It is clear that higher education must address cost structures or a lack of adequate funding will become the excuse for failing to meet the educational needs of the future.
To help policymakers identify how this might be managed within their own states, the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems has created interactive national and student-flow and productivity models. With these tools, state policymakers and higher education leaders can estimate how some key policy or management changes—or combination of changes—will likely affect both costs and the number of graduates.
The models are based upon available or easily estimated data regarding several major cost drivers in higher education, including: ratios of full- and part-time faculty to students; student-to-administrator ratios; average salaries; and the cost of employee benefits as a share of salary expense. These models also disaggregate data by sector, differentiating between research universities, comprehensive universities and community colleges.
Ultimately, the models aim to foster an environment of innovation and creativity. They will help states quickly gauge the potential benefits of reshaping not only the business side of university and college operations but also the delivery of instruction and learning opportunities for students.
Click here for the national cost model (opens pop up window; you may need to disable pop-up blockers).
Individual state reports are available for download below. Select a state from the list below, to view your state model. (Note: you may have to enable certain content types if you have strict security settings on your computer.)