan State University, and University of Wisconsin, and guidelines on academic freedom and tenure from the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) were…

A University of Kansas study provides an empirical base for examining the effects of resource decline. The study sought to answer the question: What are the structural aspects of the university that increase or decrease its ability to adapt when resources decline? (MLW)

Universities could increase their fiscal resources significantly through internal taxation. Internal taxation is a technique for obtaining flexibility in budgeting and making it possible for the university to support special programs, respond to special opportunities, retrieve resources from now inappropriate programs, and balance out the…

Resource allocation and reallocation strategies for colleges who have financial problems are considered in three articles based on presentations to a national conference at the University of Arizona. In "Reallocation Strategies," James A. Hyatt discusses factors that shape institutional responses to reallocation and elements that should…

This essay examines the administration of public multi-campus universities, focusing in particular on central administration and the State University of New York (SUNY) system and on responses to the need for fiscal austerity. Before treatment of the main topic begins, the essay offers a look at five reasons for the suspicion and resentment that…

Analytical techniques used in responding to a series of four substantial budget reductions imposed at Oregon State University are described. Over a 2-year period, each of the budget reductions demanded increasingly severe institutional action to meet the specified monetary targets. Different analytical techniques were required to meet the changing…

Retrenchment and reallocation processes at five public colleges and universities were studied: the University of Washington; University of Idaho; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Michigan State University; and Seattle Community College District. After an overview of institutional approaches to retrenchment and reallocation, the five individual…

Pennsylvania State University's early response to declining resources and its current planning and budget process are described. Attention is also directed to the fiscal outcomes of the process over the past 5 years and several of the strategies devised to promote qualitative concerns and respond to variable growth-decline situations. From 1971 to…

The development of a cost allocation model at Ohio State University is discussed. The model was designed to measure the direct, indirect, and total operating costs of university operations and to recover general fund overhead costs associated with unrestricted general fund support of auxiliary enterprises and revenue-generating activities. The…

This joint statement by the presidents of 17 Virginia State colleges and universities and the Director of the State Council on Higher Education examines the condition of Virginia's system of higher education in light of reductions in revenue, and urges implementation of proposals made by the State Council of Higher Education to meet the challenges…

The responses of state colleges and universities to substantial reductions in their appropriations are examined in a one-year study that encompasses experience with fiscal stringency in about a dozen states, primarily in five states. Some key concepts such as "retrenchment,""time," and the differences in statewide organizations…

Faculty (n=484) and administrators (n=189) at five public comprehensive universities that had experienced annual budget reductions of at least 10 percent were surveyed concerning their job satisfaction and reactions to the reduction process. Three institutions were identified as having used unplanned approaches, and two used planned approaches.…

This collection of five essays on public higher education in New York State treats challenges and conditions for public institutions during the current and continuing conditions of financial austerity. The first, "Productivity and Cost Containment: The Challenge of Public Sector Budgeting" looks at financial management and budgeting as…

An assessment of future requirements for Illinois higher education operations and grants leads to the identification of some significant trends and problems. These include: (1) trends in enrollment and in financing higher education in Illinois for the period fiscal years 1966 to 1976; (2) projections of resource requirements for Illinois higher…