Resource Allocation in Higher Education

Resource Allocation in Higher Education describes how colleges, universities, and government agencies can use budgeting processes to improve program planning and productivity. Drawn from the contributors’ direct experiences as well as research findings, it blends conceptual foundations with practical insights. Many resource allocation processes in higher education need reform, and this volume will stimulate and assist that effort.
Beginning with the economic theory of nonprofits, the essays examine current budgeting systems in both theoretical and practical terms. Resource allocation systems from other domains such as health care are explored for relevant insights. Throughout, decentralization remains a major theme. Topics range from the eminently practical–how to establish a global accounting system or choose an endowment spending rate–to the more abstract–the theory of how various nonprofit enterprises balance academic values against market pressures. The volume ends by proposing value responsibility budgeting, which offers institutions a potentially better way of pursuing their academic values while remaining responsive to market pressures.
Those within higher education institutions who are responsible for resource allocation, such as provosts, chief financial officers, or budget directors, will find much that speaks to them. While mostly in the domain of higher education economics, management, and planning, the essays are written for any serious reader concerned with the problem of reform in higher education.
William F. Massy is Professor of Education and Business Administration at Stanford University.