.-~.vu—~ ‘ ~ W- _.w—-———-_ ~ m“ ~ N 1 s y z CTIONA RU T, L SERV! {NS {NT TM. AR DEF EXPLORATORY C. ACADEMI D U ST AN ‘ ‘. ‘ . .‘ . . .. ‘1». 5-; H V. , .. : . . I , o _. f .r , H . A ... glam. 4., n. M. _ 5 . .., . 4 b" y 01 . , . _ V. 4., .. ‘ . ....,. , , ,1..° ‘ 1.11....1 DJ “5 ...,..,..r,..x. a . ."Hwnu r. {rt ANNA": moat: EN' 1163'. DESseI-ftafiOfl. 7 lllljllll will l l l ll ll; will l _ HELLEJ :1 M {chig an ‘3 i. “I“? {u’flivcrsity ULM' ‘M‘Ifi‘aaflqw This is to certify that the thesis entitled INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICE IN ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY presented by Lou Anna Kimsey Simon has been accepted towards fulfillment cf the requirements for Ph.D. Higher Education degree in Gariifiwdg Major professor 0-7639 ‘ «um ‘— emomc BY ‘5. HEX: 8. SBH’S' 800K BuMJLn'l WC. ; LIBRARY amocns ‘3 I 393355993 '''''' ea” Ii“ y _ _'~ "Hun: .I_' ll” __._ _.__ __.._ _4 Y" .7-..- a ‘.‘.S 5‘." b. Tzis study was a ou...‘ A n .—.. of acaiezic d: :zje:t funded by a E 3.11525 at the 0:" .1. “$\ ..' . 75:3; mar the d1: -. L} "‘1 ' .' V . ~.: we ti‘urc P385 55.5 of deparme a“. l “1 roles- The ....; 3'35 PrEdicate: \- .. .ze CluSterigg f» H tile Serv EFF I‘V-E; SE15 3 J n lye was .Ta'. . ABSTRACT INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICE IN ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY BY Lou Anna Kimsey Simon This study was an investigation of the instructional service com- ponent of academic departments. This examination is part of a broader! project funded by a grant from the Exxon Education Foundation and centered at the Office of Institutional Research at Michigan State Uni- versity under the direction of Dr. Paul L. Dressel. One of the foci of this the third phase of the Exxon Departmental Study Project is the development of a budgeting model for academic departments based on clusters of departments with similar intrinsic characteristics and insti- tutional roles. The selection of instructional service as a focus of study was predicated on the possibility of its inclusion as a dimension of the clustering framework. However, the concept of instructional service has been brought to the forefront at Michigan State University because the newly established medical schools subsidize certain depart- ments for the service instruction given the medical students in "shared" departments. In lieu of a formalized pricing system for service instruc- tion, this study identified the amount of service instruction in each academic department and sought to determine how the extent of instruc- tional service was reflected in other data about the department (i.e., level of funding and staffing patterns). - "-.- ' .VI 1 '5: Stud". gas a I Q I . ' A , 22.22113“ Scf‘vltc 3.4233395 £318 t 33116255336 3116 .- ‘ l ‘3‘;"~-¢nh~ pn"... q “3'5 4...: aybut H‘scbl up. ....;;e :easure and 4 h :zagxies of the if." s .. . .‘N e 1 "Iu. l 5-1: Sets of in: h. n “A. I '--.’~--. .h l we 1m:- in ; ,, .n‘ . - "““ent‘DaSE 'c...‘ I- Lou Anna Kimsey Simon Purposes This study was exploratory in nature and was designed to identify the relationships between measures of instructional service and the other available data about academic departments. Specifically, the purposes of this study were to 1) develop appropriate measures of the instructional service component of academic departments; 2) identify relationships among these measures and between these instructional service measures and other departmental characteristics; and 3) classify departments according to each undergraduate and graduate instructional service measure and determine which variables discriminate among the categories of the instructional service measures. Instructional Service Measures Two sets of instructional service measures were constructed to represent the instructional service component of academic departments. The department-based instructional service measures represented the relative amount of the total instructional load of each department who were service students (nondmajors) while the university-based instruc- tional service measures reflected the relative amount of the total instructional service load of the institution (instruction to nondmajors) which was assumed by each department. Within each of these two set of measures, six measures representing various aggregates of courses within the departments were also constructed. Tse research desi 3:21:25 abaut the re 25:55 and '3 tree: e 12::Les. In this st ‘ 0 *‘I- in. -~ ~ A I“- “. c. g. 0': 1 (1 n z 1 ’4 l (h l 42.313.53.95 a::. mi: ‘3. of tnese :2“: vanq', “'~ 0. uh‘. .“ G‘btrlDL; 2:51 prestige of Sr was identif ied .- M“ Service meas~ nea: ~32: luuiCatEd «usicn students t eat universit Lou Anna Kimsey Simon Research Design The research design developed for this study centered around ten questions about the relationships among the twelve instructional service measures and between each of these measures and departmental descriptor variables. In this study, two hundred fifty—two Spearman rank correla- tions and eight chi-square tests for independence were used to analyze the relationships among the twelve instructional service measures and between each of these measures and variables representing funding, faculty rank distributions, average salary, number of graduate assis- tants, prestige of graduate programs/faculty, and level of students served in undergraduate courses. In addition, the multiple discriminant analyses identified factors (generated from the principal axes factor analysis) which discriminated among the levels of eight of the instruc- tional service measures. Findings The analyses of the data on instructional service revealed that sig- nificant relationships existed between 1) undergraduate and total instructional service measures, 2) department—based and university-based instructional service measures, and 3) unadjusted and adjusted instruc— tional service measures. The results of the chi-square tests for inde- pendence indicated that l) departments that service predominately lower division students tended to have high adjusted, and unadjusted, under- graduate university—based measures and 2) departments with prestige graduate programs/faculty tended to be classified as medium for the t1 Ext-based 8Y3“: «.-~.-‘ inert: :ts were satisfies m t?“ .o . - I ‘ ‘ . .. :5 :ae autsrec e 15‘ —’ 23:2..15‘ taut“ 015' -1 O ' ;.:::.EE saaa. '9 Sb It." . :Ljrsezty-tvo of tr. 32. azi, therefore, x seafactar analysis ' Z: azalyses were u: iezzrs were defined ':': ~ ‘ ' ~~C N 542618 greater Bite measures use: - ..: czscrizinanr ' “e “Pertinent- "‘“°n "as signif ~' 3% the Categorie: 1 (under s... . ‘v \... gradx K :-:‘.' -d ,Ses 0f the .. . 1 ‘Q;‘ ins: - ruttlonal -"'.-f ' J'e- ~ e: .M. ‘ “Jars.- Lou Anna Kimsey Simon department-based graduate instructional service measures while the rated departments were primarily distributed between the medium and high categories for the university-based graduate measures. In addition, of the one hundred eighty Spearman rank correlations between the instruc- tional service measures and the descriptor variables representing fund- ing, faculty rank distributions, number of graduate assistants, and average salary, sixty-four (35.6%) were statistically significant, but only twenty-two of these correlations (12.2%) were strong (greater than .50) and, therefore, meaningful. Finally, the results of the principal axes factor analysis with a varimax rotation and the multiple discrimi- nant analyses were unusually decisive. In the factor analysis six factors were defined which were good representations of the original data (explained 82% of the variance) and were highly internally consis— tent (alphas greater than .90). For seven of the eight instructional service measures used in the multiple discriminant analyses, only one of the two discriminant functions was significant. For the adjusted graduate department-based instructional service measure, no discriminant function was significant. Three factors emerged which discriminated among the categories of the seven instructional service measures. Factor 1 (undergraduate instructional load) was the dominant variable in the analyses of the unadjusted and adjusted undergraduate university- based instructional service measures. Factor 2 (graduate instructional load) was the dominant variable for the adjusted graduate department- based instructional service measure and the unadjusted and adjusted grad- uate university-based instructional service measures. Factor 3 . ' I. I . ‘0!“ Y ".',,a.-~" Lubfi‘ u“ :.L.$-"'e -- a m . o n .-_A ; ... .. - 3 ,.-.....-- __ . v n a . O . A-“ . ~ .. D U .3" débuec' ‘ ‘ ..;. :..'np-' .Lu' 5... u' --< --&-:3-S Bet-‘\—Ol A "-v~-qp:.‘ -7 ~ ‘ d..o.u¢~':.:‘ str“. - 1 “-AAL: V -.,, ~ . <...~:;C we - - “61 Schl: "I “‘ Parateters » ".‘~ . .Nailv t»" O to a; .._H h . K n.._, ‘- “°““F Geci N- ‘u. ‘8 .‘Q5: *1 'B . ke tale 1H5 a‘~ "~E F-d L“; a ..'.‘ C: if C‘ .. "‘- :n: ~s‘ 12‘s.. ‘ A ~r¢;+:, 5“ ‘- h K‘ -‘. _‘ re 5. -\.. . .. _ ‘:~.;r~. Lou Anna Kimsey Simon (undergraduate instructional output) was the dominant variable for the unadjusted and adjusted undergraduate department-based instructional service measures. Conclusions The findings indicated that overlap among the instructional service measures existed. The results of this study suggested that in any fur- ther analysis which included instructional service only the unadjusted undergraduate and graduate department-based are needed to represent the instructional service component of academic departments. Further, the lack of meaningful relationships between the department-based instruc- tional service measures and the descriptor variables indicated that the funding and staffing of departments are not related to the level of instructional service in these departments. Instructional volume rather than the parameters of the instructional process in academic departments tended to be the primary determinant of departmental funding and staff- ing. Finally, though the results of the multiple discriminant analyses were unusually decisive, the use of factors instead of variables greatly complicated the interpretation of the results. Further research which clarifies the interactions of variables within these dominant factors is needed before a clear understanding of the relationships between the level of instructional service and variables representing instructional load and instructional output emerges. However, such further research must also be related to the realities of departmental organization and budgetary process. I..- ch l c.- I 'I'R‘ l"‘w.¥)t)‘1‘l~l". _ fifififififi f" 13:.n.c. inv Departz. INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICE IN ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY By Lou Anna Kimsey Simon A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Administration and Higher Education 1974 © Copyright by LOU ANNA KIMSEY SIMON 1974 To My Family This study is dedicated to my fwnily. Their encouragement, understanding, and love are the cornerstone of my efforts. iii all? 1:.Paull. Dressel i 7:15 writer vi: :ssarzaticn and f or :; foi:e of Instit: on '.-" . f “V: - a I ez:.::-5.a:.s u-It‘.».t Tzis writer a‘ ¢ ‘1 .' ,cn'" ‘ n "' ‘HO: acfien y‘;b"&e 4;: adrice and cri “ “~31: Far" c" 33hr ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This writer wishes to express her sincere appreciation to Dr. Paul L. Dressel for his guidance and support in preparing this dissertation and for the excellent experience derived while working in the Office of Institutional Research as a graduate assistant and as the Assistant Director of the Exxon Departmental Study Project. This writer also wishes to thank the members of her committee-- Dr. Maryellen McSweeney, Dr. Philip Marcus, and Dr. Vandel Johnson. Their advice and criticism have greatly improved the quality of this 'work and the quality of the educational experience which surrounded this effort. Grateful acknowledgment is extended to all members of the Institu- tional Research staff for their constant support and encouragement. A special word of appreciation is extended to Dr. Mary Thompson and Dr. William.Faricy who assisted in the final preparation of this manu- script. Finally, this writer wishes to thank Christina Traines who dis- played outstanding competence and patience in typing manuscript drafts. iv ' W ?‘.~I:— “.5: J: r" 09-.- ..5. OF P 2.-.|‘.‘":": ta— “ “III“‘V-‘Asuh a y Intro-duct; Purpcse c: 555112.310: Lizitatic: Z39531.!1itic: Overview Q'A‘m'JD'V-v- | v at BU.\‘~‘ ‘ Us“ My, Chapter II. III. IV. V. TABLE OF CONTENTS LI S T OF TABLES I O O O O O O O O O O 0 LIST OF FIGURES. . . . . . . . . . . . RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY. . . . . . . . Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . Purpose of the Study. . . . . . . . Assumptions of the Study. . . . . . Limitations of the Study. . . . . . Definitions of Terms. . . . . . . . Overview of the Dissertation. . . . CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR INSTRUCTIONAL smary O C O O O O O O O O O O O O OTHER DEPARTMENTAL LITERATURE. . . . . Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . Departmental Organization . . . . . Empirical Studies . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RESEMCH DESIGN 0 O O O O O O O O O O 0 Instructional Service Measures. . . Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Research Questions. . . . . . . . . Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE RESULTS 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Instructional Service Measures. . . Relationships Between Instructional and Descriptive Data . . . . . . Discriminatory Variables. . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Measures Page vii H Idld P‘C>¢>O\UIF‘ 20 21 21 24 27 33 35 35 39 41 48 57 58 58 77 88 105 VJO“"" 1' ""'-"\':So-CC'.'. ,. . . a 'I .a‘bbv“ A\"".' a raw?" mu- 1.! iH-ndub.’ army Univ 0 0 . Cwerviev cf ”o‘a‘ o A... .u-l ,3 C-ub..- '. 'v-n‘—- -‘ :. Inf-no :Jm.;.\.) .' - A five '. L C Li Hz. is. . -n\~ “a n “-1543 OF -i.— u- a... TABLE OF CONTENTS-—Continued CHAPTER VI. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STIJDY O O O O O O O O O O C O O O O O O O OverView Of the Study 0 O O O O O O O O O smry Of Findings 0 C O O O O O O O O 0 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Recommendations for Further Study . . . . APPENDICES A. DEPARTMENTS IN STUDY . . . . . . . . . . . . B. LIST OF MSU DEPARTMENT DESCRIPTOR VARIABLES. C. TABLES OF DATA USED IN THIS STUDY. . . . . . BIBLIOGRAPHY I O O O C O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 vi Page 106 106 114 116 125 128 131 135 170 f3 -m...‘ 552?? Measure: irallzezt a" . ) : , 7 :..a:.o:‘.s tsr r u. . . ‘ 1....-. ‘.“ h uu-lc‘ ‘51—“. ) U) (7 5;: . nrbuL‘an aka:.h V-- ‘ a51365. . :“v-. a "M“?- StuS F‘ $“"\ “ . ‘ SQLdre re- bgK‘i" j " 9. ~ Le Skdce. “ | .u‘flv“ “aka-its ,‘L .“l‘ ’79... .‘C‘n‘ltv/s, v‘ I A ‘Cgr L. “Eta“ LIST OF TABLES Table 10. ll. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16L Summary Measures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Instructional Service Students by Course Level, Fall 1971 . Enrollment by Course Level, Fall 1971 . . . . . . . . . . . Equations for Instructional Service Measures. . . . . . . . Department-based Instructional Service Measures, Fall 1971. University-based Instructional Service Measures, Fall 1971. Extreme Departments--Unadjusted and Adjusted Department- based Instructional Service Measures. . . . . . . . . . . . Descriptive Data--Department-based Instructional Service Measures 0 O O O O I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Descriptive Data-—University-based Instructional Service Measures 0 O O O C O O C O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Spearman Rank Correlations Among Instructional Service Measures 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Departments with Predominately Lower Division Instructional Service Students in Undergraduate Courses . . . . . . . . . Chi-square Tests of Independence-:Level of Instructional Service Students in Undergraduate Courses . . . . . . . . . Departments with Prestige Graduate Faculty/Programs . . . . Chi-square Tests of Independence-—Prestige of Graduate FaCUItYIPrOgramS O O O O O O O O O O I O O O O O O O O O 0 O Spearman Rank Correlations Between Instructional Service Measures and Descriptive Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Descriptor Variables with Moderate and Strong Relationships to Instructional Service.Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Page 38 6O 62 64 65 67 7O 72 73 75 79 80 82 83 85 89 .. ~- I .41 I III 7 P “I -0 1 64! '.‘:ezor ise f .1: LI. iazegcries of 1‘: h. Segments . . 3&;art:ents . . I Eactcts and .me ""A : 5". 5‘». otabYQPLlVe ”(1‘ starter .112 um ,.,. 33$}? ..ean S on 43'- 3f DE {61’ t, "era? 28211- t; as ‘1' ~‘=’P&I“-' ental E '\ .0. ~: ~., SE, :I'JiCe \IEaS Q! . L... izrar' ". n “tal ] ":I":"1<‘_e“fleas”l (I) M Order: 5 ;%" gawk Order 1“ , pa “216:1: -‘C m “‘ Lgtr“ graduas- ' s t: sLQ'KT ‘ “5% OrCEF he :- LIST OF TABLES--Continued Table 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. Categories of Department—based Instructional Service Depar men t 8 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O I O O O O O O O 0 Categories of University-based Instructional Service Deparmenta O O C O O C C O O O O O O O O C I O O I O O O 0 Factors and Their Loadings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Descriptive Data--Factors and Their Loadings. . . . . . . . Standardized Discriminant Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . Group Means on Standardized Functions . . . . . . . . . . . List of Departments with Disparate Unadjusted and Adjusted Department-based Instructional Service Measures . . . . . . Departmental Rankings on Department-based Instructional Service Measures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Departmental Rankings on University-based Instructional Service Measures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rank Ordering of Departments According to Unadjusted Under- graduate Department-based Instructional Service . . . . . . Rank Ordering of Departments According to Unadjusted Gradu- ate Department-based Instructional Service. . . . . . . . . Rank Ordering of Departments According to Unadjusted Total Department-based Instructional Service. . . . . . . . . . . Rank Ordering of Departments According to Adjusted Under— graduate Department-based Instructional Service . . . . . . Rank Ordering of Departments According to Adjusted Graduate Department-based Instructional semiceo o o o o o o o o o 0 Rank Ordering of Departments According to Adjusted Total Department-based Instructional Service. . . . . . . . . . . Rank Ordering of Departments According to Unadjusted Under- graduate University-based Instructional Service . . . . . . Rank Ordering of Departments According to Unadjusted Gradu- ate University-based Instructional Service. . . . . . . . . viii Page 91 92 94 95 100 101 136 137 139 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 9A5... [ vu- \ nu!- n.. - .1- 1.1. u I 1.; -L. -‘ *"'?S-—Conti: ‘ A 1.; Orieriag of Zziversity-base; ian': Ordering of . ,. " 3. gnawte Laue: . 4...; Ordering of ate Lm'cersity-E ink Crier‘cn o ‘§A6 o. 1 ‘in v .1... .sity-base \: n -_ .. a.§¢ft_cn: 1 5,5 I.- ‘q .jl‘L-lg kPirztental 1‘ IPélfiitures , - u;-..’b . ’1 u A‘.“ A“_ s ‘2 an’x g if A .1 . 5 a‘Y ‘e A581: Li‘ientaae t: F LIST OF TABLES--Continued Table 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. Rank Ordering of Departments According to Unadjusted Total University-based Instructional Service . . . . . . . . . . Rank Ordering of Departments According to Adjusted Under— graduate University-based Instructional Service. . . . . . Rank Ordering of Departments According to Adjusted Gradu- ate University-based Instructional Service . . . . . . . . Rank Ordering of Departments According to Adjusted Total University-based Instructional Service . . . . . . . . . . Departmental Rankings on General Fund Expenditures, 1971-72 0 O C O O I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Departmental Rankings on Research Grant and Contract Expenditures, 1971-72 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 0 Faculty Rank Distribution Indices. . . . . . . . . . . . . Graduate ASSiStantS, 19 71-72 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o 0 Rank Ordering of Departments According to Average 10~month Equated salary, 19 71-72 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Percentage Distribution of Instructional Service Students by Student Level--Unadjusted Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . Percentage Distribution of Instructional Service Students by StUdent Level--Adj 113th Data. 0 o o o o o o o o o o o 0 Factor scores 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Page 149 150 151 152 153 155 157 159 161 162 165 168 - 5' “n .-h .. .13.; Bears -. .. :13"; Means", r -A .- o0 i.VUr chns--~ .. ., grasp Means--.“ LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Group Means——DBIS—-UU and DBIS—UG . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 2. Group Means—~DBIS—AU and DBIS—AG . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 3. Group Means-w-UBIS—UU and UBIS—UG . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 4. Group Means__UBIS-AU and UBIS—AG o o o o o o o o o o o o o 104 1:35:33 55 university Leg;sla:ive and £15 - ..- . I "" w ‘ A“- 't‘ O w:..-és‘vwent ‘ A I Q-.. “gerial and fine Fixer-speaking '343S%S‘-Stated t The crisis 1: 22:31ng less Cf sound man. tellege and 8:: from the In addition . I ‘HA ~.u\.s itSel 1.5‘ ‘ C --. n cu.“ .... 12:8 Chapter I RATIONAL FOR THE STUDY Introduction As university operations have come under close scrutiny by legislative and fiscal agencies and the taxpaying public, growing disillusionment with higher education has amplified the cry for more managerial and financial accountability. In an article by Grassell, ‘Whitter--speaking for the Council for the Advancement of Small Colleges--stated that The crisis in which higher education finds itself today demands nothing less than our institutions being operated on the basis of sound management principles, keeping in mind, of course, that college and university purposes and characteristics are differ- ent from those of business and government.1 In addition to being under public suspicion, higher education also finds itself in financial difficulty. The "dollar squeeze" has been intensified by declining revenues from tuition, increasing oper- ating costs, and diminishing soft monies. As Cheit points out In short, due to inflation and growing demands on schools for more service, for broader access, for academic innovation and for more quality, costs were rapidly rising. But income has not.2 1E. M. Grassell, "The President Needs Training in Management," College Management, 6 (August, 1971), p. 29. 2E. F. Cheit, The New Depression in Higher Education (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971), p. l. ("”1" 5} 33,1955 costly t1 :5;::si':ilities w'r. tiara: of effi :razible with '25 1.: of primary 1 I 1 5.3.3 3315 eating Operafi 'u.:j"' c . :""“‘“e °£ten ta: 315116.325. 3”; «national prio "‘ 533% even grow 332314 r - ' “ ~° Grange “'15 in aSSifined 212- .. “aw-e or rei 2 '.- Thus, less costly techniques must be found for meeting institutional responsibilities while retaining acceptable levels of quality. The development of efficient and effective methods of resource allocation compatible with institutional organization, goals, and needs has become of primary importance. Many states have developed techniques of formula or program budgeting for appropriating funds to institutions. Yet, once institu— tions have these funds in their possession, they tend to divide these funds among operating units in traditional ways. This allocation procedure often takes the form of across-the-board percentage increases or decreases. Such uniform percentage changes across operating units reinforce the relative position of units and indirectly establish institutional priorities. The "fat" programs and departments remain, and some even grow fatter. But this type of system.maintenance cannot respond to changes in societal goals and public needs and to altera- tions in assigned or implied institutional responsibilities. Simple maintenance or reinforcement of existing structures and priorities is no longer tenable for institutions of higher education. Sound planning and management require that institutional priori- ties become operational through the budget. Within each institution, the key to sounder financial management lies at the level of the basic budget unit or cost center. In academic areas this basic unit is usually the department. In spite of debates about the appropriateness of the departmental structure for higher education, especially under- graduate education, departments remain the predominant organizational f1 arrives to the 1;; 55.51:- pattern. 3:321:35 outP‘Jt‘: 1 ;:‘ u q‘l‘ JuudroMi e‘ ‘ ‘g in i‘ ‘ ilie;ar::er.ts. :;:;a:iec' by gre; regress: viable U2“ Sane would ar._ stifleartzeut is 1:: the evaluation Tie nature of Institution , tziitult to ~ organization :22 other hand, “5:56 institutic - ‘I- ‘ m: ”N W DECOEQ he: .-..-St:mre’ the V: 1;; Place in the .._"-. lent s . De 1‘. H“: De de‘JEICpl 21325911 3 “SCOI‘. ., .- - a Q41" :' ‘ (“1014‘ ‘ hCY elements of colleges and universities around the world. Furthermore, alternatives to the departmental structure tend over time to regress to this basic pattern. At the departmental level inputs are translated into various outputs with contrasting degrees of efficiency. The aggregate of these departmental data reflects the overall level of institutional efficiency. A redefinition of efficiency at the insti- tutional level does not imply greater effectiveness or efficiency for all departments. (This change could reflect a shift of mean which was accompanied by greater departmental variation.) Thus, departments represent viable units around which to develop a budget methodology. Some would argue as McConnell does in the following passage that each department is unique and that separate criteria must be developed for the evaluation of each department. The nature of departments varies so greatly, not only among institutions, but within particular institutions, that it is very difficult to make valid general statements about departmental organization and administration.3 On the other hand, a complete departmental self-study for each unit at a large institution is prohibitive, especially if such a self-study were to become necessary as an annual basis for resource allocation. Furthermore, the budgetary process for any single department always takes place in the context of the needs and aspirations of other departments. Departmental comparisons are inevitable. Procedures should be developed and tested by which departments could be grouped 3T. R. McConnell, Notes for a Table on Departmental Organization, Monograph 5 (Blouder, Colorado: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, 1969), p. l. ,‘ 1,115 1315 for depart-sen: 7;};stered on “Y1 ;; tie: at difter-. 5.523133 strategy ;::e:':re for depa: 2:.15 utilize the strategy 15 appiie u. .-_.a::zer.:s in its 47. Itis approat: rilestressiug ti. Luzers. The iundaneat 3% set as a basis ‘irsiaading of ‘5 aEF‘aIU-‘Aezrts. .,.‘ 41v... ‘ r ”aims refle "“3518 is ave." "\. ‘Q‘ ,' ~5 0 ‘ as Shoulc ~