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Using US Department of Education data, this report compares estimates of colleges and universities educational revenues and costs and finds that many colleges and universities are paid more to provide an education than they spend providing one to their students. These findings challenge the conventional wisdom which holds that the education for virtually all students is heavily subsidized. Although total university spending is often in excess of the tuition charges students pay, in reality only a portion of many institutions' budgets go directly to educational spending, meaning that many schools spend large amounts on things totally unrelated to educating students. Ultimately, many students are left paying the bill through tuition bills which are greater than the costs of their education.

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Currently no distinction is made in the financing of higher education (HE) in South Africa with respect to race. It would thus be expected that all racial groups would receive the same subsidy per student. This article investigates whether it actually works this way in reality. The analysis is done for 2000 and 2006 and estimated subsidies are calculated per headcount of students as well as full-time equivalent (FTE) student numbers. A further distinction is made between calculations for all students and for contact students only. In the last instance a distinction is also made between those students studying in the social sciences and those in the natural sciences.

From this analysis it follows that there are indeed differences between the subsidies paid per student and that Indian and white students still receive the biggest subsidies. This is directly linked to the fact that a greater percentage of these students study in the natural sciences (who receive a subsidy two and a half times more than the subsidy of students in the social sciences) than is the case for African and Coloured students. This unintended inequality should be addressed at school level already by encouraging a larger percentage of learners to take mathematics and/or science.

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Does the over $US200 billion per annum spent worldwide on training and education have a positive impact on performance? This research sponsored by the Dow Chemical Company looks at that question. This article documents an evaluation of Dow Chemical’s university-based Executive Education Program for Future Leaders 1996-1999 Program. Interviews were conducted with participants of the various executive education programs and performance data of participants and non-participants were examined. Results showed that job performance of participants was significantly better than the performance of non-participants. However, trend analysis revealed that differences emerged the year participants were informed of their nomination to the program. The authors describe the likely role of the Pygmalion effect in causing differences in performance and discuss the need for more rigour in the evaluation of training programs. The findings of the study are summarised and implications for practice and research are presented.

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This report examines the use of public funding in the form of higher education (HE) tuition subsidies. It proposes a new model for HE expenditure, arguing that tuition subsidies only be paid when they create public benefits that would not otherwise be created. The proposal is based on evidence that most graduates do well out of higher education, enjoying good jobs and high social status. Since most subsidies are for courses that students would take anyway, tuition subsidies therefore redistribute income to students and graduates, at the expense of the general public, particularly those who do not go to university. This report is supported by two analytical reports: Detailed financial analysis: analysis supporting the Graduate Winners report / Ben Weidmann and Andrew Norton; Non-financial benefits of higher education: analysis supporting the Graduate Winners report / James Savage and Andrew Norton. Show less

This publication contains the findings of a survey of over 2,000 TAFE students across Australia. Among its findings were: TAFE student services contributed to student retention and to academic success; student representatives should participate in service planning, management, and evaluation; employment and information services were among the most important services; information, learning support, and counselling services were the most favourably reviewed; overall, TAFE colleges were well reviewed in terms of accessible hours, service information, and staff competence. The report cautions that increased resources must be allocated to support services and amenities in TAFE and the VET sector generally in order to minimise student attrition and resource wastage. Anderson’s expanded description of this survey can be found in ‘Training agenda’, vol. 4 (4), November 1996, pp. 7-9 (TD/NSW 48.02). Show less

This paper reconsiders the traditional approach to human capital measurement in the study of cross-country income differences. Within a broader class of neoclassical human capital aggregators, traditional accounting is found to be a theoretical lower bound on human capital differences across economies. Implementing a generalized accounting empirically illustrates the possibility that capital variation may now account (even fully) for the large income variation between rich and poor countries. These findings reject the constraints on human capital variation that traditional accounting has imposed.

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During the 1990s, the demand for individuals, economies and societies to raise their education levels has led to increased participation in a broadening range of learning activities by people of all ages. The challenge is to meet the growing demand for learning whilst ensuring that the learning opportunities respond effectively to the needs of learners. However, disparities in educational progress exist both between and within nations. Governments are increasingly using international comparative policy analysis to inform effective educational policy formation. As a result several countries along with OECD and UNESCO launched the World Education Indicators (WEI) pilot program in 1997 with financial support from the World Bank. This report presents an initial analysis of the data collected through this program. It synthesises data from WEI participating countries with that of OECD countries. The report demonstrates the comparative performance of education systems from a range of countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Paraguay, the Philippines, Uruguay, the Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Zimbabwe and OECD countries. The analysis examines the financial and human resources invested in education, the operation and evolution of education and learning systems, and the returns to educational investment. Chapter 1 provides brief profiles of each country, highlighting educational policy, challenges faced by the education system, and reforms intended to address these challenges. Chapters 2 and 3 use an international comparative framework to analyse how countries have responded to educational demands and the effectiveness of these responses. The annex contains the indicators supporting the analysis, the classification of national education programs, and other relevant technical information. Show less

This report details the outcomes of the 2014 financial audits of the 12 technical and further education (TAFE) institutes and the 16 entities they control. During the 2014 financial year, there were two amalgamations of pre-existing TAFE entities. On 1 May 2014, Advance TAFE and Central Gippsland Institute of TAFE amalgamated to create Federation Training. On 1 July 2014, Bendigo Institute and Kangan Institute amalgamated to form the new Bendigo Kangan Institute. This report identifies and discusses the key issues within the TAFE sector that arose during the financial audits, and provides an analysis of the information included in the TAFE financial statements and performance statements.

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Total expenditure per student on tertiary educational institutions is increasing in OECD countries. Although tertiary educational institutions across OECD countries are mainly funded from public sources, private expenditure (including public-to-private transfers) remains a significant source of funding. Reliance on private funding by tertiary educational institutions has been growing. On average in OECD countries, private sources account for a significant share of investment in tertiary educational institutions. Private expenditure on tertiary educational institutions increased faster than public expenditure between 2010 and 2016 on average across OECD countries, although this varies from country to country. Participation in tertiary education is not correlated to the funding model in tertiary institutions and high levels of private expenditure at tertiary education are not necessarily associated with lower enrolment. Financial support mechanisms in the form of grants or loans help alleviate the financial burden to households, particularly in countries where private spending on tertiary education is high.

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Governments are encouraging enterprises to enhance their expenditure on vocational education and training to assist with maintaining and developing further national skill bases, while sharing the cost with those enterprises. However, there are clear differences between what government intends and enterprise practices. This paper reports a review of the recent literature which focuses on the expenditure by enterprise on vocational education and their interest in securing returns on that expenditure. Enterprise expenditure is far from uniform and is influenced by factors including the size of the enterprise, its speciality and location. Moreover, enterprise interest on returns on its expenditure is focused on goals that are of a different kind from those of government and may not be aligned to achieving long-term national goals of maintaining and developing the skilfulness of the workforce. Show less