INFORMATION TO USERS
This re p ro d u c tio n was made fro m a copy o f a d o cu m e n t sent to us fo r m ic ro film in g .
W hile the m ost advanced technolo gy has been used to photograph and reproduce
this d o cu m e nt, the q u a lity o f the re p ro d u c tio n is heavily dependent upon the
q u a lity o f the m aterial su b m itte d .
The fo llo w in g exp la n a tio n o f techniques is provided to help c la rify m arkings or
notations w hich m ay appear on this re p ro d u c tio n .
1 .T h e sign o r “ ta rg e t” fo r pages apparently lacking fro m the docum ent
photographed is “ Missing Page(s)” . I f it was possible to obtain the missing
page(s) o r section, they are spliced in to the film along w ith adjacent pages. This
may have necessitated c u ttin g through an image and d u p lica tin g adjacent pages
to assure com plete c o n tin u ity .
2. When an image on the film is o b lite ra te d w ith a round black m ark, it is an
in d ic a tio n o f e ith e r blurre d copy because o f m ovem ent d u rin g exposure,
duplicate co py, o r co p y rig h te d m aterials th a t should n u t have been film e d . F or
blurred pages, a good image o f the page can be fo u n d in the adjacent fram e. I f
co pyrigh te d m aterials were deleted, a target note w ill appear listin g the pages in
the adjacent fram e.
3. When a map, draw ing o r c ha rt, etc., is p a rt o f the m aterial being photographed,
a d e fin ite m e th o d o f “ se ctio n in g ” the m aterial has been fo llo w e d . I t is
custom ary to begin film in g at the upper le ft hand corner o f a large sheet and to
co n tin u e fro m le ft to rig h t in equal sections w ith small overlaps. I f necessary,
sectioning is co n tin u e d again -beginning below the firs t ro w and c o n tin u in g on
u n til com plete.
4. F o r illu s tra tio n s th a t cannot be s a tisfa cto rily reproduced by xerographic
means, p h o to g ra p h ic p rin ts can be purchased at a d d itio n a l cost and inserted
in to y o u r xerographic copy. These p rin ts are available upon request fro m the
D issertations C ustom er Services D epartm ent.
5. Some pages in any d ocum ent may have in d is tin c t p rin t. In all cases the best
available copy has been film e d .

University
Microfilms
International
300 N. Zeeb Road
Ann Arbor, Ml 48106

8513952

W hitem an, Raymond Eldon

ENROLLMENT AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS ON MICHIGAN PRIVATE LIBERAL
ARTS COLLEGES

Michigan State University

University
Microfilms
International

300 N. Z eeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106

Ph.D.

1985

ENROLLMENT AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS ON
MICHIGAN PRIVATE LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES

By
Raymond Eldon Whiteman

A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan State U n iv e rs ity
in p a r tia l f u l f i l l m e n t o f the requirements
f o r the degree o f
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department o f Educational A dm in istratio n
1985

ABSTRACT
ENROLLMENT AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS ON
MICHIGAN PRIVATE LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES
By
Raymond Eldon Whiteman

During the past several years colleges have been experiencing
enrollment and economic pressures as a r e s u lt o f a decline in popula­
tio n growth and o f depressed national and state economies.

These

pressures are predicted to continue and possibly become more severe
since the 18 to 22 ye a r-o ld population w i l l continue to decline f o r
several years and since the national economy is facing large d e f i c i t
budgets.

The purpose o f t h is study was to consider the impacts of

enrollment and economic fa c to rs on Michigan p riv a te l ib e r a l a rts c o l­
leges during the past few years and to determine what impact these
fa c to rs may continue to have on those colleges during the next several
y e a rs.
To obtain colleg e data re la te d to enrollm ent, costs, and
revenues f o r the past several years, th is study u t i l i z e d the Higher
Education General Inform ation Surveys (HEGIS) c o lle c te d from the
National Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s and the 16 colleges in the
study.

In a d d itio n , a comprehensive questionnaire was sent to each

college president to get each in d iv id u a l c o lle g e 's own analysis o f how
enrollment and economic fa c to rs had a ffe cte d them during the past few

Raymond Eldon Whiteman
years and how they f e l t those fa c to rs would a f f e c t them during the next
several years.
Some major fin d in g s o f the study included:
- There were f a i r l y stable enrollments from 1980 to 1983 due
to increases in p a rt-tim e students since the number o f f u l l - t i m e
students declined 3.3 percent during th a t time period.
- F ir s t- tim e freshmen enrollment declined 943 from 1980
1983 g iv in g a percentage drop o f 15.9 percent.

to

Fourteen o f the 16

colleges had fewer freshmen en rolled in 1983 than in 1980.
- From the 1977/78 f i s c a l year to the 1982/83 f i s c a l year,
some operating expenditures were s h ifte d away from in s tr u c tio n and in to
student services and scholarships.
- From 1977/78 to 1982/83, per student costs increased the
same percent as i n f l a t i o n .

From June 1981 to July 1983, per student

costs increased 22.9 percent w hile i n f l a t i o n increased 9.9 percent
during th a t time.
- Per student costs f o r the in d iv id u a l colleges during the
1982/83 f i s c a l year ranged from $2,413 to $9,234.
- The colleges are "c a u tio u s ly o p tim is tic " about the next
f i v e years.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to express my ap preciation to my doctoral advisory
committee o f Dr. Fred Whims, Dr. Lawrence Lezotte, Dr. Richard Farace,
and p a r t i c u l a r l y to Dr. Eldon Nonnamaker who served as the Chairman
o f the committee and D ire c to r o f the d is s e r ta tio n .
Sincere thanks are due to the many a d m inistra tors from the
colleges in t h is study who provided me w ith requested info rm a tio n ; to
Norman Brandt, Rosa Simmons, and other National Center f o r Education
S t a t is t ic s employees who responded to several requests f o r s t a t i s t i c a l
re p o rts ; and to Dr. John S. Lore, President o f The Michigan Colleges
Foundation, f o r his support o f the study.
My g r a titu d e also goes to many fr ie n d s , colleagues, and
r e la tiv e s who have supported and encouraged me during the time I was
researching and w r it in g the d is s e r ta tio n .
I wish to e s p e c ia lly thank my w ife , Jean, and our daughters,
Marci and Autumn, f o r t h e i r patience, understanding, and encourage­
ment throughout my time o f graduate study.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY...............................................................

1

Statement o f the Problem...........................................................................
1
Purpose o f t h is S t u d y ...........................................................................
4
The Need f o r the Study...........................................................................
5
Michigan P riva te Liberal Arts Colleges...........................................
7
D e fin it io n o f Terms ...............................................................................
8
L im ita tio n s o f the Study...........................................................
Overview o f D is s e r ta tio n ............................................................................ 11
Chapter 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE....................................' .......................... 12
In tr o d u c tio n .................................................................................................... 12
Enrollment Outlook f o r Higher Education .......................................... 13
N on trad itiona l Enrollment ...................................................................... 18
Special Issues A ffe c tin g Enrollment .................................................. 22
Enrollment During the 1970s .................................................................. 26
Enrollment and College M ission................................................................ 28
P riva te Sector Enrollment ...................................................................... 30
Enrollment Outlook f o r Michigan .......................................................... 33
Competition f o r Students............................................................................ 37
Planning f o r Enrollment Decline .......................................................... 38
Campus C o n flic ts from Enrollment Concerns ...................................... 40
The Economy and College C o s t s ................................................................ 41
Higher Education Costs and State Finances ...................................... 48
E ffe cts o f Cost Increases a t P riva te Colleges ..............................
52
Financial Aid Concerns................................................................................ 55
The Economy in M ic h ig a n ............................................................................ 58
Costs and E f f ic ie n c y .................................................................................... 60
Responding to Economic Problems .......................................................... 63
Chapter 3 COLLECTION OF DATA............................................................................ 68
Sources and Use o f Higher Education Data............................................ 68
Data Sources f o r t h is S t u d y .................................................................... 71
Chapter 4 ENROLLMENT, COST, AND REVENUE TRENDS ....................................

75

Enrollment Trends ...................................................................................
75
Fall to ta l headcount e n rollm e nts.................................................... 75
Fall f u l l - t i m e equivalent enrollments .................................... 78
Fall p a rt-tim e e n rollm e nts................................................................ 80
ii i

10

Chapter 4

continued.

Fall f i r s t - t i m e freshmen en rollm ents............................................ 82
Cost T r e n d s ....................................................................................................85
Total d i r e c t educational c o s ts ........................................................ 85
Per student c o s t s ................................................................................ 87
In s tru c tio n a l costs ........................................................................ 91.
Academic support.................................................................................... 94
Student s e rv ic e s .................................................................................... 97
I n s t it u t i o n a l support .................................................................... 100
Plant operations andmaintenance................................................... 103
Scholarships and fe llo w s h ip s ......................................................... 106
Revenue Trends.............................................................................................. 109
T u itio n and fe e s .................................................................................. 110
P rivate g i f t s , grants, and c o n tra c ts ...........................................113
Endowment income.................................................................................. 116
Pell G r a n t s .................................................................................................. 119
Chapter 5 COLLEGES' SELF-REPORTED PROJECTIONS...........................................122
Enrollment P ro je c tio n s ...............................................................................122
Revenue P rojections ................................................................................. 123
Educational Costs ..................................................................................... 126
A d m in is tra tio n .............................................................................................. 130
Academic Programs ..................................................................................... 132
C l i e n t e l e ...................................................................................................... 134
Planning.......................................................................................................... 135
Summaries...................................................................................................... 137
Chapter 6 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS...................................................................139
Summary o f Findings from the Study.......................................................140
L ite r a tu r e review f i n d i n g s ...............................................................140
Enrollment fin d in g s from th is study ......................................... 143
Expenditure fin d in g s from t h is stud y ...........................................145
Revenue fin d in g s from th is stud y...................................................149
Enrollment and fin a n c ia l p r o je c tio n s ...........................................151
Conclusions from the Study...................................................................... 152
Recommendations f o r A dditional Research ......................................... 158
APPENDIX A COLLEGE QUESTIONNAIRE ................................................................ 160
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 168

iv

LIST OF TABLES

Table

Page

1.

FALL TOTAL HEADCOUNT ENROLLMENTS 1 9 7 7 -1 9 8 3

.............................

76

2.

FALL FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT ENROLLMENTS 1977 - 1983.........................

79

3.

FALL PART-TIME ENROLLMENTS 1 9 7 7 - 1 9 8 3 .............................................

81

4.

FALL FIRST-TIME FRESHMEN ENROLLMENTS 1 9 7 7 -1 9 8 3 .........................

83

5. CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES - TOTAL DIRECT EDUCATIONAL
COSTS 1977/78 - 1982/83...........................................................................

86

6.

PER STUDENT COSTS - 1977/78 - 1982/83..............................................

89

7.

PER STUDENT COSTS - PERCENTAGEINCREASE OVER PREVIOUS
YEAR 1977/78 - 1982/83 ...........................................................................

90

8.

CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES - INSTRUCTION 1977/78 - 1982/83 . . 92

9. PERCENT INSTRUCTION OF CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES
1977/78 - 1982/83.......................................................................................

93

10. CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES - ACADEMIC SUPPORT
1977/78 - 1982/83.......................................................................................

95

11. PERCENT ACADEMIC SUPPORT OF CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES
1977/78 - 1982/83.......................................................................................

96

12. CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES - STUDENT SERVICES
1977/78 - 1982/83.......................................................................................

98

13. PERCENT STUDENT SERVICES OF CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES
1977/78 - 1982/83.......................................................................................

99

14. CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES - INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT
1977/78 - 1982/83.......................................................................................

101

15. PERCENT INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT OF CURRENT FUNDS
EXPENDITURES 1977/78 - 1982/83.............................................................. 102
16. CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES - PLANT OPERATION AND
MAINTENANCE 1977/78 - 1982/83...............................................................
v

104

LIS T OF TABLES

....c o n tin u e d
17. PERCENT PLANT OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF CURRENT FUNDS
EXPENDITURES 1977/78 - 1982/83 ............................................................ 105
18. CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES - SCHOLARSHIPS AND
FELLOWSHIPS 1977/78 - 1982/83. ............................................................ 107
19. PERCENT SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS OF CURRENT FUNDS
EXPENDITURES 1977/78 - 1982/83 ............................................................ 108
20.

CURRENT FUNDS REVENUES - TUITION AND FEES 1977/78 -

1982/83. . I l l

21.

CURRENT FUNDS REVENUES - PERCENT TUITION AND FEES OF TOTAL
DIRECT EDUCATIONAL COSTS 1977/78 - 1982/83 .................................... 112

22. CURRENT FUNDS REVENUES - PRIVATE GIFTS, GRANTS, AND
CONTRACTS 1977/78 - 1982/83.................................................................... 114
23. CURRENT FUNDS REVENUES - PERCENT PRIVATE GIFTS, GRANTS, AND
CONTRACTS OF TOTAL DIRECT EDUCATIONAL COSTS 1977/78 - 1982/83. 115
24.
25.

CURRENT FUNDS REVENUES - ENDOWMENT INCOME 1977/78 -

1982/83. .1 1 7

CURRENT FUNDS REVENUES - PERCENT ENDOWMENT OF TOTAL
DIRECT EDUCATIONAL COSTS 1977/78 - 1982/83 .................................... 118

26. 1982/83 PELL GRANTS...................................................................................... 121

vi

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY
Statement o f the Problem
The ro le o f p riv a te colleges and u n iv e r s itie s throughout the
h is to ry o f higher education in the United States has been an extremely
important one.

Beginning w ith the co lo n ia l colleges and continuing up

to today, the p riv a te college sector has provided a d i v e r s i t y o f pro­
grams th a t have allowed students to receive an education in any environ­
ment th a t they desired.

A Brookings I n s t i t u t i o n re p o rt s ta te s , "The

growth o f p riv a te higher education is one o f the most durable and im­
pressive success s to rie s in the h is to ry o f American domestic i n s t i t u ­
t i o n s . 1'^

A s h i f t in enrollments from p r iv a te to pu b lic i n s t i t u t i o n s

occurred only in the l a s t 30 years as socie ty began to place a greater
value on higher education and as government fin a n c ia l support f o r i t
began to increase s i g n if ic a n t l y .

O

Throughout the 1950s and 60s, enrollments in higher education
increased r e g u la rly .

Most i n s t i t u t i o n s gave very l i t t l e

the p o s s i b i l i t y o f an enrollment decrease.

thought to

Increases in enrollment were

almost automatic because o f an increase in the number of college-age

^Algo D. Henderson and Jean Glidden Henderson, Higher Education
in America, (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1974) p. 3.
O

Harold L. Hodgkinson, I n s t it u t i o n s in T r a n s itio n , (New York:
McGraw H i l l Book Company, 1971).
1

2

students and the general s o c ie ty 's view o f the importance o f education.
Attending college also afforded a way f o r young men to avoid being
drafted in to the m i l i t a r y service.

While the statement seems t o t a l l y

out o f place today, as re c e n tly as 1969 Brick and McGrath were w r itin g
th a t so many students were seeking admission to college th a t the
problem l ib e r a l a rts colleges were having was fin d in g enough room to put
them and enough teachers to teach them.
Beginning about th a t tim e ,'a few educators began to see a new
trend in population growth which indicated a possible fu tu re slowdown
o f enrollment increases.

That concern gradu ally increased through the

ea rly and mid 1970s to include not only p re d ictio n s of smaller enrollment
increases, but o f p re d ic tio n s o f enrollment decreases.

Because o f a

r e l a t i v e l y weak fin a n c ia l base of many smaller p riv a te colleges and t h e i r
high dependence on t u i t i o n as a source o f revenue, they have been
singled out as being p a r t i c u l a r l y vulnerable to predicted enrollment
drops and economic recessions.

While most of these colleges have man­

aged to continue to operate, the concern f o r t h e i r surviva l is growing
as enrollment and economic pressures get worse.

Minter and Bowen in

t h e i r f i f t h re p o rt on Independent Higher Education in 1980 s ta te :
Despite i t s acknowledged achievements, the independent sector
is widely believed to be in serious jeopardy. There are many
reports th a t i t faces increasing competition from p u b lic ’ i n s t i t u ­
tio n s which are ever more a c tiv e ly seeking enrollments and seeking
funds from p riv a te sources; i t has had to ra is e t u i t i o n s substan­
t i a l l y year a f t e r year so th a t the d o lla r t u i t i o n gap between
independent and pu b lic i n s t i t u t i o n s has widened; i t s income from
g i f t s and endowments has not kept pace w ith r is in g costs; the pool
of p o te n tia l students is c o n tra c tin g ; and i n f l a t i o n is having
adverse e ffe c ts .
. . . i t is evident th a t the independent sector
of higher education is accumulating an increasing amount of

Michael Brick and Earl J. McGrath, Innovation in L ib era l Arts
Colleges, (New York: Columbia U n iv e rs ity , 1969) p. 1.

3

deffered maintenance o f physical assets and th a t the compensation
o f i t s s t a f f is f a l l i n g s te a d ily behind th a t o f the labor force in
other major in d u s trie s . I t is o ften asserted th a t these circum­
stances threaten to destroy some independent colleges and u n iv e r s i­
t i e s , to d riv e some in to the pu blic s e c to r, and to weaken m o st.(4)
The Brookings I n s t i t u t i o n study noted e a r l i e r also in d ic a te s :
Leaders o f p r iv a te higher education fe a r th a t retrenchment
(from enrollment drops) w i l l take place a t t h e i r expense as they
compete w ith state-su bsidized i n s t i t u t i o n s in a shrinking market­
place. (5)
The Twentieth Century Fund, a research foundation engaged in
p o lic y -o rie n te d studies o f economic, p o l i t i c a l , and social issues and
i n s t i t u t i o n s , convened a special task fo rce on endowment p o lic ie s out
of a c o n v ic tio n th a t p r iv a te colleges are a v i t a l national resource but
th a t they are in fin a n c ia l tro u b le .

Their re p o rt sta te s :

This Task Force believes th a t the s urviva l o f many p riv a te
colleges and u n iv e r s it ie s is now a t stake.
. . . the basic d i f f i ­
c u lt ie s - lagging enrollm ents, r is in g com petition f o r students,
increasing costs, and a growing gap in t u i t i o n charges between
pu blic and p r iv a te i n s t i t u t i o n s - are not l i k e l y to disappear.
But the pressures brought about by the acce le ra tio n o f i n f l a ­
tio n , along w ith the shrinkage in purchasing power of endowments,
have placed p riv a te i n s t i t u t i o n s in c r i t i c a l d i f f i c u l t i e s . Sur­
v iv a l alone presents a serious challenge to many o f them.(6)
Gallagher, in Campus in C r i s i s , continues t h is p ic tu re of
p riv a te higher education

by in d ic a tin g th a t ". .. i t is lik e w is e

possible th a t the needed

massive in te rv e n tio n o f philanthrophy and

government w i l l not be tim e ly enough to f o r s t a l l f u r th e r serious

John W. M inter and Howard R. Bowen, Independent Higher Educa­
t i o n , (Washington, D. C.: National I n s t i t u t e o f Independent Colleges
and U n iv e r s itie s , 1980) p. 1.
^David W. Breneman and Chester E. Finn, Public P olicy and P r i ­
vate Higher Education, (Washington, D. C.: The Brookings I n s t i t u t i o n ,
1978j p. v i i .
C

Twentieth Century Fund, Funds f o r the Future, (New York:
McGraw H i l l Book Company, 1975) pp. 3-5.

4

d e te r io r a tio n o f a t le a s t h a lf o f the p r iv a te ly supported in s t i t u t i o n s they w i l l go pu blic or cease op era tion."^
As one contemplates these various p re d ic tio n s o f hard times
f o r p riv a te colleges and also looks a t convincing s t a t i s t i c a l evidence
f o r these p re d ic tio n s , the p ic tu re becomes one o f even more concern
when looking a t the State o f Michigan.

Both drops in enrollment and

the economy have affe c te d Michigan more than most states.

These

concerns w i l l be more f u l l y discussed in Chapter 2.
In summary, the problem th a t th is study addresses is how
Michigan p riv a te lib e r a l a rts colleges have been affected by, have
responded to , and plan to continue to respond to enrollment and econom­
ic pressures which have occurred as a r e s u lt o f a decline in the 18 to
22 ye a r-o ld population and a depressed s ta te and national economy.
Purpose o f t h is Study
From 1967 to 1979, the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education
and the Carnegie Council on P olicy Studies in Higher Education con­
ducted valuable studies in several areas o f importance to higher educa­
t io n .

Seme o f the studies were p r im a r ily concerned w ith p riv a te higher

education.

From these studies came a number o f s p e c ific recommenda­

tio n s which the Council f e l t should be s e rio u s ly considered in order to
lessen the impact o f p o te n tia l problems f o r p riv a te higher education.
The purpose of t h is study is to consider the impact o f e n r o l l ­
ment and economic fa c to rs on Michigan p r iv a te l ib e r a l a rts colleges.
As a basis f o r t h is study, the researcher used one o f the recommendations

7
Buell G. Gallagher, Campus in C r i s i s , (New York:
Row P ublishers, 1974) p. 5.

Harper and

5

set f o r t h by the Carnegie Council in i t s study o f The States and
P riva te Higher Education.

The recommendation urges p riv a te colleges

to u t i l i z e s e lf- h e lp to the maximum possible extent in the areas o f:
- increasing revenues from p riv a te sources
- improving a d m in is tra tio n
- reducing costs
- developing new programs
- seeking out new c lie n t e le
g

- planning ahead in order to improve t h e i r economic s itu a tio n s
This study w i l l have two major th ru s ts .

The f i r s t w i l l be to

present a 6-7 year h is t o r ic a l summary and analysis o f enrollment trends,
expenditures, per student costs, and revenues f o r the p riv a te lib e r a l
a rts colleges in Michigan.

The second w i l l be a summary and discussion

o f the steps the colleges in the study are taking which re la te to the
Carnegie Council recommendation.
The Need f o r the Study
Concerns f o r the fu tu r e o f p riv a te higher education as a re s u lt
o f c u rre n t and a n tic ip a te d enrollment declines and increased costs have
already been discussed and w i l l be expanded in the l i t e r a t u r e review
in Chapter 2.

While each in d iv id u a l college is concerned about i t s own

fu tu r e , many educators are concerned about p riv a te higher education in
to ta l.

Since the problems th a t any given college is facing are also

being faced by oth ers, p r iv a te colleges need to work together to t r y

g

Carnegie Council on P olicy Studies in Higher Education, The
States and P riva te Higher Education, (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,
1977) p. 62.

6

to understand what the fu tu re holds f o r them as a group.

While the

attempt to get more students and more p riv a te g i f t s places each college
in competition w ith each oth er, the sharing o f data among them could
have b e n e fic ia l re s u lts f o r a l l o f them.
The data needed f o r state agencies to determine budget appro­
p r ia tio n s f o r pu blic colleges and u n iv e r s itie s in Michigan is q u ite
complete.

Data concerning enrollments and per student costs are

c o lle c te d , summarized, and analyzed y e a rly .

Comparisons from college

to college are also made in these data summaries.

For the p riv a te

college sector, however, th is data is not s y s te m a tic a lly c o lle c te d ,
summarized, and compared.
The re s u lts o f th is study should be b e n e fic ia l in a t le a s t
fo u r ways:
1. I t w i l l give the in d iv id u a l colleges an h is t o r ic a l analysis
o f t h e i r enrollments, costs, revenues, and per student
costs.

While they have data on these areas, the summary

data in th is study may be presented in a d i f f e r e n t way than
they have looked a t i t in the past.
2. I t w i l l give each college an o p p o rtu n ity to compare i t s e l f
to the Michigan p riv a te li b e r a l a rts colleg e sector as a
whole in the areas o f enrollm ent, co s ts, and revenues.

In

doing t h i s , the study may p o in t out areas where an i n d i v i d ­
ual college should be r a is in g questions about making some
changes.

For example, i f a colleg e fin d s th a t the percent­

age o f i t s budget going to i n s t i t u t i o n a l support is s i g n i f ­
i c a n tly higher than average, i t may mean th a t some budget
changes could be made in th a t area.

7

3. I t w i l l provide professional agencies and other inte reste d
educators data th a t could be useful in t h e ir p a r tic u la r con­
cerns and in te re s ts in p r iv a te higher education.

S p e cific

agencies which should fin d the study useful would include
the Michigan Colleges Foundation and the Association of
Independent Colleges and U n iv e rs itie s o f Michigan.
4. I t w i l l provide data f o r colleges to use when working w ith
p o te n tia l donors such as the revenue needed to cover costs
beyond th a t which t u i t i o n covers.
Michigan P riva te Liberal A rts Colleges
There are 18 colleges in the State o f Michigan under p riv a te
control which s ta te t h e i r purpose as being l i b e r a l a rts in nature.
Two o f them have been elim inated from the study because of the size of
t h e ir graduate and professional student enrollment - Andrews Univer­
s i t y and Grand Rapids B a p tis t College and Seminary.

The data in th is

study w i l l be used comparatively and in c lud ing these two colleges would
make comparisons w ith the other colleges more d i f f i c u l t to do since
graduate education tends to ra is e costs.

While the remaining 16 c o l ­

leges have a few graduate students, they make up only a small f r a c tio n
o f the to t a l enrollm ent.

The colleges included in th is study are lis t e d

below along w ith t h e i r lo c a tio n , r e lig io u s a f f i l i a t i o n , and the year
th a t they were established.
Adrian College

Adrian

1859

United Methodist

Albion College

Albion

1835

United Methodist

Alma College

Alma

1886

United

Aquinas College

Grand Rapids

1923

Presbyterian

Roman Catholic

8

Calvin College

Grand Rapids

1876

C h ris tia n Reformed

Concordia College

Ann Arbor

1962

Lutheran

H ills d a le College

H i ! 1sdale

1844

Independent

Hope College

Holland

1862

Reformed Church

Kalamazoo College

Kalamazoo

1833

American B aptist

Madonna College

Livonia

1947

Roman Catholic

Marygrove College

Detroi t

1910

Roman Catholic

Mercy College o f D e tr o it

-D etroit

1941

Roman Catholic

Nazareth College

Nazareth

1924

Roman Catholic

O liv e t College

01iv e t

1844

United Church o f C h ris t

Siena Heights College

Adrian

1919

Roman Catholic

Spring Arbor College

Spring Arbor

1873

Free M e th o d is t^ ®

D e fin it io n of Terms
Several terms need to be defined as they are used in th is study.
Per Student Costs - The concept o f per student costs is d i s ­
cussed in various a r t i c l e s and books and can be a rriv e d a t by using
d i f f e r e n t methods.

When tr y in g to compare such per student costs, one

must know how they were c a lc u la te d .

Per student costs as used in th is

study are determined by d iv id in g d i r e c t educational costs of an i n s t i ­
tu tio n by the f u l l - t i m e equivale nt enrollment f o r the f a l l semester or
quarter.

Q

National Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s , Education D irecto ry
o f Colleges and U n iv e rs itie s 1981-82, (Washington, D. C.: U. S. Government P rin tin g O ffic e , 1981).
^American Council on Education, 1982-83 Accredited I n s t i t u ­
tio n s of Postsecondary Education, (Washington, D. C.: American Council
on Education, 1982).

9

D ire c t Educational Costs - Each year colleges are required to
submit fin a n c ia l s t a t i s t i c a l reports to the U. S. Department o f Education
through the Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS).
re p o rt has twelve major categories o f expenditures.

The

D ire c t educational

costs are defined f o r t h is study as the to t a l expenditures from s ix of
the categories - i n s t r u c t io n , academic support, student services, i n s t i ­
tu tio n a l support, p la n t operation and maintenance, and scholarships and
fe llo w s h ip s .

These six categories re la te d i r e c t l y to the costs of

educating students.

The expenditure categories not used in th is study

are research, pu blic s e rv ic e , mandatory tra n s fe rs , a u x ilia r y en te rp ris e s ,
h o s p ita ls , and independent operations.

These categories are not con­

sidered to be d i r e c t l y re la te d to the costs of educating students fo r
t h is study,

This d e f i n i t i o n o f d ir e c t educational costs is in keeping

w ith Howard R. Bowen's procedures and recommendations in a comprehensive
per student cost study th a t he conducted f o r the Carnegie Council on
P olicy Studies in Higher E d u ca tio n .^
F u ll-tim e Equivalent Enrollment - While more than 75 per cent
o f the students enrolled in the colleges in th is study are f u l l - t i m e
students, the colleges vary in the r a t i o of f u l l - t i m e to p a rt-tim e
enrollment.

Therefore, the f u l l - t i m e equivalent enrollment ra ther than

the headcount enrollment is used in th is study to determine per student
costs.

The enrollment s t a t i s t i c s were obtained from copies o f the

c o lle g e s ' HEGIS enrollment re p o rts , from summary tables o f enrollments
from the National Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s , and from data supplied

I I

cisco:

Howard R. Bowen, The Costs of Higher Education, (San Fran­
Jossey-Bass, 1980) p. 264.

10

d i r e c t l y from the colleges.

The f u l l - t i m e equivalent enrollment as

defined in th is study is the to t a l number o f f u l l - t i m e students added
to the f u l l - t i m e equivalent o f p a rt-tim e enrollment as reported by the
colleges.
Current Funds Revenues and Expenditures - The cu rre n t funds
revenues and curren t funds expenditures used in t h is study were obtained
from copies of the c o lle g e s ' HEGIS fin a n c ia l s t a t i s t i c a l re p o rts , com­
puter p rin to u ts of HEGIS data from the National Center f o r Education
S t a t i s t i c s , and fin a n c ia l data supplied d i r e c t l y from the colleges.
L im ita tio n s of the Study
One o f the questions th a t can be raised in a comparative study
re la te s to the r e l i a b i l i t y o f the data from one set of data to another,
or in th is study, from one college to another.

Each colleg e has i t s own

s p e c ific accounting system and method o f determining enrollment data.
Since the HEGIS s t a t i s t i c a l forms re quire the colleges to put t h e ir
data in s p e c ific cate go ries, th is source o f inform ation should provide
the most r e li a b l e data a v a ila b le .

Regardless of how each college may

set up i t s own accounting procedures or how i t may determine i t s
enrollment fig u re s , i t must re p o rt i t s revenues, expenditures, and
enrollments in s p e c ific groupings on the HEGIS re p o rts .

HEGIS data

is often used f o r comparative studies o f colleges.
One o f the purposes o f th is study is to look a t college
enrollm ents, revenues, and expenditures over a period of years f o r the
colleges as a group and f o r each in d iv id u a l co lleg e.

While comparisons

among colleges w i l l be noted, th is study does not attempt to determine
why the diffe re n ce s among the colleges occur.

For example, w hile

11

d iffe re n ce s w i l l be seen in the area o f to ta l per student costs from
colleg e to c o lle g e , t h is study does not attempt to determine why t h is
v a r ia tio n occurs nor does i t attempt to decide what per student costs
should be.
Overview of D is s e rta tio n
Chapter 2 contains a review o f re le va n t l i t e r a t u r e re la te d to
t h is study.

The review concentrates p r im a r ily on a r t i c l e s , books, and

research studies which are concerned w ith enrollment and economic
impacts on higher education.

The nature o f t h is study is such th a t

the most ap plic a b le l i t e r a t u r e is the most recent l i t e r a t u r e .

Therefore,

most o f the l i t e r a t u r e which w i l l be reviewed has been published w ith in
the la s t decade.
Chapter 3 describes the procedures th a t were used f o r the
c o lle c t io n , summarization, and v e r i f i c a t i o n o f the data.
Chapter 4 is a presentation and analysis o f the h is t o r ic a l
enrollment and fin a n c ia l data, and Chapter 5 is a discussion of the
c o lle g e s' s e lf-re p o rte d data on fu tu re enrollments and economic con­
cerns .
Chapter 6 gives a summary of the study and suggestions fo r
fu tu re research.

CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
In tro d u c tio n
Lewis B. Mayhew has v is it e d or consulted w ith members o f around
700 colleges and u n iv e r s itie s during the past 30 years.

A n tic ip a tin g

hard times fo r higher education during the next few decades, he drew
upon his experiences to give gu ideline s f o r e ff e c t iv e and e f f i c i e n t
college operations in the book Surviving the E ig h tie s .

In the i n t r o ­

duction of the book, he sets the tone o f what has become a common theme
in higher education l i t e r a t u r e and has already become a r e a l i t y f o r many
col 1eges.
The comments and advice contained herein are based on the
b e lie f th a t higher education in the United States, a f t e r a century
o f gradual and then rapid expansion, must now a n tic ip a te several
decades of no growth or even d e c lin e . Some w e ll-e s ta b lis h e d
i n s t i t u t i o n s w i l l a d ju s t to th is steady or d e c lin in g state w ith
only minor d i f f i c u l t y . But others, e s p e c ia lly the p r iv a te ly
c o n tro lle d i n s t i t u t i o n s , may experience such t r a v a i l as to have
t h e ir very existence s e rio u s ly jeopardized. Whether comfortably
situated or approaching mortal danger, a l l i n s t i t u t i o n s w i l l face
new conditions and must arrange t h e i r a f f a i r s a c c o rd in g ly .(12)
Such a statement along w ith s im ila r statements from many other
people concerned about higher education has re sulted in serious questions
being raised about the fu tu re o f colleges and u n iv e r s it ie s .

A book th a t

was published in 1930 has a t i t l e which would be very appropriate f o r

1?
Lewis B. Mayhew, Surviving the E ig h tie s , (San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 1979) p. ix .

12

13

today - Higher Education Faces the Future.

In th a t book the statement

was made th a t "In our most ra tio n a l moments we know, and f o r the balance
o f the time we seem to fe e l i n s t i n c t i vel.y, th a t the matter o f our
higher education goes to the very heart o f the n a tio n 's w elfare and
13

s u r v iv a l .

Today we hear much about enrollment and fin a n c ia l problems o f
colleges and u n iv e r s itie s .

Those w r itin g in reference to these problems

speak to the surviva l o f the i n s t i t u t i o n s more than to the survival of
the nation.

The overwhelming concern th a t so many colleges and u n iv e r­

s i t i e s have f o r t h e i r own surviva l is tending to perhaps overshadow
t h e i r u ltim a te purposes f o r e x is tin g .

Hopefully as the serious problems

o f enrollment declines and fin a n c ia l pressures are addressed, the rea­
sons f o r the existence o f i n s t i t u t i o n s o f higher education w i l l become
refocused.
Enrollment Outlook f o r Higher Education
I t is important f o r colleges and u n iv e r s itie s to understand
the g r a v ity o f what is happening to enrollment in higher education and
to understand th a t the way in which they respond w i l l be watched and
analyzed by the nation as a whole and by the communities in which they
are located.

"Now is a c ru c ia l time in the h is to ry o f higher education

in th a t the e n te rp rise is being questioned.
c e rn ."^

Retrenchment is a key con­

The response to th is retrenchment problem must be done in an

o r d e r ly , responsible, and well planned way in order f o r colleges to

13

Paul A rthur S chilpp, e d ito r , Higher Education Faces the
Future, (New York: Horace L iv e r ig h t , In c ., 1930) p. 22.
^Jerome M. Deutsch, "Retrenchment: C ris is or Challenge?",
Educational Record, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Winter 1983) p. 41.

14

command the continued respect and support o f i t s many con stitue ncies.
The amount o f concern expressed in the l i t e r a t u r e about the
p o s s i b i l i t y o f enrollment declines in higher education has increased
during the past few years.

The concern did not seem to be causing much

alarm in colleges and u n iv e r s itie s u n t i l f a i r l y re c e n tly and even now
many i n s t i t u t i o n s believe th a t they w i l l have l i t t l e or no problem w ith
enrollments during the next decade.

Given the demographic data i n d i ­

cating a s i g n if ic a n t de clin e in the tr a d it io n a l college age population
over the next ten years, the re a c tio n to th is data has been puzzling.
David W. Breneman in addressing th is issue sta te s:
. . . a recent national survey o f college and u n iv e rs ity
presidents reported th a t only 16 percent o f the presidents expected
t h e i r i n s t i t u t i o n s to lose enrollments w hile 42 percent expect
t h e i r enrollments to increase! The remainder see t h e i r enrollments
as holding steady. This paradox suggests th a t most presidents
are e ith e r incurable o p tim is ts or they know something th a t the
r e s t o f us do not. A more tro u b lin g p o s s i b i l i t y is th a t most
presidents are u n w illin g to admit - or do not believe - th a t
enrollment de clin e w i l l h i t t h e ir c o lleg es, although they f u l l y
expect other i n s t i t u t i o n s to have t r o u b l e . (15)
The f a c t th a t an enrollment problem may have been coming fo r
colleges and u n iv e r s it ie s should not come as a s u rp ris in g development
to anyone.

Public school systems in many parts o f the United States

have been s tru g g lin g w ith e n ro llm e n t-re la te d problems f o r the past 10
years.

The closing o f school b u ild ings and the laying o f f o f teachers

and other s t a f f has become a re gula r fu n c tio n f o r many school superin­
tendents and school boards.

There has been a continuous d ro p .in the

school-age (K-12) population since 1972.

In th a t year, the National

Education A ssociation estimated K-12 enrollment in the United States at

^ D a v id W. Breneman, "The Coming Enrollment C ris is - Focusing
on the Fig ure s," Change, Vol. 15, No. 2 (March 1983) pp. 14-15.

15

45,887,695 w ith an estimated K-12 enrollment f o r 1982 of 40 ,15 4,29 5J6
This represents a drop o f 12.5 percent during th is ten years.
During th a t time period, however, college enrollments continued
to increase.

Since the decrease in enrollments in grades K-12 was

p r im a r ily in the lower grades f o r the f i r s t several years of the o ve ra ll
d e c lin e , the number o f high school graduates continued to increase.
Estimates o f high school graduates in 1977 were 3,297,752.

Each year

th e re a fte r saw a decline in the number of high school graduates to
2,739,968 in 1982, a decrease o f 16.9 p e r c e n t . ^
This decline is expected to continue f o r many years.

A re p o rt

from the National Center f o r Education S t a t is t ic s estimates th a t the
number of high school graduates in the United States w i l l drop from
3,063,000 in 1980 to 2,350,000 by 1991 representing a decline of 23.3
percent.

1R

They state f u r th e r th a t th is decline could be even greater

due to the number of states th a t are now i n s t i t u t i n g minimal competency
te s ts f o r high school graduation.
A recent book on enrollment management published by the Ameri­
can Association o f State Colleges and U n iv e rs itie s ind ica tes the concern
th a t is developing due to t h is drop in high school graduates.
I t seems c le a r th a t the fu tu re o f American higher education
through the end o f the century w i l l be profoundly affected by the

1ft

National Education A ssociation, Estimates o f School S t a t i s t i c s 1981-82, (Washington, D. C.: NEA, 1982T.
171bi d .
I O

National Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s , U. S. Department
o f Education, P rojections o f Education S t a t is t ic s to 1990-91. Volume
I : A n a ly tic a l Report, (Washington, D. C.: U. S. Government P rin tin g
O ffic e , 1982) p. 69.

16

predicted 23 percent aggregate decline in the size o f the
t r a d i t i o n a l college-age cohort between 1980 and 1996.(19)
Colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s have had good reasons in the past to
be o p t i m i s t i c about enrollments since t o t a l

college enrollment in

the

United States increased from 7.5 m i l l i o n in 1968 to 12.1 m i l l i o n in
1980.

on

Optimism about f u t u r e enrollments, however, is questionable in

l i g h t o f current demographic data and enrollment trends.
The patterns o f b i r t h rates and high school graduates are not
even ones across the United States.

Some regions o f the country could

expect to have more problems with enrollment than others p a r t i c u l a r l y
i f they draw most of t h e i r students from t h a t region.

The need f o r

good up-to-date information concerning the fu t u r e o f higher education
enrollments was the mo tiva tion f o r a comprehensive study and re por t
which was published j o i n t l y in 1979 by The Western I n t e r s t a t e Commission
f o r Higher Education, the National I n s t i t u t e of Independent Colleges
and U n i v e r s i t i e s , and the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association.
The data in the re po rt provides some valuable in s i g h ts in to f u t u r e
enrollments in higher education:

21

1)
Projections o f 18-year-old population
1979
1986
1988
1991
4,286,000
3,520,000
3,653,000
3,237,000
% decrease from 1979
18%
15%
24%

1995
3,264,000
24%

19

Frank R. Kemerer, et. a l , , Strategies f o r E f f e c t i v e Enrollment
Management, (Washington, D. C.: American Association of State Colleges
and U n i v e r s i t i e s , 1982) p. 56.
20

National Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s , U. S. Department
o f Education, The Condition of Education, (Washington,'D. C.: U. S.
Government P r i n ti n g O f f i c e , 1982) p. 5.
21

Western I n t e r s t a t e Commission on Higher Education, High
School Graduates: Projections f o r the F i f t y Stat e s, (Boulder, Colorado,
WICHE, 1979) pp. 3-8.

17

2) Projections o f public high school graduates - United States
1979
1986
1988
1991
1995
2,882,000
2,373,000
2,507,000
2,120,000
2,257,000
% decrease from 1979
18%
13%
26%
22%
3) Projections of public high school graduates - Northcentral
1986
1988
1991
1995
% decrease from 1979
23%
20%
32%
28%
4) Projections of public high school graduates - Northeast
1986
1988
1991
1995
% decrease from 1979
22%
22%
40%
38%
The Southeast/Southcentral region and the Western region are
projected to decrease much less than the national average showing a
decrease in 1995 of 7 percent from 1979 f o r the Southeast/Southcentral
region and a decrease o f only 2 percent f o r the Western region.

22

An issue c l o s e ly related to the e f f e c t t h a t a decline in high
school graduates w i l l have on higher education enrollments is the
percentage of the number of high school graduates who e n r o l l in post­
secondary educational i n s t i t u t i o n s .

A recent re p o r t from the National

Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s indicates th a t the percentage has
remained f a i r l y constant.

The study traced the t r a n s i t i o n of high

school youth i n to ea rly adulthood from the National Longitudinal Study
of 1972 and the 1980 High School and Beyond survey.

The r e s u l t s show

that ove ra ll entry rates in to postsecondary education did not change
s i g n i f i c a n t l y between 1972 and 1980.

Twenty-nine to 30 percent of high

school seniors enrolled in four-y ea r colleges, 14 percent entered
two-year colleges, and 9 percent entered other vo ca ti o n a l- te ch n ic a l
programs.

23

Some changes t h a t did occur included:

22Ibid pp. 10, 11.
23

Data Dispenser, Newsletter of the American Association of
C olleg iate Registrars and Admissions O f f i c e r s , Vol. 2, No. 11 (July
1983) p. 1.

18

--Women increased t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n fo ur -ye ar and twoyear colleges from 42 to 47 percent while the men's p a r t i c i p a t i o n
rate f e l l from 46 to 42 percent.
--Blacks increased t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n ra te a t four-year
colleges from 25 to 29 percent.
--The t o t a l postsecondary p a r t i c i p a t i o n ra te among Hispanics
f e l l from 46 to 41 p e r c e n t . (24)
With the costs o f higher education increasing and with the job
market f o r college graduates t i g h t , one would not expect to see any
s i g n i f i c a n t increase in t h i s higher education p a r t i c i p a t i o n rate of
high school seniors.

I f t h i s ra te does not increase, the f i r s t - t i m e

freshmen enrollment f o r colleges w i l l be s i g n i f i c a n t l y affecte d i n a
negative way given the projected grade 12 enrollment decreases f o r the
next 10 years.
Non tradi tiona l Enrollment
Over the past decade colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s have attempted
to maintain or increase enrollments by a c t i v e l y r e c r u i t i n g a broader
clientele.

A t t r a c t i n g the n o n tr a d iti o n a l student has been and continues

to be a major goal of many colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s .

As colleges face

a decade ahead of d e c l in i n g 18 to 22 year-olds who make up the t r a d i ­
ti o n a l student body, they are hoping t h a t they can keep enrollments up
by a t t r a c t i n g even more n o n tr a d i ti o n a l older students.

The r e s u l t s of

t h i s emphasis include c u r r i c u l a rev isio ns and a v a r i e t y o f new d e l iv e ry
systems f o r courses which are designed to b e tt e r accommodate the non­
t r a d i t i o n a l student.
The f e e l i n g t h a t there i s a need to a t t r a c t a new c l i e n t e l e
can create problems in the basic t r a d i t i o n a l missions o f those i n s t i t u ­
tion s which have been designed wi th the t r a d i t i o n a l student in mind.

24I b i d p.

1.

19

Trying to o f f e r a degree program by taking courses only in the evenings
and/or on weekends and changing c u r r i c u l a to be more a t t r a c t i v e to
adults who want courses t h a t are more " p r a c ti c a l and re lev an t" can be
a d i f f i c u l t task f o r these colleges and t h e i r f a c u l t y .

Nevertheless,

some colleges almost feel "forced" to make these changes in an attempt
to keep enrollments up and to remain f i n a n c i a l l y v i a b le .

The no ntradi­

ti o n a l student, however, tends to be a pa rt- tim e student and a college
t h a t attempts to keep i t s enrollment up by e n r o l l i n g more part- tim e
students may only be postponing the necessity o f facing up to the
real s e v e r i ty of i t s enrollment problems.

Total headcount enrollment

increases th a t have been reported by some colleges during the past few
years may be overshadowing the enrollment problems they are having.
I f the average c r e d i t- h o u r load of students is decreasing, a
greater number of students is required to j u s t i f y the budget
formerly generated on a f u l l - t i m e equivalent basis. In recent
years the average number of students has increased among i n s t i t u ­
t i o n s , but the f u l l - t i m e equivalent numbers have decreased. That
reduction adversely a f f e c t s i n s t i t u t i o n s even though they p u b l i c l y
announce enrollment increases.(25)
How much an increase in no nt ra di tion al students can s i g n i f i ­
c a n tl y help a college f i n a n c i a l l y

in the face of a d e clin in g t r a d i t i o n a l

student body is a question open to much debate.

Since a d u l t students

do tend to be pa rt- tim e and are in and out of programs, i t takes several
of them to f i n a n c i a l l y make up f o r one less t r a d i t i o n a l college freshman.
For colleges which r e l y heavily on t u i t i o n revenues to operate, a loss
o f t r a d i t i o n a l student enrollment w i l l be d i f f i c u l t to recoup with
no n tr a d it io n a l students.

nc

Keeping some physical f a c i l i t i e s such as

James R. Mingle and Associates, Challenges o f Retrenchment:
Strategies For Consolidating Programs, Cutting Costs, and Reallocating
Resources, (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1981) p. 37.

20

dormitories and dining h a l l s operating e f f i c i e n t l y also becomes a
problem since n o n tr a di tion al students tend p r i m a r i l y to be commuters.
The danger of r e ly in g too heavily on nontr ad ition al students to help a
de clin in g enrollment is addressed in the James Mingle book.
Increases in programs f o r older learners and m i n o r i t i e s may
o f f s e t the ove ra ll population trend, and a higher proportion of
the population may attend and be retained by i n s t i t u t i o n s of
higher l ea rn in g ; but, a t best, these o f f s e t t i n g fa c t o rs only
ease the de cl in e, not reverse i t . (26)
In 1974 a Carnegie Council study was conducted which asked
college and u n i v e r s i t y presidents f o r t h e i r expectations of changes
from 1974 to 1980.

A vast m a jo r i t y of i n s t i t u t i o n s responded th a t they

would maintain or increase enrollments and most presidents expected to
r e c r u i t a wide range o f no nt ra di tio n al students.

While the study is

nine years old , the authors pointed out some d i f f i c u l t i e s in the
presidents' expectations which are s t i l l concerns today.
A major goal o f the vast m a jo r i t y of i n s t i t u t i o n s is to main­
t a i n or increase enrollments. While continuing to emphasize
programs f o r t r a d i t i o n a l students, most presidents expect t h e i r
i n s t i t u t i o n s to r e c r u i t a wide range of nontr ad iti on al students
as well - a d u l ts , p a rt -t im e evening students, persons off-campus,
and those p r i n c i p a l l y interested in continuing education. Several
d i f f i c u l t i e s , however, are c le a r:
Few presidents see much expansion in personnel assigned to
the fu n ction of recruitment and admissions.
The untapped pool o f adults may not be large enough to meet
the enrollment a s p ir a ti o n s o f a l l i n s t i t u t i o n s .
Many i n s t i t u t i o n s may not be in a p o sit io n to develop occu­
pational and professional programs f o r young people, who have been
s h i f t i n g away from l i b e r a l a r t s to more v o c a ti o n a ll y oriented
programs. Nor w i l l i t be easy to respond to the p a r t i c u l a r
learning needs of a d u lts . Adults have not, in the past, attended
de gree-credit programs in large numbers. Nor do they express
much i n t e r e s t in t r a d i t i o n a l l i b e r a l ar ts programs. Nevertheless,
responses of the presidents imply t h a t many i n s t i t u t i o n s w i l l
seek to o f f e r "old wine in new b o t t l e s . "
Oversupplies o f trained persons w i l l surely develop in a
number of c u r r e n t l y popular technical and quasi-professional

26Ib id

p.

69.

21

areas. As happened in the case of teachers and Ph.D.s, students
and the public may become disenchanted with higher education i f
the labor market is unable to absorb graduates in to t r a i n i n g re lated occupations.
Will the r i g h t people be a v a ila b le to teach in new programs,
at new times and places? Presidents forsee nontenured and p a rt time f a c u l t y bearing the brunt of reductions in s t a f f . This
pattern runs counter to t r a d i t i o n s in s t a f f i n g f o r p a r t- ti m e ,
a d u l t students. Moreover, on campus, f a c u l t y are not e a s i ly
s h i ft e d from one d i s c i p l i n e to another, and there is l i t t l e
precedent (or money) f o r r e t r a i n i n g them.(27).
S t a t i s t i c s in d ic a te th a t there has d e f i n i t e l y been a change
in the f u l l - t i m e to p a rt -t im e mix in higher education enrollments.

In

1971, 32 percent of the t o t a l enrollment were p a rt -t im e students and
by 1981 th a t percentage had increased to 42 percent.

OO

The U. S.

Department of Education estimates th a t p a rt -t im e enrollment w i l l continue to increase to 46 percent of the t o t a l enrollment by 1990.

29

Responding to an increased number of no n tr a d it io n a l students
w i l l mean more than j u s t providing space in classes f o r these students.
Their needs and demands are d i f f e r e n t and must be d e a l t with appro­
pria te ly.

Jerome Deutsch in the a r t i c l e "Retrenchment:

C r i s i s or

Challenge?" discusses the importance o f a proper response.
Even i f there were a surge in the number of n o n tr a di tio n al
students entering higher education, i n s t i t u t i o n s would probably
not be able to carry on as they have been accustomed. Revisions
w i l l have to be made a t a l l lev e ls of the curriculum and s p e c if i c
programs evaluated f o r current relevance.

27

Lyman A. Glenny, e t. a l . , Presidents Confront R ea lity :
From E d if ic e Complex to Un iv er s ity Without Walls, (San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 1976) pp. 103-104.
po
National Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s , U. S. Department
of Education, The Condition of Education, (Washington, D. C.: U. S.
Government P r in ti n g O f f i c e , 1983) p. 80.
29

I b i d p. 80.

22

Retrenchment can then be seen as a response not to a decline
in the t o t a l number of students but to changing needs and condi­
ti o n s . (30)
The way in which colleges respond to these changing needs and
conditions w i l l determine how well they can absorb new no ntr ad iti on al
students i nt o t h e i r educational programs.

Jerome Deutsch goes on to-

discuss t h i s response and i t s consequences.
Yet underneath a l l the gloomy s t a t i s t i c s and theories l i e s
the unique challenge of re s t r u c t u r i n g the higher education
system. Many changes - evaluation, con sol id a tion , and even
closure - have been and w i l l continue to be necessary. But
existence should not be the sole c r i t e r i o n o f the v a l i d i t y of
higher education. Higher education w i l l have to adapt to a
changing population, a changing socie ty, and the changing s k i l l s
t h a t people w i l l need. Change is not a d i f f i c u l t task i f
handled i n t e l l i g e n t l y .
)
Special Issues A ff e c ti n g Enrollment
The Baby Boom from 1946 to 1964 created a "Boom" at a l l leve ls
of education as w e ll .

A f t e r 1964 the b i r t h ra te began to f a l l which

eventually resulted in d e c lin in g enrollments in education.

Elementary

school ad ministrators have had to deal with t h i s decline f o r several
years and many elementary schools have been closed.

During the l a s t

few years secondary schools have had to begin to respond to the decline
and now the impact o f t h a t decline is being experienced by i n s t i t u t i o n s
o f higher education.
Within t h i s general decline in the b i r t h ra te are other
fa c t o rs which sometimes are not considered in discussions of enrollment
de cline.

One of these fa c t o r s is the e f f e c t th a t an increase in

abortions has had on the b i r t h ra tes .

on

In 1978, 1,374,000 reported

Jerome M. Deutsch, "Retrenchment:

31 I b i d p. 44.

C r i s i s . . ." p. 43.

23

abortions were performed which represents 29 percent of a l l pregnancies.

32

The number o f abortions increased 70 percent in the f i v e year

period from 1973 to 1978.

33

This large increase in abortion has con­

t r i b u t e d to keeping the b i r t h ra te lower than i t otherwise would have
been and t h i s w i l l no doubt continue to be a f a c t o r in the f u t u r e .
Another f a c t o r re lat ed to the e f f e c t the b i r t h r a te has on
college enrollment is t h a t the decline in the b i r t h ra te a f t e r the Baby
Boom was p r i m a r i l y a Caucasian decline while the b i r t h ra te f o r minori t i e s stayed even during those years.

34

This means th a t the percentage

of m i n o r i t i e s in the K-12 enrollment is increasing.

Since m i n o r i t i e s

tend to have a lower r a te o f college attendance, college enrollments
could decline more than they are projected to decline based simply on
to t a l b i r t h ra tes .

I t i s important th a t these m i n o r i t y students be

adequately prepared to enter college and t h a t colleges aggresively
r e c r u i t these m i n o r i t i e s and provide courses to a s s i s t them with
d e fi ci e n cie s t h a t they may have which would prevent them from having a
successful college experience.
A t h i r d f a c t o r re lat ed to the b i r t h rate involves the work
force.

As the number o f 18-year-olds continues to decline over the

next 10 years, i t may become easier f o r them to go d i r e c t l y from high
school int o a good paying job and bypass college or defer i t f o r a

3?

Educational Research Service, I n c . , Ind icato rs of Future
School Enrollments: A Reference Manual f o r Planners, ( A r l i n g to n ,
V i r g i n i a : Educational Research Service, I n c . , 1980) p. 25.
33Ibid p. 23.
34

Harold L. Hodgkinson, Guess Who's Coming to College: Your
Students in 1990, (Washington, D. C.: National I n s t i t u t e of Indepen­
dent Colleges and U n i v e r s i t i e s , 1983) pp. 3-4.

24

few years.

Those who do t h i s may f i n d t h a t t h e i r employer w i l l provide

the necessary educational services to them.
There has been a rapid increase during the l a s t decade in the
number of c h i l d r e n being reared in si ng le-parent f a m i l i e s .

The Census

Bureau reported th a t o f the c h il d r e n born in 1980, 48 percent of them
would b a s ic a l l y be raised by a si ngle parent.

35

This change in the

American fa m i ly s t r u c t u r e may also have an e f f e c t on enrollment in
higher education since research indicates th a t c h il dr en from s i n g l e ­
parent fa m i l i e s have a level o f school achievement t h a t is considerably
lower than two-parent c h i l d r e n .

This could r e s u l t in more students

being unable or u n w i l l i n g to consider attending college.
While college enrollments were increasing during the past 30
years, another educational phenomenon was occuring which f a r surpassed
colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s in serving the educational needs of the pop­
ulation.

With around 12 m i l l i o n people attending colleges and u n iv e r­

s i t i e s , another 46 m i l l i o n adults are being educated by a v a r i e t y of
other educational service providers.

36

Many corporations have devel­

oped good educational programs f o r t h e i r employees and some o f f e r t h e i r
own degrees.

Adults of te n f i n d t h a t these other educational service

providers o f f e r courses and t r a i n i n g t h a t are more convenient to attend,
less expensive, and more d i r e c t l y rela ted to t h e i r vocational i n te r e s ts
than are many t r a d i t i o n a l college programs.

Colleges may f i n d i t

valuable to t r y to work more c lo s e ly with industry in supplying needed
educational services to t h e i r employees.

3 5 1 bi d p.

12.

36I b i d

10.

p.

25

In the past few years i t has been i nc re asi ng ly more d i f f i c u l t
f o r college graduates to f i n d immediate employment in an area f o r which
they

have studied and been tr a in e d .

The prospect of not being able to

get a job in t h e i r area o f preparation along with

the knowledge of what

a college education w i l l cost may cause more students to question the
value o f going to col leg e.

The p o s s i b i l i t y has been raised th a t t h i s

could r e s u l t in more serious declines in enrollment than demographic
data alone would suggest.

This fea r was one of several expressed by

various people in the Carnegie r e p o r t Three Thousand Futures.
Enrollments w i l l f a l l even more than the size of the h i s t o r i c
college-age cohort (18-21) because a g l u t of former college
students in the labor market is d r i v i n g down the sa la rie s of
college graduates.
I t has been projected t h a t the combination of
a smaller age cohort and reduced prospects f o r college graduates
in the labor market may cause enrollments to decline by 40 or
50 p e r c e n t. (37)
With many pre di ct io ns of enrollment declines coming from many
d i f f e r e n t sources, the issue t h a t is s t i l l

sometimes raised is one of

questioning whether or not an enrollment declin e w i l l r e a l l y take
place.

Commenting

on t h i s issue, a Brookings I n s t i t u t i o n study states:

How real is the prospect of decline in ove ra ll enrollment
demand in the next decade? Very. A weak employment market f o r
college graduates i s l i k e l y to re in f o r c e the imp li c a tio ns of the
demographic de c lin e , which by i t s e l f i s enough to cause e n r o l l ­
ment to drop. Growth in enrollment of n o n - t r a d i t i o n a l c l i e n t e l e
may o f f e r some r e l i e f , e s p e c ia ll y f o r public i n s t i t u t i o n s in
urban areas, but prospects f o r f u r t h e r enrollment growth among
a d u l t and nondegree-credit students are more l i m i t e d than many
have supposed.(38)

37

Carnegie Council on Polic y Studies in Higher Education,
Three Thousand Futures - The Next Twenty Years f o r Higher Education,
(San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1980) p. 2.
38

David W. Breneman and Chester E. Finn, J r . , Public Policy
and . . . pp. 193-194.

26

Enrollment During the 1970s
Another Carnegie Council re por t issued in 1980 discussed how
higher education was preparing f o r the 1980s and 1990s.

Since during

the 1970s there were general increases in enrollments, the re po rt
sought to determine how colleges were able to increase t h e i r enrollments.
The f a c t o rs which had helped them would perhaps be some of the best
items to consider during the next decade o f d e c lin in g t r a d i t i o n a l st u ­
dent population.

The re por t was based on several surveys o f college

presidents, ad mi ni str a to rs , f a c u l t y , and students conducted in 1969,
1975, 1978, and 1979.

The primary reason given f o r growth in e n r o l l ­

ments during t h i s ten years was the increase in the size o f the t r a d i ­
tio n a l college-age population in the United States.

The surveys

indicated t h a t many other fa c t o rs were also involved with t h i s e n r o l l ­
ment increase.

More than h a l f of the n a ti o n 's campuses i d e n t i f i e d six

fa c t o rs th a t have been important:

39

1) An increase in e f f o r t and s t a f f f o r admissions and r e c r u i t i n g
occurred and 36 percent of the i n s t i t u t i o n s expect t h i s increase to con­
tinue i n to the mid-1980s.

Changes in procedures have given greater

f l e x i b i l i t y in a l l higher education programs and procedures, and c o l ­
leges are preparing f o r increased competition wi th other i n s t i t u t i o n s
f o r students.

Recruiting e f f o r t s have switched from being concentrated

p r i m a r i l y toward the 18 to 22 age group to a much broader c l i e n t e l e .
2) An increase in the a v a i l a b i l i t y of f i n a n c i a l aid to students
was ranked second in the re por t to increased recruitment a c t i v i t y as

39

Carnegie Council on Policy Studies in Higher Education,
The Carnegie Council on Policy Studies in Higher Education, (San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1980) pp. 258-259.

27

a cause of enrollment increases.

I t is important enough f o r most

colleges to provide scholarships from t h e i r u n re s tr i c te d general
revenues.
3) Another f a c t o r c it e d was a be tt e r public r e la t i o n s program
to l e t the public know who

they are and what they have to o f f e r .

4) Developing new c u r r i c u l a and expanding high-demand program
options also caused some or substantial increases in enrollments.
5) A f i f t h f a c t o r given f o r increased enrollments was an
emphasis on d i f f e r e n t modes o f i n s t r u c t i o n .
6) The f i n a l f a c t o r ci te d by a t l e a s t h a l f of the colleges as
causing some or substantial increases in enrollments was improvements
in student services.
Since the primary reason given f o r the enrollment increases
was the increase in the 18 to 22 year-old population, the decline of
th a t age group w i l l present d i f f i c u l t challenges f o r maintaining
enrollments.

These six fa c t o rs have been used and developed during a

time of increasing or stable 18 to 22 yea r-old students and i t is
doubtful t h a t they can ove rrid e the e f f e c t o f the de c lin in g a v a i l a b i l i t y
of t h a t age group.
During the 1970s some colleges did have some d i f f i c u l t y in
e n r o l l i n g the number of students they would l i k e to have enrolled.

There

were also changes in student c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and society expectations
tha t influenced higher education.

The Carnegie survey also asked the

colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s to in d ic a te the f a c t o rs t h a t they f e l t were at
work which had ne gat ively impacted on enrollment.

The f i v e most f r e ­

quently c i te d fa c t o r s were, "(1) decline in i n t e r e s t in l i b e r a l arts
(64 percent); (2) end of the m i l i t a r y d r a f t (59 percent); (3) increase

28

in the percentage of p a rt -t i m e students (59 percent); (4) high t u i t i o n
(38 percent); and (5) increase in the percentage of tr a n s f e r students
v

r e l a t i v e to freshmen (34 p e rc en t). "

40

The re por t f e l t t h a t the high percentage of i n s t i t u t i o n s
c i t i n g the decline in i n t e r e s t in l i b e r a l a r t s as a reason f o r e n r o l l ­
ment problems probably r e f l e c t s a general public disenchantment with
t r a d i t i o n a l higher education in general.

Ce rt ai nl y t h i s reason is one

which, i f tr u e , w i l l make i t harder f o r p r iv a te four-year l i b e r a l ar ts
colleges to r e c r u i t students.
Enrollment and College Mission
One of the possible side e f f e c t s of the way a college reacts
to enrollment declines and mounting economic pressures is a subtle
unplanned change in mission.

In order to keep enrollment up, colleges

may have to accept more students from t h e i r pool of applicants which
may r e s u l t in a lower academic q u a l i t y of students.

"Any substantial

change in the average q u a l i f i c a t i o n s of the student body may well mean
an unexamined change in the mission of the campus.

Faculty trained

f o r one mission may f i n d t h a t they are expected to pursue a d r a s t i c a l l y
41
d i f f e r e n t one."
Such a decline in student q u a l i t y must r e s u l t in serious
questions being raised by the college.

How w i l l the f a c u l t y react to

having students in t h e i r classes who are not as well prepared?

It

could become discouraging f o r f a c u l t y i f they have to readju st t h e i r
teaching f o r students who are less prepared academically than they

401bid p. 259.
4^James R. Mingle and Associates, Challenges o f . . . p. 39.

29

have been in previous years.

Does the colleg e have adequate counseling

and courses a v a ila b le to help students who are not s u f f i c i e n t l y prepared
f o r the level of academic expectation on t h a t campus?
in q u a l i t y a f f e c t re tention?

How w i l l a change

Students who are not as well prepared f o r

college as are others tend to be more d i f f i c u l t to r e t a i n .

42

A college which has mainly concerned i t s e l f wi th serving a
p r i m a r i l y re s id e n t i a l f u l l - t i m e student population may begin to a c t i v e l y
r e c r u i t more pa rt- tim e a d u l t students.

The way courses are packaged

and the times they are taught may be changed to be more a t t r a c t i v e to
the part- tim e a d u l t student but may become a problem f o r the re sident
f u l l - t i m e student.

The college may soon f i n d t h a t there has been a

change in i t s mission even though there was no d e li b e ra te planned
change of the mission statement before rec ruit me nt, enrollment and
program changes were made.

Again the Mingle re po rt warns:

Unfortunately, the all-embracing, gauzy missions statements
of the past have offered l i t t l e assistance to i n s t i t u t i o n s
grappling with a diminished f u t u r e . Thus, a sincere and d i r e c t
assessment of the u n i v e r s i t y ' s mission is a key i n g re d ie nt in
planning f o r d e c l i n e . (43)
A college or u n i v e r s i t y should examine i t s mission f i r s t and
make changes i t feels are necessary before procedures are put in to
e f f e c t which w i l l change the nature of i t s mission.

This concern f o r

colleges to not fo r g e t t h e i r primary mission is also expressed by Lewis
Mayhew in Surviving the E i g h t i e s .

"I n s p i te of claims to the co nt rar y,

the essence of the vast m a jo r i ty of c o l l e g i a t e i n s t i t u t i o n s is the

42

Summary Report on National Retention Rates, a re po rt
d i s t r i b u t e d to p a r t i c i p a t i n g colleges in the Cooperative I n s t i t u t i o n a l
Research Program (CIRP), Un iv er sity o f C a l i f o r n i a , Los Angeles, 1983.
40

James R. Mingle and Associates, Challenges of . . . p. 57.

30

undergraduate educational program.

I t is qu ite appropriate f o r i n s t i ­

t u t io n s to undertake, w i t h i n d e f i n i t e c o n s tr a in ts , some programs and
a c t i v i t i e s peripheral to the central task.

But when they begin to

outweigh the central mission, they are headed f o r tr o u b l e . "

44

These changes i n mission have un for tu na te ly too often been
the r e s u l t o f economic and enrollment pressure ra the r than f o r educa­
ti o n a l reasons.

In a study of 40 p r iv a te colleges, Richard Anderson

stated t h a t "Most colleges in t h i s study broadened t h e i r mission f o r
f i n a n c i a l ra th er then educational reasons."

45

The reason f o r these

changes in mission was d i r e c t l y rela te d to the hope th a t such changes
would enable the colleges to a t t r a c t more students.
As the task of maintaining enrollments becomes inc reasingly
more d i f f i c u l t , many i n s t i t u t i o n s of higher education are
broadening t h e i r educational goals. Administrations a t these
colleges t r u s t th a t a more 'general' i n s t i t u t i o n a l mission w i l l
expand t h e i r c o l l e g e 's ap pl ic an t pool, and, thereby, increase
e n ro lI m e n t . (46)
Private Sector Enrollment
For most of the past 30 years the p r iv a t e sector of higher
education has been able to enjoy the same ye a rl y increases in e n r o l l ­
ment as has the public sector.

From 1950 to 1976 enrollment in the

p r iv a t e sector approximately doubled from 1.14 m i l l i o n students to
2.39 m i l l i o n . 47

44Lewis B. Mayhew, Surviving the E i g h t i e s , p. 298.
“^ R i c h a rd E. Anderson, St ra te gi c Policy Changes at Private
Colleges, (New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia U n i v e r s ity ,
1977) p. x i v .
46Ib id p. x i i i
470avid W. Breneman and Chester E. Finn, J r . , Public Policy
and . . . p. 19.

31

Unfortunately, while t h i s growth has been encouraging, i t has
been much less than the growth in the public sector which experienced
a s i x - f o l d increase over the same period going from 1.15 m i l l i o n to
7.44 m i l l i o n .

As a r e s u l t , enrollment in pr iv a te higher educational

i n s t i t u t i o n s as a percentage o f t o t a l enrollment f e l l from 50 percent
in 1950 to 24 percent in 1976.

This percentage is projected to con-

tinue to decline slowly to 20.5 percent by 1990.

49

Other s t a t i s t i c s also show t h a t growth in enrollment has not
been as good at p r i v a t e i n s t i t u t i o n s as i t has been a t public colleges
and u n i v e r s i t i e s .

The Carnegie Council re p o r t, Three Thousand Futures,

c i t e s various data from the National Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s
as i t re la te s to p r i v a t e college enrollments.

From 1970 to 1979,

f u l l - t i m e equivalent enrollments f o r a l l higher education rose 24
percent while f o r p r i v a t e i n s t i t u t i o n s t h i s increase was 16 percent.

50

S i x t y - e i g h t percent of public i n s t i t u t i o n s gained in f u l l - t i m e equiva­
l e n t enrollment while only 48 percent of p r iv a te i n s t i t u t i o n s gained,
and while 21 percent of the pu blic i n s t i t u t i o n s l o s t f u l l - t i m e equival e n t enrollment, 39 percent of the p r iv a te i n s t i t u t i o n s l o s t .

51

The

share o f headcount enrollment increased from 1960 to 1976 f o r public
i n s t i t u t i o n s from 59 percent to 78 percent while dropping from 41 to 22
percent in the p r iv a t e sector.

CO

The share of headcount enrollment f o r

48Ib id p. 19.
^ N a t i o n a l Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s , The Condition . . .
1983, p. 80.
^Carneg ie Council, Three Thousand Futures . . .
51 Ibid p. 12.
52Ibid p. 15.

p. 10.

32

p r iv a te l i b e r a l ar ts colleges dropped during t h a t period from 7.6
percent to 4.6 percent.

53

A comprehensive survey conducted by the National I n s t i t u t e of
Independent Colleges and U n i v e r s i ti e s indicated t h a t t o t a l enrollment
a t p r iv a te i n s t i t u t i o n s of higher education f o r the f a l l o f 1982
declined f o r the f i r s t time since 1971.

The r e s u l ts o f the survey

showed a drop o f 16,000 freshmen which i s a drop of .3.8 percent from
1981.

54

The drop in freshmen was widespread with 63 percent of the

i n s t i t u t i o n s re porting declines.

One-third of the i n s t i t u t i o n s reported

losses of freshmen of more than 10 percent and 50 percent reported drops
o f 5 percent or more.

By region, the la rg es t losses occurred in the

Midwest and M id - A t la n ti c states with the Midwest colleges repor ting
losses of 5.6 percent.

About 17 percent of the p r i v a t e i n s t i t u t i o n s

reported tha t t h e i r freshmen classes had increased by 10 percent or
more.

Regions with the la rg e s t percentages of colleges repor ting i n ­

creases were the South and the West.

The two highest percentages of

colleges re porting increases by type of i n s t i t u t i o n were two-year
colleges and specialized i n s t i t u t i o n s .
The f a l l 1983 survey conducted by the National I n s t i t u t e of
Independent Colleges and U n i v e r s i ti e s showed th a t t o t a l headcount was
up .88 percent and the number o f f u l l - t i m e students was up .29 percent..

55

The number of new freshmen was up 1.17 percent wi th l i b e r a l
531bid p. 15.
54

Jack M a g a r re ll , "P riv ate Colleges Report 16,000 Fewer
Freshmen," The Chronicle o f Higher Education, V o l . 25, No. 10
(November 3, 1982) p. 8.
55

Jack Magarrell, "Early Surveys Find Enrollment Holding
Steady," The Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 27, No. 11
( November 9, 1983) p. 18.

33

ar ts p r iv a te colleges r e po r tin g the smallest increase in freshmen
(.50%) and specialized colleges re po rt in g the la rg e s t increase in
freshmen (3.00%).

The l a r g e s t increases in t o t a l f u l l - t i m e students,

pa rt- tim e students, and headcount a t the p r iv a te colleges were reported
by the two-year colleges.

This data gives encouragement compared with

the f a l l 1982 enrollment r e p o r t even though the colleges did not make
up the losses experienced in 1982.
Enrollment in p r i v a t e colleges i s projected by many to decline
over the next several years.

A r e p o r t on enrollment pr oje cti on s pub­

lished by the National Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s gives several
a l t e r n a t i v e pr oj ec tio ns by i n s t i t u t i o n type.

The intermediate a l t e r ­

native pro jectio ns f o r t o t a l enrollment o f undergraduates in pr iv a te
four-year i n s t i t u t i o n s shows a 1981 enrollment of 1,851,000 dec lin ing
to 1,641,000 by 1990.

56

Enrollment Outlook f o r Michigan
While the pro je ct io ns f o r enrollment drops are often stated
in terms o f the nation as a whole, as has been noted prev iou sly, some
regions o f the country should experience a la rg e r decline than others.
Within these regions, there should also be v a r ia t i o n s among the states.
The State of Michigan is expected to have more problems with enrollment
in i n s t i t u t i o n s of higher education than are most other stat es.

This

is due to a la r g e r de cl ine in the s t a t e ' s college-age population and is
aggrevated by population migration out of the sta te.
Dr. Stanley E. Hecker and Dr. Frederick R. Ignatovich from

56

National Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s , Projections of
Education . . . p. 50.

34

Michigan State U n iv e r s it y prepared a r e p o r t on national and Michigan
b i r t h rates.

Their data indicates t h a t from 1970 through 1979, the

national number of l i v e b i r t h s declined 6.4 percent but the number
of l i v e b i r t h s f o r the stat e o f Michigan declined 15.9 percent.

57

Their estimates o f l i v e b i r t h s from 1979 through 1981 show a national
increase of 4.3 percent but a decrease f o r Michigan o f 3.3 percent.

58

Population migration is also having an adverse e f f e c t on the
State of Michigan.

The Education Research Service reported t h a t while

a m i l l i o n more people migrated to the Southern region of the United
States than moved out from 1975 through 1978, the North Central region
o f the country had a net outmigration of 687,000.

59

The Bureau of the Census prepares population projectio ns
based on past population trends.

Using the years o f 1965-1975 as a

basis f o r one set of p r o j e c ti o n s , the North Central region of the United
States is projected to have a net outmigration of 921,000 from 1980 to
1990 with Michigan's net outmigration p r o j e c ti o n at 73,500.®®

When

using 1970-1975 as a base f o r p r o j e c ti o n s , Michigan has a net projected
outmigration from 1980 to 1990 of 361,000.®^
While studies of population trends, b i r t h s , and migrations

^ S t a n l e y E. Hecker and Frederick R. Ignatovich, National and
Michigan Resident B i r t h s , (East Lansing, Michigan: College of Educa­
t i o n , Michigan State U n i v e r s i t y , A p r i l 1982) p. 1. .
58Ibid p. 1.
^E du cational Research Service, I n c . , Ind icat or s o f . . .

p. 14.

®®Bureau of the Census, U. S. Department of Commerce, I l l u s t r a t i v e Projections o f State Populations by Age, Race, and Sex, 1975
to 2000, (Washington, D. C.: U. S. Government P r i n ti n g O f f i c e , - - )
pp. 14-15.
611bid pp. 16-17.

35

help to p o in t out the problems facing education, studies related to
education enrollment s t a t i s t i c s help to c l a r i f y the problem even
further.

In another re po rt prepared by Hecker and Ignatovich, while

the United States public school enrollment in grades 9-12 is projected
to decrease 16.7 percent from 1977 to 1987, the Michigan public school
enrollment in grades 9-12 is projected to decrease 25.8 percent.

62

Projecting on to 1992 shows a 38.7 percent enrollment drop in these
grades f o r Michigan:

63

1976-77
647,850

1981-82
543,115

1986-87
480,818

1991-92
397,148

Hecker and Ignatovich have accumulated a large amount of
research data on Michigan public and non-public school enrollments.
In another re po rt which they have produced, they have projected the
fo ll o w i n g enrollments f o r students in grade 12 public and non-public
schools combined:

fid

1981-82
139,329

1986-87
117,507

1991-92
99,074

1996-97
104,504

While they p r o j e c t an increase in grade 12 enrollment during
the mid-1990s, t h a t enrollment is projected to reach a low of 95,000 in
1993-94 which is a declin e of 31.8 percent from 1 9 8 1 - 8 2 . Si nce many
col leges, and p a r t i c u l a r l y pr iv a te colleges, r e l y qu ite heavily on
fip

Stanley E. Hecker and Frederick R. Ignatovich, United States
Public and Michigan Pub lic-Pro visiona l Enrollments and P r o j e c t i o n s ,
(East Lansing, Michigan: College of Education, Michigan State Univers i t y , A p ri l 1982) pp. 1-2.
631bid p. 2.
fid

Stanley E. Hecker and Frederick R. Ignatovich, Michigan
T o ta l , Public and Non-Public Membership P r o j e c t io n s , (East Lansing,
Michigan: College of Education, Michigan State U n i v e r s i t y , August
1981) p. 3.
^3 Ibid

p.

3.

36

freshmen to keep t h e i r enrollments up, t h i s data gives cause f o r
s i g n i f i c a n t concern about college enrollments during the next decade
f o r Michigan.
Another study which gives projected enrollment data of high
school graduates from the 50 states is the study prepared by the
Western I n t e r s t a t e Commission on Higher Education.

From 1979 to 1995,

the national average drop in pu bli c high school graduates is expected
to be 21.7 percent.

The drop in high school graduates f o r Michigan,

however, is projected to be 32.4 percent which is the eighth la rg es t
percentage drop of the 50 states and the la rg e s t percentage drop of
a l l of the Northcentral region states:®'7
1979
131,984

1987
103,705

1995
89,204

Another fa c t o r which must be considered when attempting to make
college enrollment pr oje cti on s f o r Michigan i s the migration of college
students i n to and out o f the State.

According to the l a t e s t e d i t i o n of

The Condition of Education, published by the National Center f o r Educa­
ti o n S t a t i s t i c s , student migration patterns have very l i t t l e e f f e c t in
Michigan.

For the f a l l of 1979, 7,054 f i r s t - t i m e freshmen from Michigan

enrolled in colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s outside o f the State while 7,204
f i r s t - t i m e freshmen enrolled in Michigan colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s from
other states.
of only 150.

Cf.

School . . .

This resu lted in a net student migration i n t o Michigan
This student migration pattern means t h a t colleges cannot

Western I n t e r s t a t e Commission on Higher Education, High
p. 31.

67Ib id . pp. 6-31 .
£ Q

National Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s , The Condition . . .
1983, p. 90.

37

depend on students from other states to help increase enrollments i f
i t continues as i t has in the past.
Michigan is located in an area of the country where a large
percentage of p r iv a te i n s t i t u t i o n s are located.

Eight states account

f o r close to 50 percent of the number of p r iv a t e colleges and u n i v e r ­
s i t i e s in the United States - I l l i n o i s , Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
New York, Missouri, Massachusetts, and C a l i f o r n i a .

69

The percentage

o f undergraduate students enrolled in pr iv a te colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s
in Michigan, however, is comparatively low f o r the number o f i n s t i t u ­
ti o n s .

T h i r t y states in the country had a higher percentage o f under­

graduate students enrolled in p r iv a te i n s t i t u t i o n s during the 1981-82
academic year than did M i c h i g a n . ^

Michigan enrolled 13.1 percent of

the to t a l undergraduate enrollment in the state in p r iv a t e i n s t i t u t i o n s
compared to 26.2 percent f o r Ohio, 23.6 percent f o r I l l i n o i s , 23.3 per­
cent f o r Indiana, and 43.3 percent f o r Pennsylvania.^
Competition f o r Students
As the t r a d i t i o n a l recruitment pool shrinks, competition f o r
the a v a i la b l e students increases.

This increase in competition is

being f e l t as a Carnegie Council re po rt ind icat es.
Another f a c t o r in enrollment, decline i s the increased competi­
t i o n among colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s f o r the students t h a t are
a va ila b le . Across the country, 89 percent of the colleg e and
u n i v e r s i t y presidents reported th a t they had experienced increased

69

David W. Breneman and Chester E. Finn, J r . , Public Policy
and . . . p. 22.
^ N a t i o n a l Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s , The Condition . . .
1983, p. 84.
71 Ibid p. 84.

38

competition. No c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f college or u n i v e r s i t i e s seems
exempt, and no s i n g le sector i s a major source of competition f o r
a l l others, but the competition is p a r t i c u l a r l y threatening to
small p r iv a t e i n s t i t u t i o n s located in rur al areas.
Modern competition takes several forms - competition in
geographic convenience, competition in the comprehensiveness of
o f f e r i n g s , and competition in p r ic e . One reason small pr iv a te
colleges feel competition so inte ns el y is t h a t they tend to
be vulnerable on a l l c o u n ts .(72)
As the str ug gle f o r maintaining enrollments continues, the
competition w i l l

increase.

The Carnegie Council's concern f o r what

t h i s increased competition w i l l mean f o r p r iv a t e colleges is also a
concern t h a t was addressed in a Brookings I n s t i t u t i o n study.
How close is the competition f o r students between public and
p r iv a te i n s t i t u t i o n s ? Quite close. . . . many public and pr iv a te
i n s t i t u t i o n s appeal to s i m i l a r c l i e n t e l e s .
I t appears ( s t a t i s ­
t i c a l l y ) t h a t when public campuses expand t h e i r enrollments, h a lf
or more of t h e i r new customers are students who would otherwise
have enrolled in p r i v a t e colleges. As enrollments de cl in e, the
struggle between the sectors to en ro ll these students w i l l i n ­
t e n s i f y . (73)
Planning f o r Enrollment Decline
The r e a l i z a t i o n t h a t the p o s s i b i l i t y of d e c lin in g enrollments
is f a s t becoming a r e a l i t y is becoming more and more recognized by
college a d m in is tr a to r s.

What adm ini str at or s wish would happen is being

replaced with what they expect to happen.
f o r colleges to engage i n careful planning.

The r e s u l t is a necessity
Thomas Litzenburg, Pre si­

dent of Salem College has stated t h a t ,
Since the 1950s, American colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s have
enjoyed un paralleled growth. We have l i t t l e f a m i l i a r i t y with
or tolerance f o r contingency planning. We have long rejected

72
73

Carnegie Council, The Carnegie Council on . . . p. 260.

David W. Breneman and Chester E. Finn, J r . , Public Policy
and . . . p. 194.

39

as s e l f - f u l f i l l i n g prophecy the idea th a t enrollments could do
anything other than increase.
Prudent planning, not wishful th i n k i n g , w i l l see most
colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s through the 1980s and 1990s.(74)
This f e e l i n g is echoed by Oscar Remick, President of Alma
College, in a response he made to an a r t i c l e by David Breneman.
The need today is to manage decline. Evidence suggests tha t
leadership is r e l u c t a n t to face up to these f a c t s , a circumstance
which makes Breneman's re po rt also a warning.
One must hope t h a t in many colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s there
w i l l be hard-headed str ategy development, long-range planning
t h a t project s d i f f e r e n t enrollment scenarios, c a l l s f o r the
reduction of overhead', and the cre ati on of e f f e c t i v e admission
and r e te n t io n programs - the kind of hardball decision making
f a m i l i a r to America's corporate world to d a y .(75)
As has been discussed pr evi ou sly , colleges are often r e lu c t a n t
to face the p o s s i b i l i t y of d e cl in in g enrollments and even less w i l l i n g
to p u b l i c l y acknowledge t h a t t h e i r enrollments are d e c l in i n g .

A ft e r

so many years of experiencing ge nerally steady growth, they believe
th a t having to c u r t a i l growth i s a sign of weakness th a t places them in
an unacceptable p o s i ti o n with t h e i r supporting constitue ncie s.

This

view can be a dangerous one since i t places an i n s t i t u t i o n in the
p o s iti o n o f possibly having to make major cutback decisions as a r e s u l t
of an unplanned c r i s i s ra th er than as a pa rt of a c a r e f u l l y designed
plan f o r dec line.

A major study on retrenchment in colleges and u n i ­

v e r s i t i e s conducted by James Mingle and Associates stat es, "Precious
time can be l o s t debating the l i k e l i h o o d of decline.
to plan f o r the worst and hope f o r the best.

Our advice is

Early actio n is needed

^Thomas V. Litzenburg, J r . , "Prudent Planning, Not Wishful
Thinking," Change, Vol. 15, No. 2 (March 1983) p. 31.
^O sca r E. Remick, "A Call to Realism/A Call to Idealism,"
Change, Vol. 15, No. 2 (March 1983) p. 29.

40

to mo bilize support."

7 ft

Commenting f u r t h e r on the need f o r retrenchment in colleges
and u n i v e r s i t i e s , Mingle discusses a general resistence to planning
f o r d e c li ne.
I n s t i t u t i o n s c l e a r l y pr efe r to r e s i s t de cl ine , by seeking new
students and new sources of revenue, before they t r y to adapt to
a smaller scale o f operations, by c u tt in g programs and f a c u l t y .
While the s a t i s f a c t i o n s f o r i n s t i t u t i o n a l leaders are greater
in stra te g ie s t h a t seek growth, so are the r i s k s . . . Presidents
may wait too long (to retrench) or feel tha t only a c r i s i s w i l l
allow them to cut expenditures.
. . . At some po int in size,
i n s t i t u t i o n s have no choice: they must e i t h e r seek to r e s i s t
f u r t h e r decline or f i n d some d i g n i t y in o r de r ly c l o s i n g . (77)
Campus C o n f l i c t s from Enrollment Concerns
As long as colleges had the number of students they wanted or
needed and also had a r e l a t i v e l y secure f i n a n c i a l base, many problems
which should have been thoroughly addressed were not adequately handled.
Many areas of concern have been ignored or handled in a cursory manner
since the f a t e of the i n s t i t u t i o n did not depend on how or whether or
not these concerns were d e a l t with properly.

Now th a t colleges are

facing enrollment declines and subsequent d i f f i c u l t i e s with finances,
they can no longer ignore many problem areas th a t have gone unresolved.
The new urgency to solve these problems tends to create a u th o ri ty
struggles on campuses.

A study of colleges th a t were already experi­

encing declines in growth by the mid-1970s indicates campus a tt it u d e s
of disappointment, c o n f l i c t , and fears of r i g i d i t y .
Decline in growth meant t h a t problems which might otherwise
have been bypassed must now be solved.
As the means to bypass these kinds of problems diminish, the

^James R. Mingle and Associates, Challenges o f . . . p. 67.
771bid p. 52.

41

old and new problems together tend to create an atmosphere of
suspicion and c o n f l i c t . The humane q u a l i t i e s of academic
communities are being put to serious t e s t .
Responses from campus administrators in d ic a te t h a t de cl in in g
rates of enrollment growth are creating a u t h o r i t y s t r u g g l e s .(78)
These a t t i t u d e s of c o n f l i c t and suspicion do not provide a
conducive campus atmosphere in which problems can be r a t i o n a l l y and
adequately resolved.

Commenting f u r t h e r on t h i s issue, in the Carnegie

Council's re p o r t , Three Thousand Futures, there i s a l i s t of concerns
expressed by some people in the study.

One o f those concerns i s tha t

"Faculty members f i r s t refuse to recognize the g r a v i t y of the new
s i t u a t i o n and then react in r i g i d l y defensive ways, through c o l l e c t i v e
bargaining and attacks on presidents and tru st ee s, when adjustments
are proposed.
The Economy and College Costs
During the past few years the United States has experienced
economically d i f f i c u l t times.

High i n f l a t i o n , unemployment problems,

and high i n t e r e s t rates have a l l contributed to an economic recession
th a t has affected nearly every segment of our society incl ud ing c o l ­
leges and u n i v e r s i t i e s .

The annual re po rt of the Council of Economic

Advisors submitted in January of 1981 opened with a sobering obser­
vation.
In the 1980s the United States w i l l confront a v a r i e t y of
stubborn problems th a t have developed during the past f i f t e e n
years. Chief among these problems is one t h a t is shared by most
other i n d u s t r i a l countries - the persistence o f large wage and
price increases, even in the face of high unemployment and

78

Carnegie Foundation f o r the Advancement of Teaching, More
Than Sur vi va l: Prospects f o r Higher Education in a Period o f Uncer­
t a i n t y , (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1975) pp. 13-14.
79

Carnegie Council, Three Thousand Futures . . . p. 2.

42

slack production. This problem poses the single most important
challenge to United States economic p o l ic y - reducing i n f l a t i o n
while maintaining a reasonably prosperous and growing economy.(80)
A ft e r a period of high i n f l a t i o n , the l a s t two years have seen
the i n f l a t i o n ra te drop considerably.

S t i l l l i n g e r i n g , however, are

problems o f high unemployment and high i n t e r e s t rates.

Despite the

lower national i n f l a t i o n r a t e , c e r t a i n cost areas are creating d i f f i ­
c u l t i e s f o r colleges.

These include increases in u t i l i t y ra tes ,

f a c i l i t y re p a ir and maintenance, and demand from f a c u l t y and s t a f f f o r
higher sa la ri e s.
The costs of operating a college are high and must be paid f o r
p r i m a r i l y by the student, the student's f a m i l y , and the p u b li c .

As the

operating costs increase, much of those costs are passed on to the
student through increased t u i t i o n and other charges.

These cost i n ­

creases are beginning to create s i g n i f i c a n t concern about the a b i l i t y
of students to pay them.

A 1983 study of a d u l ts ' a t t it u d e s about higher

education shows t h a t 80 percent are convinced th a t college costs are
climbing at a ra te which w i l l put college out of the reach of the
average person in the foreseeable f u t u r e .

81

As colleges face the

p o s s i b i l i t y o f enrollment declines, the issue of costs becomes more and
more of a concern.

As competition f o r students increases, colleges are

faced with the p o s s i b i l i t y of r a is i n g t u i t i o n too high compared to
other colleges and, th e re f o re , possibly losing students to those

80
Council o f Economic Advisers, America's New Beginning: A
Program f o r Economic Recovery, .Report to the President of the United
States, (Washington, D. C . : U . S. Government P ri n ti n g O f f i c e , 1981)
p. 29.
81
Data Dispenser, Newsletter of the American Association of
Collegiate Registrars and Admissions O f f i c e r s , Vol. 3, No. 3 (Novem­
ber 1983) p. 1.

43

colleges with lower costs.
Private colleges are very enrollment-dependent f o r t h e i r
revenues since a large percentage of t h e i r t o t a l budgeted revenues comes
from t u i t i o n .

A Carnegie study indicated t h a t ,

Enrollment is a major f a c t o r in the f i n a n c i a l well-being of
the p r iv a t e sector. Almost tw o- th ird s of the fo ur -ye ar i n s t i t u ­
tio n s derive at l e a s t 70 percent of t h e i r u n re s tr i c te d educational
and general revenue from t u i t i o n and f e e s . (82)
While public colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s receive substantial
revenue from state funds, oft en the amount of money alloc ate d to those
colleges is based p a r t i a l l y on enrollment.

In a d d i t i o n , many state

governments are having serious budget d i f f i c u l t i e s which oft en r e s u l t
in budget cuts f o r education.

Enrollment drops and d i f f i c u l t economic

times are combining to create serious cost control problems f o r colleges
and u n i v e r s i t i e s .

In a May 1983 a r t i c l e in the Journal o f Higher Educa­

t i o n , Anthony Morgan noted t h a t ,
The cost of higher education is not a new issue. C o n tro ll in g
r a p i d l y r i s i n g costs, however, has become an inc re as in g ly s a l i e n t
issue among students, parents, and public o f f i c i a l s a t both state
and federal l e v e ls . A heightened s e n s i t i v i t y to the issue has
been occasioned by t u i t i o n le v e ls at p r iv a t e i n s t i t u t i o n s pro­
h i b i t i v e to many, by unprecedented increases in t u i t i o n and fees
at many public i n s t i t u t i o n s , and by revenue and expenditure con­
s t r a i n t s placed upon governments.(83)
In discussing the question of costs, Sigmund Ginsberg gives
several problems th a t higher education w i l l have to face during the
next several years.

These include:

. . . d e clin in g federal support in most areas o f research and

Op

Carnegie Council, The States and Pri vate . . .

OO

p. 19.

Anthony W. Morgan, "Cost as a Policy Issue: Lessons from
the Health Care Sector," The Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 54,
No. 3 (May/June 1983) p. 279.

44

in student f i n a n c i a l aid in terms o f noninflated d o l l a r s or
absolute d o l l a r s .
. . . increased costs o f replenishing and re fu r b i s h i n g :
deferred maintenance; bu ildings and f a c i l i t i e s ; i n s t r u c t i o n a l ,
research, and a d m i n i s tr a ti v e equipment; l i b r a r y books; computer
equipment.
. . . the p r o b a b i l i t y o f continuing i n f l a t i o n in higher edu­
catio n somewhat higher than the general economy because of educa­
t i o n ' s high l a b o r - i n t e n s i t y and l i t t l e l i k e l i h o o d o f employing
machinery and technology to increase p r o d u c t i v i t y .(84)
According to Ginsberg the increase in costs f o r colleges w i l l
be greater than f o r the general pu bl ic .

This p r e d ic ti o n was borne

out q u i te noticeably f o r the f a l l of 1983.

According to the survey

re s u l ts from 2600 colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s , the College Board Annual
Survey o f colleges indicated t h a t t u i t i o n increased 12 percent at public
four-y ea r colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s f o r the f a l l of 1983 and increased
11 percent at p r iv a t e i n s t i t u t i o n s .

85

During the 12 month period ending

June 30, 1983, however, the national i n f l a t i o n rate was only 2.6 percent.
This d i ff e r e n c e between increases in t u i t i o n and the national i n f l a t i o n
rate cannot continue f o r very long without ser iou sl y a f f e c t i n g students'
a b i l i t i e s to attend co ll eg e.

Commenting f u r t h e r on t h i s problem, the

College Board r e p o r t indicated th a t colleges f i n d themselves t r y i n g to
play 'catch-up' a f t e r a decade of i n f l a t i o n .
During the preceding decade college costs rose at a slower
ra te than the cost o f l i v i n g , as r e f l e c t e d in the Consumer
Price Index (CPI). In an e f f o r t to counteract i n f l a t i o n , many
colleges deferred expenses, such as pla nt maintenance, l i b r a r y
and equipment a c q u i s i t i o n s , and major f a c u l t y and s t a f f salary
in c re a s e s .(86)

84

Sigmund G. Ginsburg, "Avoiding Financial Exigency," Educa­
t i on al Record, Vol. 64, No. 3 (Summer 1983) p. 40.
85

"Rate of Increase in College Costs Slows t h i s Year," The
College Board News, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Fall 1983) p. 1.
86t , . ,
„
Ib i d p. 4.

45

While there was a large d i ff e re n c e between increases in t u i t i o n
and the i n f l a t i o n ra te during the past year, during the period from 1973
to 1982 college costs remained constant when compared a f t e r adjusting
for in fla tio n .

Hopefully increases in college costs w i l l not continue

to go up s i g n i f i c a n t l y more than i n f l a t i o n but t h a t may be d i f f i c u l t to
accomplish i f i n f l a t i o n remains at a r e l a t i v e l y low ra te .
As colleges attempt to increase s a l a r i e s , update equipment,
and make needed build ing r e p a i rs , they are facing le v e li n g or decreasing
enrollments which r e s u l t s in a lack o f funds to meet these problems.
The Association Council f o r Policy Analysis and Research represents 22
national higher education organizations.

A special re por t was prepared

by the Association as a r e s u l t o f increasing concerns f o r higher educa­
ti o n in r e la t i o n s h i p to economic f a c t o r s .

Their assessment of U. S.

higher education comes from several d is tu rb i n g fa c t s includ ing:
The U. S. Economy is performing poorly. Although p r o d u c t i v i t y
is s t i l l the highest of the major nations, several countries are
r a p i d l y gaining.
Unemployment in the U. S., over 10 percent by the f a l l of 1982,
is the highest since 1941.
The emergence o f new technologies is creating serious sh o rt­
ages o f trained manpower, e s p ec ia ll y in the so-called "high tech­
nology" f i e l d s , which government sources in d ic a te w i l l p e r s i s t
throughout the 1980s.
Burgeoning technological innovation and information production
render everyday l i f e incr ea sing ly complex and informed p a r t i c i p a ­
t i o n in p o l i t i c a l l i f e ever more d i f f i c u l t . (87)
The Association Council believes t h a t U. S. higher education
must play an important r o l e in addressing these problems.

The trend

toward higher costs to educate students which in turn r e s u l ts in higher

07

Association Council f o r Policy Analysis and Research, 1982,
The National Investment in Higher Education, (Washington, D. C.:
Association Council f o r Policy Analysis and Research, 1982) p. 7.

46

t u i t i o n and fees i s alarming to the Association Council because o f the
p o te n tia l to l i m i t op p o r tu n it ie s f o r higher education.

The As sociatio n's

r e p o r t discusses several items related to t h i s problem of increasing
costs.
F i n a l l y , we must note th a t most colleges, public as well as
p r iv a t e , continue to face severe fi n a n c i a l problems. Consequences
f o r the range and q u a l i t y of academic programs can be s e r i o u s . (88)
Faculty sa la ri e s have not kept pace with i n f l a t i o n ; real
sal ar ies declined by 21 percent between 1970 and 1980. The average
salary in 1981, $23,650, compares poorly with pay in pr iv a te i n ­
dustry f o r i n d iv i d u a l s with comparable education.
Laboratory and other teaching and research equipment is
incr ea sing ly outmoded.
There are fewer op por tun itie s f o r professors to stay current
in t h e i r f i e l d s and f o r professional development generally.
Warnings o f cutbacks in programs and reductions in s t a f f have
become extremely widespread. Increasingly the warnings are
leading to actual l a y o f f s .
Support services, such as o f f i c e space and se cr e ta r ia l a s s i s t ­
ance, have been c u t.
The net e f f e c t on such cutbacks is th a t the f a c u l t y are
s u ff er in g a kind o f "siege m e nt al ity " focused on job se c u ri ty and
d e t e r i o r a t i n g working con dit ion s, which i n t e r f e r e s with e f f e c t i v e
performance.(89)
Growing obsolescence of laboratory and other s c i e n t i f i c
instrumentation on campuses is of p a r t i c u l a r concern. "Stateo f - t h e - a r t " equipment is essential to both e f f e c t i v e advanced
t r a i n i n g of students and high lev e ls of research p r o d u c t i v i t y .
Not even the leading u n i v e r s i t i e s are keeping pace with advances
in instrumentation; indeed, the median age of t h e i r equipment was
found in one study to be twice th a t a t two leading commercial
l a b o r a t o r i e s .(90)
One area th a t has been a s i g n i f i c a n t problem in terms of
increasing costs is t h a t of energy.

Colleges have seen t h i s area as a

major concern and as a r e s u l t have taken various actions to reduce the
problem.

Predictions are t h a t energy costs w i l l continue to increase

881bid p. 10.
89Ibid p. 17
90Ib id p. 21.

47

at rates greater than the general i n f l a t i o n rate.

This means th a t

colleges can continue to expect t h i s area of concern to be a major
problem f o r several years.

In 1975, energy costs including e l e c t r i c i t y

accounted f o r 2 to 4 cents of every d o l l a r the colleges and u n i v e r s i ­
t i e s spent; however, t h a t f i g u r e had increased to 7 to 10 cents o f every
d o l l a r by 1983.9^

Colleges which have r e l i e d upon natural gas as a

major energy source have experienced enormous increases in costs and
many are converting heating plants to use other fu e l s .

Since 1973,

average re s id e n t i a l prices f o r natural gas have increased around 500
percent.93

a

study o f energy costs at I l l i n o i s colleges and u n i v e r s i ­

t i e s indicates- t h a t the average cost of a l l energy increased 126 percent
from 1977 to 1983.93
Another problem th a t colleges face related to increased costs
is the f a c t tha t education is hig hly labor-intense.

Colleges and

u n i v e r s i t i e s c o n t i n u a l l y face f a c u l t y and s t a f f demands f o r increased
sala ries and b e ne fi ts .

Commenting on t h i s concern, the U. S. Department

of Education states:
Labor costs account f o r more than 80 percent o f t o t a l college
and u n i v e r s i t y expenditures. 62 percent of a l l f u l l - t i m e f a c u l t y
hold tenured p o s i ti o n s . Despite fu t u r e enrollment dec lin es,
costs of i n s t r u c t i o n may continue to go up. Unit costs normally
decrease by increasing the s tu d e n t- fa c u l ty r a t i o . With de cl in in g
enrollments and a large tenured f a c u l t y t h i s r a t i o may f a l l to
the extent th a t t o t a l costs could a c t u a l l y r i s e . This paradox

^ J a c k M a g a r r e l l , "Colleges' Energy Costs May Double i f U. S.
L i f t s Limits on Gas P ri ces ," The Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 26,
No. 9 (A pr il 27, 1983) p. 1 .
92Ibid p. 1.
92" I l l i n o i s Energy Costs Rise 126%," The Chronicle of Higher
Education, Vol. 27, No. 8 (October 19, 1983) p. 2.

48

o f lower enrollment and higher costs is expected to trouble
higher education in the 1980s.(94)
The discussions in t h i s chapter about costs f o r higher educa­
ti o n r e l a t e p r i m a r i l y to the cost o f an i n s t i t u t i o n to educate a student
and, in t u r n , the po rti on o f those costs which the student must pay in
the form of t u i t i o n and fees.

Another aspect o f college costs f o r a

student involves the amount of income the student forgoes during the
years enrolled in co ll eg e.

Some concern has been expressed t h a t t h i s

f a c t o r may a f f e c t a stud ent's decision to attend college more than i t
has in recent years i f e n tr y - l e v e l wages increase s i g n i f i c a n t l y .
The decline ( i n 18 to 25 yea r-olds) w i l l continue through the
remainder of the century. The good news is t h a t the s c a r c it y of
young people should increase e n tr y -l e v e l wages and l i f e t i m e
"ret urn s" from a d di tion al education. The bad news is t h a t while
benefits o f higher education w i l l increase, so w i l l the costs of
college attendance in the form of forgone income. . . . Employers
w i l l undoubtly begin o f f e r i n g more a t t r a c t i v e packages including
l ar g er s a l a r i e s , education be n e f it s , and job t r a i n i n g . (95)
Higher Education Costs and State Finances
As colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s strugg le to contain costs, they
also are t r y i n g to maintain or increase revenues from sources other than
t u i t i o n in order to keep t u i t i o n costs to students down and to be com­
p e t i t i v e with other colleges.
governments.

A major source of revenue is state

This source has a large impact on public i n s t i t u t i o n s .

a d d i ti o n , many states c o n tr i b u te to p r iv a te college revenues through a
v a r i e t y of programs.

While the amount v a r ie s , i t is a s i g n i f i c a n t

Q4National Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s , U. S. Department
of Education, The Condition o f Education, (Washington, D. C.: U. S.
Government P r in t in g O f f i c e , 1980) p. 143.
q r

Anthony P. Carnevale, "Higher Education's Role in the Amer­
ican Economy," Educational Record, Vol. 64, No. 4 (Fall 1983) p. 14.

In

49

revenue f a c t o r f o r many colleges and f o r many students who are receiving
state fi n a n c i a l aid.
Unfortunately, the same problems t h a t colleges have wi th i n ­
creasing costs are also being experienced by stat e governments.

As a

r e s u l t , colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s have found stat e f i n a n c i a l support
being cut in r e l a t i o n s h i p to t h e i r budget requests.

These cuts are

fo r c in g colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s to c u r t a i l programs and to increase
tuitio n .
Periodicals and newspapers rela te d to higher education regu­
l a r l y carry a r t i c l e s describing various problems th a t colleges are
having rela ted to state funding.

The State of New York established a

T u i ti o n Assistance Program which gives money to the s t a t e ' s p r iv a te
colleges.

Recently o f f i c i a l s from the p r iv a t e colleges met together to

discuss the program and to express concern t h a t the program was gradually
co n tr i b u ti n g less money.

In 1974, the stat e payments covered 60 percent

of the average t u i t i o n cost but now covers only 37 percent.
In the summer of 1983, P at ric k M. Callan, executive d i r e c t o r of
the C a l if o r n i a Postsecondary Commission described C a l i f o r n i a ' s education
budget as "the worst budget f o r higher education in modern times."

97

A l a t e r re por t on the C a l i f o r n i a s i t u a t i o n indicated what the budget
cuts would mean to the s t a t e ' s community colleges.
The reductions f o r the 1983-84 academic year have already
resulted in f a c u l t y l a y o f f s , the c a n c e l la ti o n of thousands of

96jack M a g a r re ll , "Private Colleges Seek ' P a r i t y ' in New York
Grants," The Chronicle o f Higher Education, Vol. 27, No. 7 (October 12,
1983) p. 12.
9^Jack McCurdy, " C a l i f o r n i a Governor Cuts College Aid by
$381- M i l l i o n , " The Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 26, No. 23
(August 3, 1983) p. 1.

50

class sections, and reduced enrollment.
Twelve college d i s t r i c t s have said they may go bankrupt
unless they receive more money t h i s y e a r . (98)
The U n i v e r s i ty o f Michigan in an attempt to address the prob­
lems o f d e c lin in g enrollments, increased costs, and d i f f i c u l t i e s with
state support has looked f o r ways to cut costs by reducing programs.
One r e s u l t of t h i s has been the decision to s i g n i f i c a n t l y reduce the
School of Education.
The U n i v e r s i ty o f Michigan board of regents has approved a
40-per-cent cut in the budget of the u n i v e r s i t y ' s School of
Education over the next f i v e years. The reduction w i l l require
the e l i m i n a ti o n o f 30 f a c u l t y pos iti ons and of a l l but one of
the school's doctoral programs.
The School o f Education's cut came a f t e r an 18-month review
of i t s q u a l i t y and importance to the u n i v e r s i t y . (99)
As the need increases f o r more revenues f o r colleges from
sources other than t u i t i o n , questions begin to be raised concerning who
should get what po rti on of the a v a i la b l e d o l l a r s .

This, in turn,

creates tension between p r iv a t e and public higher educational i n s t i t u ­
tion s p a r t i c u l a r l y in regards to stat e support o f higher education.
The seriousness o f t h i s competition was address in a May 1983 a r t i c l e
in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Competition between public and pr iva te colleges is i n t e n s i f y ­
ing.
"What was once a more or less f r i e n d l y r i v a l r y f o r
programs has become an unhealthy scramble f o r students
sources," says Frank H. T. Rhodes, president o f Cornell
"And what was once r e s t r i c t e d to good-natured jockying

q u a l i t y in
and r e ­
Uni ve rs ity .
for

98

Jack McCurdy, " C a l i f o r n i a Community Colleges Forced to
Absorb Budget Cuts," The Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 25, No. 5
(September 28, 1983) p. 11.
ng

"Michigan Education School Faces 40-Percent Budget Cut."
The Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 27, No. 5 (September 28, 1983)
p.

2.

51

po s i ti o n a t budget time has erupted in too many places into
open warfare between the two secto rs."
Private i n s t i t u t i o n s , t r y i n g to avoid being priced out of
the market by r i s i n g t u i t i o n r a te s, are asking state l e g i s l a ­
tures f o r more student aid money.
Public i n s t i t u t i o n s , t r y i n g to maintain q u a l i t y in the face
of tightened stat e budgets, are asking f o r more p r i v a t e money
from corporations, foundations, and al u m n i.(100)
A Carnegie sponsored study conducted several years ago also
addressed t h i s problem.
At both stat e and national l e v e l s , budget analysts and p o l i t i ­
cal leaders place higher education services toward the low end of
the p r i o r i t y l i s t i n g o f essential social services.
Some p r iv a t e colleges expect to "go pu blic " in order to i n ­
crease t h e i r funding base and ward o f f threats to t h e i r s u r v i v a l .
As enrollments drop in some public i n s t i t u t i o n s , i t is l i k e l y to
become inc re as in g ly d i f f i c u l t to j u s t i f y state support o f pr iv a te
colleges, much less assume f u l l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r them.(101)
Questions as to whether or not state l e g is l a t u r e s w i l l be
able to improve stat e support f o r t h e i r colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s are
c r i t i c a l ones f o r ad mi ni str a to rs .

The 1983-84 state appropriations

f o r higher education in d ic a te t h a t in many states there is an attempt
to improve support.
Together, the 50 state l e g i s l a t u r e s have appropriated a to t a l
of $25.4 b i l l i o n f o r the operating expenses of colleges and
u n i v e r s i t i e s t h i s year, an increase o f about 5 per cent over
1982-83 and a gain of about 12 percent over a two-year period.
When the 1983-84 appropriations are adjusted f o r the 9.8
percent i n f l a t i o n t h a t has occurred in the l a s t two years, the
r e s u l t is a declin e in real support f o r higher education in 16
of the 50 states. Ov er all , i n f l a t i o n turns a two-year increase
o f 12 percent i n to a gain of about 2 per c e n t . (102)

^ ^ J a c k M a g a r re l l, " P u b li c - P r iv a te Competition I n t e n s i f y i n g , "
The Chronicle o f Higher Education, Vol. 26, No. 13 (May 25, 1983) p. 1.
Lyman A. Glenny, Presidents Confront . . . pp. 105,106.
Beverly T. Watkins, "States' Support f o r Colleges Up 12
Percent in 2 Years." The Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 27,
No. 9 (October 26, 1983) p . 13.

52

The one year increase from 1982-83 to 1983-84 is the smallest
increase since 1960 but i t is s t i l l

somewhat encouraging since i t was

la r g e r than the general i n f l a t i o n ra te .

Mr. M. M. Chambers, professor

o f education a d m in is tra tion at I l l i n o i s State U n iv e r s i t y , who compiles
y e a rl y s ta t e data reported th a t the average stat e ap propriation on a
per capita basis f o r 1983-84 is $115.29 compared to $106.04 f o r 1982-83
and $101 .50 in 1981-82.103
Effects o f Cost Increases a t P riv at e Colleges
f

As operating costs go up and colleges have to ra is e t h e i r
t u i t i o n r a te s , p r iv a t e colleges have to address the problem of the
p o s s i b i l i t y o f p r ic i n g themselves out of the market o r , at l e a s t , out
of pa rt o f the market.

The amount o f money t h a t a student has to pay

f o r a college education i s a s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t o r in a decision of which
college to attend.

This problem becomes greater when general economic

conditions are not good.

This f a c t o r o f higher costs is s i g n i f i c a n t l y

a f f e c t i n g the a b i l i t y o f p r iv a t e colleges to a t t r a c t students.

The

p r iv a t e s e c to r 's share o f headcount enrollment dropped from 41 percent
in 1960 to 22 percent i n 1976 and the share o f headcount enrollment f o r
p r iv a te l i b e r a l a r t s colleges dropped from 7.6 percent in 1970 to
4.6 percent in 1 9 7 6 . \ ^
In i t s re p o r t , Three Thousand Futures, the Carnegie Council
l i s t e d some o f the fears expressed by some o f the stu di es' respondents.
One of these fears re la te s to t h i s issue.

103Ib id p. 16.
^ C a r n e g i e Council, Three Thousand Futures . . . p. 15.

53

The p r iv a te sector of higher education w i l l be decimated
because i t cannot compete owing to i t s higher t u i t i o n ; meanwhile,
public con tro ls and public f i n a n c i a l support make i t only quasip r iv a te -- re d uc in g i t s r a t i o n a l e f o r c o n t i n u a t i o n . (105)
In another study by the Carnegie Council, campus administra­
tor s a t p r iv a te colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s indicated th a t they f e l t
there was a r e l a t i o n s h i p between r i s i n g costs and student q u a l i t y .
At a l l categories of p r iv a te i n s t i t u t i o n s , in greater pro­
po rti on than p u b li c , administrators contend th a t the le v e li n g of
enrollment and funding is responsible f o r a decline in student
q u a l i t y . A main f a c t o r , they re p o r t , is the r i s i n g cost of
college educat ion .(106)
As costs increase, the l i k e l i h o o d of p r iv a te colleges being
able to meet a l l of these increases from revenues other than t u i t i o n
increases is s l i g h t .

H i s t o r i c a l l y , pr iv a te colleges raise t u i t i o n

when costs increase and there are no i n d ic a tio n s th a t t h i s practice
w ill

be able to change.
The sig n if ic a n c e of the di ff e re n c e between public and pr iva te

i n s t i t u t i o n s in how much of a co l l e g e 's costs are passed on to the
students can be seen in the f a l l 1983 average t u i t i o n charges.

The

average t u i t i o n and fees th a t were charged f o r a f u l l - t i m e student
during the 1983-84 academic year were $4,627 at a pr iv a te 4-year i n s t i ­
t u t i o n compared to $1,105 at a public 4-year i n s t i t u t i o n and $621 at a
publi c 2-year c o l l e g e . ^

For students who desire to l i v e on campus,

average t o t a l costs were $8,840 a t p r iv a t e 4-year colleges and u n iv e r­
s i t i e s compared to $4,721 at public 4-year i n s t i t u t i o n s . ^ ^

105Ibid p. 2.
I nr

Carnegie Foundation, More Than Survival

. . . p. 17.

^ " R a t e of Increase in College Costs . . ." p. 4.

54

When pr iv a te colleges experience increasing costs and le ve lin g
or decreasing enrollments, they soon f i n d themselves caught in a very
d i f f i c u l t situation.

In order to a t t r a c t students they need to keep

t h e i r educational programs a t a high q u a l i t y l e v e l .

When enrollments

level o f f or decrease, however, they f i n d t h a t they do not have
s u f f i c i e n t revenues to maintain th a t q u a l i t y .

They are then faced

with the need to raise t u i t i o n in order to have the needed revenues.
Raising t u i t i o n , however, may r e s u l t in fewer students being able to
a f f o r d to attend.

A Bowen and Minter study quoted in Richard Anderson's

book Stra te gic Policy Changes a t Private Colleges, states:
The f a c t remains, however, t h a t the t u i t i o n gap between
public i n s t i t u t i o n s and those special-purposes p r iv a te colleges
is several thousand d o l l a r s a year and growing. Students who
p r e fe r , with a l l else being equal, a special-purpose college are
f i n d i n g the cost increasing unequally. As t h i s occurs, more
students and t h e i r fa m i l i e s w i l l chose a college f o r economic,
ra the r than educational, reasons.(109)
This concern i s also addressed in a Brookings I n s t i t u t i o n
re po rt .
Some of the most conspicuous areas of agreement i n t h i s
l i t e r a t u r e ( t u i t i o n and the decision to e n r o l l ) emerge in regard
to the impact of prices on the access question - the decision
whether to attend colleg e. T u i t io n prices are, of course, only
one of the fa c t o rs t h a t determine who goes to co ll eg e, and by no
means the most important one.
S t i l l , the one universal f in d i n g in the studies under review
here is th a t p r ice does a f f e c t access - every si ngle one fi n d s a
s i g n i f i c a n t negative r e l a t i o n s h i p between the net pr ice faced by
students and t h e i r p r o b a b i l i t y of attending c o l l e g e . (110)
Not only are questions of costs to the students involved in
t h i s issue, but a l s o .t h e necessity of providing adequate f a c u l t y

109

Richard E. Anderson, Strategic Policy Changes . . . p. 2.

^ % a v i d W. Breneman and Chester E. Finn, J r . , Public Policy
and . . . p. 180.

55

sa la rie s is important.

T u i ti o n increases often are ti e d wi th salary

increases which f u r t h e r complicates a decision to r a is e t u i t i o n .
Prices are, a f t e r a l l , very important to those paying and
re ceiving them. Students are seldom i n d i f f e r e n t to t u i t i o n
charges and academic sal ar ies are v i t a l to f a c u l t y . ( I l l )
Many p r iv a t e colleges have had d i f f i c u l t i e s balancing budgets
f o r several years and have already been taking measures to cut costs
and keep t u i t i o n increases as low as possible.
do is a question t h a t some are asking.

How much more they can

A Carnegie Council study in

addressing the uncertain fu t u r e of many p r iv a te colleges concludes:
The c o s t - c u t t i n g th a t many i n s t i t u t i o n s have already car rie d
out has probably diminished t h e i r a b i l i t y to absorb f u r t h e r cost
increases or t u i t i o n revenue losses. In many cases, the easiest
steps have already been ta k e n .(112)
Financial Aid Concerns
Student f i n a n c i a l aid has become an important pa rt of higher
education.

I t has been a major f a c t o r in expanding the op p o r tu n it ie s

f o r students to attend college - p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r those whose f i n a n c i a l
resources were l i m i t e d .

As costs increased, new types of aid were

developed and increases in the amount of aid were r e g u l a r l y approved.
Many states have e x c e l le n t fi n a n c i a l aid packages in a d di tio n to the
federal programs.

Ind ividua l colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s have also

developed various types of fi n a n c i a l aid financing them both through
regular operational budgets and endowments.

The amount of aid a v a i l ­

able to students who decide to attend p r iv a te colleges has played a

^ S t e p h e n A. Hoenacck, "Pri ci ng and E f f i c i e n c y in Higher
Education," Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 53, No. 4 (July/August
1982) p. 403.
11 ?

Carnegie Council, The States and Private . . . p. 30.

56

s i g n i f i c a n t r o le in helping to keep enrollments up at those colleges.
As the country began to experience an economic slowdown during
the past several years, fi n a n c i a l aid was one of many programs th a t
f e l t the impact of t h i s slowdown.

D ol la r increases have leveled o f f

and various proposals f o r government f i n a n c i a l aid packages have
created considerable strong negative objections from a l l areas of
higher education.

A r e p o r t on f i n a n c i a l aid f o r 1983 shows the

seriousness of t h i s problem.
Between 1980 and 1983, the value of most federal aid to
students declined by a greater amount than most people r e a l i z e ,
according to the American Council on Education. Adjusted f o r
i n f l a t i o n , Pell grants and campus-based aid programs dropped
23 percent. These are the programs t h a t e s p e c ia ll y b e n e f it
lower-middle income and low-income s t u d e n t s . (113)
This decline i n fi n a n c i a l aid d o l l a r s is of p a r t i c u l a r concern
to p r iv a te colleges since t h e i r charges to students are so much higher
than public colleges.

There is a growing concern t h a t p r iv a t e college

enrollments during the next decade w i l l

be a ff e c te d , not only by a

decline in the 18-22 year-old population, but also by a l e v e li n g o f f
o f f i n a n c i a l aid.
But the loss o f students cuts deeper than demographics,
according to the National I n s t i t u t e of Independent Colleges and
U n i v e r s i t i e s . The r e l a t i v e loss of entering freshmen was much
greater l a s t year than population trends would suggest. The
i n s t i t u t e puts the blame on the one-two punch o f recession and
reduced student a i d , both of which h i t hardest a t low-income
f a m i l i e s , m i n o r i t i e s and f i r s t - g e n e r a t i o n college s t u d e n t s . (114)
With the federal government a n t i c i p a t i n g large d e f i c i t budgets

113

Jane Bryant Quinn, "College Equation is Simple: Less
Aid, Fewer Students," Chicago Tribune, October 11, 1983, Section 3,
p. 1.
1 14 I b i d

p. 1.

57

f o r several years and wi th many states facing s i m i l a r budget problems,
colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s should not expect any s i g n i f i c a n t increases
in f i n a n c i a l aid money.

The 1982 e d i t i o n of The Condition of Education

published by the U. S. Department o f Education gives no reason to expect
much help from the federal government.
Economic c on s tr a in ts of the 1980s are expected to l i m i t and
r e s t r i c t t h i s source (federal government) o f student aid in the
foreseeable f u t u r e . (115)
Even i f some aid programs increase a t the same percentage rate
as costs, the t o t a l d o l l a r cost d if fe re n c e would increase qu ite r a p i d l y
and the net cost to the student could make attendance a t a pr iv a te
college much less l i k e l y .

For example, an 8 percent increase in a

$3,000 aid package would amount to $240.

An 8 percent increase in the

average to t a l cost to attend a p r iv a t e co ll eg e, however, would be $675.
This problem o f fi n a n c i a l aid in r e l a t i o n s h i p to college
costs was pointed out c l e a r l y at a hearing by the House Postsecondary
Education Subcommittee.
Even though the percentage of students g e tt i n g aid increased,
the proportion o f college costs th a t aid covered dropped from
52 percent in 1974 to 42 percent in 1982. The top Pell Grant
would have to have r is en to $2,700 in 1982 ( i t ' s $1,800 f o r t h i s
year) to equal the purchasing power of a $1,400 grant in
1972.(116)
Recognizing the importance of f i n a n c i a l a i d , many colleges are
t r y i n g to increase t h e i r own aid programs since government programs
have leveled o f f .

As was pointed out e a r l i e r in t h i s chapter, cost

does play an important p a rt in a student's decision on where to attend

115

National Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s , The Condition . . .
1982, p. 124.
116

Data Dispenser, Newsletter o f . . . November 1983, p. 2.

58

college.

As the student pool decreases and competition f o r students

increases, f in a n c i a l aid a v a i l a b i l i t y could play an inc reasingly
important r o l e in enrollment.

The annual College Board Survey f o r the

f a l l of 1983 found t h a t most colleges are using increased t u i t i o n
revenues to fund a d di tion al f i n a n c i a l aid .
. . . colleges are also st re tc h in g t h e i r own resources and
creating innovative financing mechanisms to help hard-pressed
f a m i li e s meet college costs. Most have earmarked p a rt of t h e i r
t u i t i o n increase revenues f o r student f i n a n c i a l a i d . (117)
The Economy in Michigan
The concerns over r i s i n g costs in higher education, the
l e v e li n g o f f of fi n a n c i a l a i d , and general economic conditions are not
l i m i t e d to any one pa rt of the country or any one area of higher edu­
ca tion .

As was noted wi th enrollment trends, however, some areas of

the country w i l l possibly have more problems than others.

Colleges in

states such as Michigan, which are projected to have la r g e r drops in
high school graduates, may experience la r g e r enrollment declines than
other states.

This in turn w i l l place more pressure on the budgets of

those col 1eges.
In a d d i t io n , general economic conditions in Michigan over the
past few years have been very poor due to the severe problems of the
automobile and au to- re lat ed i n d u s t r i e s .

Because the stat e was highly

dependent on these in d u s tr i e s f o r job s, Michigan has experienced an
unusually high unemployment r a te .

Reporting on unemployment as of

February, 1982, the U. S. News and World Report re la te s t h a t the
Bureau of Labor S t a t i s t i c s showed a national average unemployment rate

^ " R a t e of Increase in College Costs . . ." p. 4.

59

of 8.8 percent wi th Michigan having the highest unemployment rate of
118
the 50 states a t 14.8 percent.
In a l i s t i n g o f 15 c i t i e s in the
country t h a t were hardest h i t by unemployment, six of them were in
m
- uMichigan.

119
Over a year and one-half l a t e r the s i t u a t i o n is s t i l l

s i g n i f i c a n t l y improved.

not

For the month o f October, 1983, the national

average unemployment was 8.8 percent and Michigan's was 13.6 percent
which ranked i t as the second highest unemployment ra te of the 50
states.

i ?n

In a l i s t i n g o f 22 c i t i e s in the country th a t were the

hardest h i t by unemployment, f i v e of them were in Michigan.

121

Past enrollment trends have shown t h a t unemployed persons
often en roll in some type of education program to increase t h e i r t r a i n ­
ing and s k i l l s .

They would not, however, tend to have incomes while

unemployed th a t would allow them to enroll in expensive pr iv a te
colleges or to help t h e i r c h il d r e n attend p r iv a t e colleges.
High ’Unemployment and d i f f i c u l t economic s i t u a t i o n s create
problems f o r the stat e budget which then tr a n sl a te s i n to problems f o r
the s t a t e ' s colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s in terms o f appr op ria tion s.

Some

increases in taxes were enacted which allowed the l e g i s l a t u r e to i n ­
crease appropriations f o r the 1983-84 year.

For t h a t year, the to t a l

" ^ J e f f r e y L. Sheler, "10 M i l l i o n People Without Jobs - Who
They Are," U. S. News and World Report, Vol. 92, No. 10 (March 15,
1982) p. 72.

1 on

Bureau of Labor S t a t i s t i c s , telephone conversation,
December 16, 1983.
^ " W h e r e Job Rate is High and Low," U. S. News and World
Report, Vol. 95, No. 22 (November 28, 1983) p. 17.

60

appropriations f o r higher education in the stat e represented an i n ­
crease of 5 percent over a 2-year period from 1981-82 while the average
increase in appropriations n a t i o n a l l y f o r those two years was 12 percent.

1??

While i t was helpful to have an increase, the increase was

much less than most other states.

Michigan ranked 44 out of the 50

states in the percentage of increase during those two years.

1 0*3

In

appropriations per c a p i ta , Michigan ranked 34 out of the 50 states with
a per capita amount o f $97.35 which compared to the national average
of $115.29.

1

Looking a t appropriations over a 10-year period, the

change from 1973 less i n f l a t i o n places Michigan a t the bottom of the
50 states with -15 percent.

125

Good fi n a n c i a l aid programs have been developed to a s s i s t
students who are Michigan residents and who desire to attend a p r iv a te
college in Michigan.

Continued economic pressures on the stat e budget

w i l l create increased pressure

to level o f f or reduce t h i s aid espe­

c i a l l y as the public colleges and

u n i v e r s i t i e s compete more i n t e n s iv e l y

f o r the same money.
Costs and E f f i c i e n c y
Talking about per student costs and the need f o r e f f i c i e n c y in
administering higher education

i s a r e l a t i v e l y recent matter f o r serious

discussion and is often viewed

as turning educational a d m in is tra tio n

^ B e v e r l y T. Watkins, "States' Support . . ." p. 13.
123Ibid p. 15'.
124Ibid p. 15.
125Ibid p. 15.

61

in to a business.

Indeed, operating a college or u n i v e r s i t i t y today

i s s i m i l a r to operating a business only without a ' p r o f i t ' motive.
There is a need f o r adm inistr ato rs to understand good business p r i n ­
c ip le s when they are involved with operating residence h a l l s , dining
h a l l s , classrooms and other physical f a c i l i t i e s ; when they c o n t i n u a l l y
have to address l a b o r - r e l a t e d problems; and when they have to constantly
look f o r and manage various sources o f revenue.

The challenge facing

higher education today is to be able to do an e x c e lle nt job o f man­
aging f i n a n c i a l and human resources while keeping the educational
mission of the i n s t i t u t i o n as the top p r i o r i t y .
Colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s have grown used to r a is i n g a l l of
the money they can and spending a l l they ra is e .

As long as enrollment

was increasing and the economy was ge nerally good, questions of e f f i ­
ciency were not answered with much serious study by many i n s t i t u t i o n s .
Now t h a t i n s t i t u t i o n s are facing serious f i n a n c i a l problems, the
question o f e f f i c i e n c y o f operation is becoming extremely important.
Along with t h i s importance also comes the question of q u a l i t y of pro­
grams.

A challenge o f higher education in the next decade w i l l be how

to be e f f i c i e n t without s a c r i f i c i n g q u a l i t y .

In a study on the

e f f i c i e n c y of higher education in B r i t a i n , the authors observe:
As funds become inc re as in g ly scarce, i t becomes more impor­
t a n t to ensure t h a t they are used to best e f f e c t . (126)
Education, l i k e health, can have such important consequences,
both f i n a n c i a l and n o n - f i n a n c i a l , t h a t passions are e a s i ly
aroused. Some people even f i n d terms such as "co st s" ,

126

Donald Merry and Bleddyn Davies, U n iv e r s it y Costs and
Outputs, (New York: Elsevier S c i e n t i f i c Publishing Co., 1976)
p. i x .

62

" e f f i c i e n c y " , "produ ction ", "o u tp u t" , and " i n d u s tr y " offens ive
when applied to ed uc at io n. (127)
There has been, in recent years, an almost world-wide i n t e r e s t
in the p o s s i b i l i t y o f greater e f f i c i e n c y in the a l l o c a t i o n of
educational exp en d itu re .(128)
Bowen's work in the
to

area of costs in

develop what he c a l l s the "laws" o f higher

higher education led him
education costs. The way

these laws work, he contends, do not provide incentives f o r e f f i c i e n c y .
1. The dominant goals of i n s t i t u t i o n s are educational excel­
lence, p r es tig e , and influence.
2. In quest of excellence, pr es tig e , and inf lu enc e, there is
v i r t u a l l y no l i m i t to the amount of money an i n s t i t u t i o n
could spend f o r seemingly f r u i t f u l educational ends.
3. Each i n s t i t u t i o n raises a l l the money i t can.
4. Each i n s t i t u t i o n spends a l l i t raises.
5. The cumulative e f f e c t o f the preceding fo u r laws is toward
ever-increasing exp en d itu re .(129)
Using the p r i n c i p l e

of e f f i c i e n c y as

educational planning w i l l be

a d i f f i c u l t task

a necessary pa rt of f u t u r e
f o r many p r iv a te colleges

and public i n s t i t u t i o n s o f higher education but i t is v i t a l l y impor­
ta n t t h a t they do so.

In looking at t h i s process, a Panel on Academic

Economics sees seven impediments to educational e f f i c i e n c y .
1. Large pla nt and equipment investment generally designed
f o r the past ra the r than f o r the f u t u r e .
2. Large numbers of tenured (or semi-tenured) f a c u l t y , s t a f f
and ad mi nis tra tor s.
3. Change . . . is a t best sluggish and fra ugh t with i n te rn a l
stress and s t r a i n .

127Ibid p. 1.
128Ibid p. 3.
^^Howard R. Bowen, The Costs of . . .

pp. 19-20.

63

4. P o l i t i c a l process. Before change can occur many groups
on campus have to review i t .
5. Risk. Outcomes of change are always uncertain and some
are bound to f a i l .
6. D i f f i c u l t y o f assessing outcomes o f changes.
7. Enrollment de cline increases the d i f f i c u l t y of change
since new money is not a v a i la b l e f o r new programs.(130)
The evidence discussed in t h i s chapter indicates t h a t changes
w i l l need to occur in order f o r many colleges to survive, esp ec ia ll y as
high q u a l i t y i n s t i t u t i o n s .
Responding to Economic Problems
As long as enrollment is f a i r l y stable and adequate f i n a n c i a l
resources are a v a i la b le to a college or u n i v e r s i t y , there can be a
lack of sense of urgency f o r careful planning.

As long as revenues

are a v a i la b l e , program and personnel expansion can be undertaken on a
regular basis.

I t is easy to become complacent and neglect to c o l l e c t

and analyze appropriate data in order to a n t i c i p a t e properly what the
f u t u r e may hold f o r the i n s t i t u t i o n .
. . . the good times o f higher education seemed as i f they
would continue f o r e v e r , and ad minis trator s saw no need to plan
f o r retrenchment when t h e i r i n s t i t u t i o n s were enjoying major
gr ow th. (131)
The tendency to allow the program to determine the budget is
based on what had been a rapid growth o f educational programs.
When students were p l e n t i f u l and i n s t i t u t i o n a l revenues u n lim ite d,
such expansion was possible. Accurate forecas ting and trend

1i n

Change Magazine, Colleges and Money, (New York:
Magazine Press, 1976)
1 0*1

Jerome M. Deutsch, "Retrenchment:

C r i s i s . . ."

Change
p. 41.

64

p r o j e c ti o n were neglected in the face of seemingly unlimited
g ro w th .(132)
Often when a c r i s i s h i t s , the ref ore , colleges are not prepared
f o r i t and struggle to f i n d the c o r re c t sol utions q u i c k l y .

Now t h a t

many colleges are facing enrollments which are l e v e li n g o f f or even
de cl ini ng and a t the same time are dealing with increasing costs, i t is
essential th a t c a r e f u l , thorough and innovative planning be undertaken.
How a co l l e g e 's ad m in is tra tion responds w i l l have a major impact on the
i n s t i t u t i o n ' s fu t u r e nature and s u r v iv a l .

Having a good mission and

w ell-d efine d goals are not enough.
A glo rio us mission does not excuse mismanagement. Surely the
f i n e s t of goals is bolstered by an e f f e c t i v e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . (133)
C o n tr ol li ng costs and a l l o c a t i n g a v a i la b l e resources w i l l be a
primary concern f o r many colleges during the next decade.

This w i l l

be p a r t i c u l a r l y true f o r small pr iv a te colleges which have already
been

str ug glin g with cost problems f o r a few years. Are measures

in the past going to

taken

be s u f f i c i e n t f o r the f u t u r e or do new admi nistra­

t i v e management ideas need to be implemented in higher education?
Herbert K. Heger, dean o f the graduate school of Whitworth College,
fe e ls th a t there needs to be major changes made in higher education
management.
Although the cur ren t concern prevalent among educators i s to
f i n d ways to maintain budget s t a b i l i t y through a d i f f i c u l t decade,
i t is probable t h a t they are asking the wrong question.
. . . A f t e r decades of t a l k , mandates, and incentives to change,
education today is structured much as i t was in 1950 or even 1935.
Schools and u n i v e r s i t i e s are one of the few sectors o f society
th a t have not undergone i n d u s t r i a l r e v o l u t i o n . These i n s t i t u t i o n s

132Ibid p. 42.
^33Sol Snaviro, "College Surviv al: For the F i t or the
Fortunate?", Educational Record, Vol. 63, No. 3 (Summer 1982) p. 33.

65

have grown in size but have not changed t h e i r organizational
procedures - t h e i r ways o f doing business and a l l o c a t i n g human
resources.
An i n s t i t u t i o n can d r i f t along with the t i d e of organic
change u n t i l the c o n f l i c t between lack of resources and demand
f o r service threatens i t s s u r v i v a l . At t h a t p o i n t , i t can
i m i ta t e the adaptations of others. Or an i n s t i t u t i o n can
consciously analyze and plan ahead.(134)
As colleges seek to respond to cost and enrollment pressures,
the solutions are not easy to f i n d .

Does a college increase fi n a n c i a l

aid to t r y to a t t r a c t more students or does i t keep aid a t the same
level in order to reduce costs?

Does a college increase personnel in

the admissions and development areas to t r y to increase enrollment and
g i f t income or does i t maintain or cut personnel in order to reduce
costs?

Does a college expand academic programs to a t t r a c t more s t u ­

dents, does i t drop programs to cut costs, or does i t implement a
combination of these two choices?

The d i f f i c u l t y in answering t h i s

l a s t question, f o r example, is seen is Lewis Mayhew's comments in his
book Surviving the E i g h t i e s .
Solving economic problems through program expansion should
be seen f o r exa ctl y what i t is by i n s t i t u t i o n s in serious f i n a n ­
cial d i f f i c u l t y .
I t is a highly dangerous step th a t i n s t i t u t i o n s
take to avoid death or d e t e r i o r a t i o n . For many i n s t i t u t i o n s , i t
is probably the only step th a t can be taken. But taking i t also
increases the l i k e l i h o o d of sudden d e a th .(135)
Edward Dougherty in discussing college retrenchment believes
th at discontinuing some programs is a preferable response.
The advantages of discontinuance are s u b s ta n ti a l : the
increased resources t h a t become a v a ila b le to the remaining pro­
grams and f a c u l t y , the c l a r i f i c a t i o n of i n s t i t u t i o n a l p r i o r i t i e s ,
and the increased f l e x i b i l i t y gained to respond to new demands

^ H e r b e r t K. Heger, "Revolution in the Small Colleges,'
Educational Record, Vol. 63, No. 4 (Fall 1982) p. 18.
1

Lewis B. Mayhew, Surviving the E i g h t i e s , p. 189.

66

from the academic d i s c i p l i n e s and the broader socie ty. The
a l t e r n a t i v e to discontinuance may be prolonged across-the-board
cuts, which can r e s u l t only in the d i s s i p a t i o n o f q u a l i t y because
scarce resources have gone to programs t h a t are of marginal im­
portance to the i n s t i t u t i o n . (136)
Whatever actions are to be taken by colleges in a response to
economic p r e s s u r e s , ' i t i s important t h a t major decisions not be made
out of a sense of panic.

Long-range consequences of immediate actions

need to be c a r e f u l l y considered.

Howard R. Bowen in E f f i c i e n t College

Management, gives several p o l i c i e s he fe e ls are important f o r p r iv a te
colleges to consider when facing fi n a n c i a l c r is e s .
The f i r s t p o l ic y f o r the p r iv a te co ll eg e, in my opinion, is
not to panic.
The second is to make i n t e r e s t i n g plans f o r the intermediate
and long-run f u t u r e , plans of the kind t h a t w i l l a t t r a c t support
and reassure donors.
. . . I can hardly overstress the impor­
tance of sound long-range planning in meeting the immediate
crisis.
Third, we should not be too quick to abandon our t r a d i t i o n a l
mode of finance. The p r iv a te colleges are p r iv a t e because they
have been financed p r i m a r i l y by t u i t i o n s and ph ilanthropy. . . .
P rivate colleges should continue to r e l y heavily on pr iv a te
philanthropy as the only secure way to r e t a i n independence on
terms t h a t w i l l enable them to carry out t h e i r mission.
Fourth, we must of course slow down the ra te o f increase in
expenditures per student.
F i f t h , a t t e n t i o n should be given to improvements in e f f i c i e n c y .
Si xth, some review of endowment p o l i c y may be needed.(137)
In responding to these f i n a n c i a l management concerns, college
ad ministrator s have an opp ortun ity to be c r e a ti v e in t h e i r s o lu tio ns .
Whether or not they w i l l be c r e a ti v e , and whether or not they have the
i n s i g h t and a b i l i t y to f i n d new approaches to educational management
are questions of considerable concern.

^^James R. Mingle and Associates, Challenges o f . . .
1 37

p. 87.

William W. Jellema, e d i t o r , E f f i c i e n t College Management,
(San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1972) pp. 143-146.

67

. . . when faced with conditions o f de c lin e, administrators
de fine these conditions e x c l u s iv e l y as resource a l l o c a t i o n
problems or problems o f e f f i c i e n c y , and they respond conserva­
t i v e l y r a th e r than i n n o v a ti v e l y .
These o r i e n t a t i o n s toward conservation and e f f i c i e n c y may not
be adaptive in the long run f o r colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s . Not
only are they co nt rar y to p r e s c ri p t io n s from organizational theory
f o r responding to de clin e but empirical evidence garnered from
studies o f p r i v a t e - s e c t o r organizations indicates t h a t the exclu­
sive emphasis on conservative, e f f i c i e n c y - o r i e n t e d coping patterns
followed by many colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s leads to i n e f f e c t i v e
performance and even organizational d e a th .(138)
A f t e r reviewing several retrenchment studies, W. L. Boyd
noted t h a t :
There is r e l a t i v e l y l i t t l e innovation being stimulated by
the need to economize.
. . . Educational organizations are
b a s i c a l l y doing less o f the same.(139)

1

Kim Cameron, "S tr a te g ic Responses to Conditions of Decline:
Higher Education and the Pri vat e Sector," The Journal of Higher Educa­
t i o n , Vol 54, No. 4 (July/August 1983) p. 362.
1

W. L. Boyd, "Retrenchment in American Education: The
P o l i t i c s o f E f f i c i e n c y , " paper presented a t the American Educational
Research Association meeting, (San Francisco, 1979) pp. 2-3.

CHAPTER 3
COLLECTION OF DATA
Sources and Use of Higher Education Data
When a.study includes the presentation of data from over a
span o f several years and then an attempt is made to compare t h a t data
among several i n s t i t u t i o n s , questions must be addressed concerning the
r e l i a b i l i t y of the data over time and from college to colleg e.

In

a d d i t io n , a decision must be made as to what type of data w i l l best r e ­
f l e c t what is being measured and evaluated.

H i s to r i c a l trends and com­

pa rative data are used r e g u l a r l y in most areas of human endeavor,
including higher education.

Headlines in publications of higher edu­

cation c o n t i n u a l l y draw one's a t t e n t i o n to trends and comparisons of
enrollment, f a c u l t y s a l a r i e s , a p p l i c a ti o n s , f i n a n c i a l a i d , degrees
awarded, and other areas of concern to colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s .
A recent p u b li c a ti o n on comparative data in higher education
from the National Center f o r Higher Education Management Systems
(NCHEMS) discusses the reasons f o r the extensive use of comparative
d a ta .
F i r s t , and most obviously, more data are a v a ila bl e now than
ever before. The gradual adoption of the view th a t data can
become information useful f o r most planning and management
a c t i v i t i e s , and the now wholesale adoption of computerized
record-keeping systems, have created the abundance. The i n ­
creased re lianc e on data f o r a d m i ni st ra tiv e purposes in colleges
and u n i v e r s i t i e s has been motivated by both int e rn a l and external
factors.
. . . A great plenty of data remains a t hand, much of i t

68

69

adaptable, at l e a s t in p r i n c i p l e , to comparative analysis.
Another reason f o r the s t e a d i l y expanding use o f data in
higher education is the s i g n i f i c a n t advances made in the stand­
a r d i z a t io n of data c o ll ec te d by and from i n s t i t u t i o n s .
. . .
So today's greater amounts of data have been made more uniform,
which means t h a t sound comparative analysis is more a tt a i n a b le
than ever before.
F i n a l l y , the perceived need f o r comparative data has grown
apace with the increase in v i a b i l i t y of the data. To be sure,
t h i s need is perceived d i f f e r e n t l y from various vantage points
in the hig hly diverse higher-education community. However,
some broad trends are enhancing to the u t i l i t y o f comparative
data. The most important are increased systemization and co­
o r d in a ti o n of higher education, more emphasis on performance
measures and a c c o u n t a b i l i t y , greater i n t e r e s t in long-range
and s t r a t e g i c planning, and the increasing awareness of a need
f o r greater management c o n t r o l .(140)
As was indicated in Chapter 1 and emphasized in Chapter 2,
t h i s study is concerned with data t h a t re la te s to enrollment and per
student costs among 16 p r iv a t e l i b e r a l a r t s colleges in Michigan.

It

is believed t h a t these two broad measures of higher education can give
some meaningful i n s i g h t i nt o the co nd iti on of these colleges as a group
and in r e l a t i o n s h i p to one another.

Many large u n i v e r s i t i e s , state

education agencies, and higher education organizations have developed
various methods and models to measure a v a r i e t y o f i n s t i t u t i o n a l costs.
These are often complex and somewhat d i f f i c u l t to use and, the refore ,
seldom used exte nsively by small colleges.

Data is a v a i la b l e f o r most

colleges, however, which can be used to measure basic enrollment and
per student cost trends.

Some sophisticated technicans who work with

complex cost analysis formulas may fee l t h a t simply d i v i d i n g budget
by students i s not adequate enough to understand cost trends.
Yet f o r the small i n s t i t u t i o n , trends in cost per student
may provide as much guidance f o r p o l ic y making as the elaborate

Paul Brinkman and Jack Krakower, Comparative Data f o r
Administrators in Higher Education, (Boulder, Colorado: National Center
f o r Higher Education Management Systems, 1983) pp. 3-4.

70

(and expensive) systems approaches to costing established by some
of the large u n iv e r s itie s and state coordinating agencies.(141)
The NCHEMS p u b lic a tio n on comparative data also addresses the
issue o f the value of i n s t i t u t i o n s using comparative data.
In the absence o f absolute frames o f reference, higher
education has no choice but to r e ly on r e la t iv e standards to some
extent. The s itu a tio n is in some respects analogous to th a t in
the cosmos, where temporal and spacial lo c a tio n can be determined
and expressed only in r e la tio n a l terms. The idea o f a r e l a t i v i t y
p r in c ip le fo r higher education may sound q u a in t, but i t does seem
to r e f l e c t a basic fe a tu re of r e a l i t y in the world of colleges
and u n iv e r s itie s . The behavior o f other i n s t i t u t i o n s , . t h e i r
s tru c tu re , performance, and methods o f opera tion, both present and
past, may c o n s titu te an imperfect and somewhat protean framework
fo r comparisons. But i t is nonetheless a framework w ith in which
useful understanding can be gained about one's own i n s t i t u t i o n .
This c e r ta in ly is not the only kind o f i n s t i t u t i o n a l understanding
th a t is needed or can be obtained, nor necessarily the most im­
portant kind. But f o r c e rta in issues, comparative data can be the
source o f valuable in s ig h ts not otherwise o b ta in a b le .(142)
Ind ivid u a l colleges w i l l d i f f e r considerably in t h e ir account­
ing methods and procedures.

While enrollment d e f in it io n s are now f a i r l y

con sistent among colleg es, there can s t i l l
way enrollment is reported.

be some d iffe ren ces in the

In an attempt to get colleges to re p o rt

comparable data, various higher education organizations have suggested
g u id e lin e s, procedures, and d e f in it io n s f o r colleges to fo llo w .

These

organizations include the National Association of College and U n ive rsity
Business O ffic e r s , the American I n s t i t u t e o f C e r t if ie d Public Account­
ants, and the National Center f o r Higher Education Management Systems.
In a d d itio n , the National Center f o r Education S t a t is t ic s
(NCES) has developed a large ongoing system of data c o lle c tio n from the
e n tire population of American colleges and u n iv e r s it ie s .

This data is

Lyman A. Glenny, Presidents Confront . . . p. 65.
14 ?
p p.

6-7.

Paul Brinkman and Jack Krakower, Comparative Data f o r . , .

71

co lle c te d through various Higher Education General Information Surveys
(HEGIS).

These surveys include d e fin itio n s o f categories used in an

attempt to gather comparable data from one i n s t i t u t i o n to
regardless o f how

another

each in d iv id u a l i n s t i t u t i o n may set up i t s s p e c ific

record-keeping fu n c tio n s .

The HEGIS data is the broadest source o f

comparative data now a v a ila b le .

143

Data Sources f o r th is Study
This study u t i l i z e s data
i

from two HEGIS re p o rts :

"Financial

S t a t i s t i c s o f I n s t it u t i o n s o f Higher Education," and "Fall Enrollment
in I n s t it u t i o n s of Higher Education."

In a d d itio n , some of the data

contained in th is study were obtained d i r e c t l y from the colleges in the
study.

These sources were then used to derive the various enrollm ent,

per student costs, and revenues tables which are presented and d i s ­
cussed in Chapter 4.
In the spring o f 1982, the researcher contacted the National
Center f o r Education S t a t is t ic s (NCES) in Washington, D. C. about
obtaining HEGIS enrollment data.

They responded by sending HEGIS

summary f a l l enrollment tables f o r

the colleges and

Michigan from the f a l l o f 1976 through the f a l l

u n iv e r s itie s in

o f 1981.

In the summer

o f 1982, the researcher obtained a computer p r in to u t o f the HEGIS
fin a n c ia l data f o r Michigan colleges and u n iv e r s itie s fo r the fis c a l
years 1977-78, 1978-79, and 1979-80.

In a d d itio n , copies o f the HEGIS

reports sent in by the 16 colleges

in the study f o r

the 1980-81 f is c a l

year were obtained from NCES.

personnel a t the

NCES o ffic e s were

The

very cooperative and helpful throughout the study.

^43Ibid

p.

31.

72

A ll o f the HEGIS data was then summarized by in d iv id u a l college
f o r the 16 colleges in t h is study.

In the f a l l o f 1982, a copy of the

summarized enrollment data was sent to each college r e g is t r a r f o r v e r i ­
fic a tio n .

They were also asked to supply the enrollment data f o r t h e ir

college f o r the f a l l o f 1982.
v e r if ic a t i o n s .

Ten of the 16 col 1eges-returned the

Copies o f the f a l l 1982 HEGIS enrollment reports were

obtained from NCES f o r those colleges th a t did not re turn the v e r i f i ­
cations.
A copy o f the summarized fin a n c ia l data was sent to each c o l­
lege business o f f i c e r f o r v e r i f i c a t i o n .

They were also asked to supply

the fin a n c ia l data f o r the 1981-82 f is c a l year.

In some cases where

the researcher questioned some o f the data, the colleges were asked to
respond to some s p e c ific questions.
were returned.

Thirteen of the 16 v e r if ic a t io n s

The 1981-82 f i s c a l year fin a n c ia l data was obtained

from NCES f o r the three colleges th a t did not re tu rn t h e ir v e r i f i ­
catio ns.
Since the ra te o f i n f l a t i o n fo r 1982-83 dropped s i g n if ic a n t l y
and since the y e a rly d e c lin e in the number o f high school graduates was
c on tinuin g, the researcher decided to add another ye a r's data to the
study.

In November of 1983, copies of the f a l l 1983 HEGIS enrollment

reports and the f i s c a l year 1982-83 HEGIS fin a n c ia l reports were ob­
tained from NCES.

These reports were a l l a v a ila b le except f o r the

fin a n c ia l re p o rt from one c o lle g e .

The researcher wrote d i r e c t l y to

th a t college to obtain the data.
In reviewing a l l o f the a v a ila b le data from year to year
w ith in each college and among the c olleg es, questions concerning the
consistency of the data arose in one expenditure category -

73

Scholarships and Fellowships.

While the d e f i n i t i o n o f the category was

f a i r l y c le a r, there were diffe re n c e s o f opinion as to what should be
included in th a t category.

The researcher's in te rp r e ta tio n o f the

HEGIS gu ideline s was th a t sta te and federal student fin a n c ia l aid
should not be included.
but some did not.

Most o f the colleges followed th is procedure

This issue became somewhat more confusing when the

HEGIS fin a n c ia l re p o rt forms f o r 1982-83 asked colleges to include the
Pell Grants under the Scholarships and Fellowships category.

In order

to c le a r up any misunderstandings re lated to the data in th is category,
the researcher contacted 10 colleges to v e r if y th a t the category did
not include s ta te or federal fin a n c ia l a id , o r, i f i t d id , to change
the fig u re s to r e f l e c t th is c r i t e r i a .

A fte r repeated contacts, one

college s t i l l would not supply the corrected inform ation.

Therefore,

the researcher did not include th a t college in the costs and revenues
data section o f Chapter 4.
The HEGIS data described previously is
lyzed in Chapter 4.

summarized and ana­

The data was then used to obtain a v a r ie ty of

other measurements includ ing per student costs,

percentage o f expendi­

tures by s p e c ific categories, and percentage th a t s p e c ific revenue
categories were o f to ta l expenditures.
The second p a rt o f th is study was an attempt to discover
what steps were being taken by the colleges to strengthen t h e ir e n r o l l ­
ment, programs, finances, and a d m in is tra tio n during the next few years.
The researcher developed a questionnaire which was designed around the
Carnegie Council recommendations f o r p riv a te higher education as was
discussed in Chapter 1.
Appendix A.

A copy of the questionnaire can be found in

74

Knowing th a t there might be some resistance on the p a rt of
some colleges to respond to the questions, the researcher contacted Dr.
John Lore, President o f the Michigan Colleges Foundation, to discuss
the p r o je c t.

Out o f the 16 colleges in the study, 15 are members of

the Foundation.

He agreed to send a l e t t e r w ith the questionnaire

urging the colleges to cooperate w ith the study.

The questionnaires

were sent to the college presidents along w ith a l e t t e r explaining the
study.

A re tu rn post card was included on.which the name o f the person

who would complete the questionnaire was to be ind ica ted .
A problem did a ris e w ith the responses.

One president objected

to the questionnaire and expressed the ob je c tio n to some other people
outside of his i n s t i t u t i o n .

He wrote to the researcher th a t the ques­

tio n s were " s u f f i c i e n t l y p riv ile g e d th a t the answers are s t i l l

being

worked through the planning processes w ith in our own i n s t i t u t i o n s . "
The researcher responded to th is l e t t e r in d ic a tin g more d e ta ils o f the
study and ensuring the president th a t the inform ation gathered f o r th is
p a rt o f the study would not be id e n t if ie d by in d iv id u a l colleges.
Copies o f the researcher's response to t h is president were sent to a l l
of the presidents of the colleges in the study.

With some f u r th e r

fo llo w -u p , the researcher received questionnaires back from 8 o f the
colleges over a 4 to 5 month time span.
In February o f 1984, the questionnaires were again sent out to
the 8 colleges th a t had not previously responded.

One a d d itio n a l

questionnaire was completed making a t o t a l o f 9 completed question­
naires out of the 16 colleges.
Chapter 5 summarizes the fin d in g s from the questionnaires.

CHAPTER 4

ENROLLMENT, COST, AND REVENUE TRENDS
EnrolIment Trends
The importance o f college enrollment trends and t h e i r e ffe c ts
on p riv a te colleges was discussed a t length in Chapter 2.
can be looked a t in a v a r ie ty o f ways.

Enrollments

This section w i l l present the

enrollment trends over the la s t 7 years fo r the 16 colleges in the study.
Four enrollment measurements w i l l be discussed - to ta l headcount, f u l l ­
time equivalent students, p a rt-tim e students, and f i r s t - t i m e freshmen.
Fall to ta l headcount enrollments
Total headcount enrollments f o r each o f the 16 colleges fo r the
f a l l semester/quarter from 1977 through 1983 are given in Table 1.

From

the f a l l o f 1977 to the f a l l of 1980, the to ta l headcount increased each
year f o r a to t a l increase f o r the 3 years of 2,866 students.

I t then

leveled o f f in 1981, declined in 1982, and increased in 1983 to a level
s l i g h t l y above 1980.

The increase from 1977 to 1980 was 12.1 percent

which represents a healthy enrollment p a tte rn .

Data a v a ila b le f o r the

to ta l enrollment o f a l l Michigan i n s t i t u t i o n s o f higher education as
reported by the HEGIS re ports shows an increase o f 8 percent during th a t
same 3-year period.

144

^ N a t i o n a l Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s , U. S. Department
of Education, (Washington, D. C .). Enrollment re ports o f in s t i t u t i o n s
o f higher education sent d i r e c t l y to the researcher, A p r i l , 1982.
75

76
TABLE 1
FALL TOTAL HEADCOUNT ENROLLMENTS 1977 - 1983

College

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

Adrian
A1bion
Alma
Aquinas

912
1,705
1,170,
1,684

824
1,784
1,172
1,914

945
1,781
1 ,201
2,163

1,116
1 ,860
1,198
2,532

1,142
1,867
1 ,110
2,753

1,222
1.742
1,059
2.743

1 ,192
1,662
1 ,004
2,787

Calvin
Concordia
H ills d a le
Hope

4,075
615
1,048
2,330

3,977
556
1,024
2,371

3,988
552
1,035
2,355

4,058
526
1 ,006
2,463

3,919
550
1 ,043
2,458

3,806
540
1,044
2,530

3,938
525
992
2,519

Kalamazoo
Madonna
Marygrove
Mercy

1 ,534
2,521
811
2,226

1,441
3,011
871
2,271

1 ,438
3,131
958
2,281

1,452
3,213
1,025
2,484

1 ,367
3,385
1,149
2,119

1 ,235
3,506
1,189
2,106

1 ,126
3,924
1 ,237
2,204

538
708
■ 1,070
825

620
672
1,116
845

524
628
1,175
1,048

531
668
1,420
1 ,086

528
637
1,478
1,037

571
561
1 ,404
975

663
615
1,404
1,012

23,772

24,469

25,203

26,638

26,542

26,233

26,804

2.9

3.0

5.7

-0.04

-1.2

2.2

Nazareth
01iv e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor
Totals
Percent Increase
S o u rce :

T a b le c o m p ile d fr o m d a ta p r o v id e d fro m th e N a t io n a l C e n te r f o r
E d u c a tio n S t a t i s t i c s and fro m th e i n d i v i d u a l c o l l e g e s .

77

Since 1980 the colleges in t h is study have, f o r the most p a rt,
been stru g g lin g to maintain enrollment.

Comparing 1983 headcount en­

ro llm ent w ith 1980 headcounts shows th a t 10 colleges dropped in e n r o l l ­
ment and 6 increased.

As w i l l be noted l a t e r , the increases were due

in large pa rt to an increase in p a rt-tim e students.
7 colleges experienced a decrease in enrollment.

From 1982 to 1983,

While there was a

to ta l increase f o r the to t a l group o f 571 students in t h is one year,
73 percent of th a t increase came from one college - Madonna.
In attempting to get a good understanding o f what has occurred
since 1980, i t is helpful to look a t the to t a ls excluding Madonna
College since they experienced such a large increase.

The to t a l f a l l

headcount enrollment fo r the other 15 colleges shows a decline from 1980
to 1983 of 2.3 percent.
While the increase fo r the group from 1977 to 1983 was 12.8
percent, h a lf of the colleges had lower headcount enrollments in 1983
than they did in 1977.

The lowest headcount enrollment during the 7

years was experienced in 1983 f o r 5 of the colleges and in 1982 fo r
3 o f the colleges.
Since Madonna College experienced such a large increase in
headcount enrollment in 1983, the researcher contacted them to fin d
out t h e ir explanation f o r the increase.

They had id e n t i f i e d 4 reasons

th a t had contributed to th is increase:

(1) a good increase in tra n s fe r

students who l i v e w ith in commuting distance from the c o lle g e , (2) i n ­
creased r e c r u itin g a c t i v i t y f o r programs which had re c e n tly started to
grow, (3) a good increase in the number of students en rolled in graduate
programs which were started in the f a l l of 1982, and (4) an increase in
n o n -tra d itio n a l students who were try in g to upgrade t h e i r s k i l l s

78

in various professional areas o f study.

145

From the f a l l o f 1981 to the f a l l o f 1982, the to ta l headcount
f o r the group o f colleges declined 1.2 percent.

According to the

National I n s t i t u t e o f Independent Colleges and U n iv e r s itie s , to ta l
headcount enrollment a t the n a tio n 's p riv a te colleges and u n iv e r s itie s
declined in 1982 f o r the f i r s t time since 1971.

S elective l ib e r a l a rts

colleges declined 1.1 percent w hile less s e le c tiv e lib e r a l a rts c o lleges declined 0.5 percent.

146

For the f a l l o f 1983, to t a l enrollment
147
in the n a tio n 's p riv a te lib e r a l a rts colleges increased 1.2 percent.

This compares w ith a 2.2 percent increase f o r the colleges in th is
study and an increase of 0.7 percent excluding Madonna College's data.
Thus the enrollment trends in Michigan f o r the past two years have
followed national trends.
Fall f u l l - t i m e equivalent enrollments
Table 2 gives the f u l l - t i m e equivalent (FTE) enrollments fo r
the same 7-year period.

The y e a r-to -ye a r changes f o r the group fo llo w

the same trends as the to ta l headcount enrollments.
there was an 8.9 percent increase in FTE.

From 1977 to 1980,

I t then leveled o f f , declined

somewhat in 1982, and increased in 1983 to w ith in 0.5 percent of the
1980 l e v e l .
During the 7 years, however, the FTE enrollment did not i n ­
crease as much as the to t a l headcount.

College.

The FTE increased 8.4 percent

^ 5Edward D. Meyer, Dean, A dm in istrative Services, Madonna
Telephone conversation, March 8, 1984.
^ J a c k M agarrell, "P riva te Colleges Report . . ." p. 8.
^Jack

M a g a rre ll,

" E a r l y Surveys F in d

. . ."p.

18.

79

TABLE 2
FALL FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT ENROLLMENTS 1977 - 1983

College

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

Adrian
A1bion
Alma
Aqui nas

867
1,689
1,166
1,203

755
1,770
1,165
1 ,266

888
1,764
1,188
1,469

1,071
1,842
1 ,193
1,794

1,098
1,852
1,104
1 ,942

1,169
1,724
1 ,058
1,892

1,140
1,648
1 ,001
1 ,956

Calvin
Concordia
H ills d a le
Hope

3,925
603
1,028
2,165

3,833
552
1 ,006
2,201

3,822
538
1,027
2,162

3,906
510
986
2,253

3,771
529
1 ,032
2,272

3,646
517
1 ,033
2,326

3,752
500
980
2,295

Kalamazoo
Madonna
Marygrove
Mercy

1 ,534
1,760
637
1,750

1,441
2,055
669
1,685

1 ,438
2,132
767
1,735

1 ,452
2,199
812
1,758

1 ,367
2,323
870
1,703

1,235
2,420
943
1 ,680

1 ,126
2,656
970
1 ,767

398
692
813
762

422
651
841
790

418
604
888
981

411
644
1 ,055
981

396
618
1,084
919

406
543
996
851

456
594
1 ,018
890

20,992

21,102

21,821

22,867

22,880

22,439

22,749

0.5

3.4

4.8

0.06

-1 .9

1 .4

Nazareth
01iv e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor
Totals
Percent Increase
S o u rc e :

T a b le c o m p ile d fro m d a ta p r o v id e d fro m t h e N a t io n a l C e n te r f o r
E d u c a tio n S t a t i s t i c s and fro m th e i n d i v i d u a l c o l l e g e s .

80

compared to the 12.8 percent increase in headcount.

The FTE enrollment

comprised 88.3 percent o f the 1977 headcount enrollment and dropped to
84.9 percent of the 1983 headcount.

Since p riv a te colleges are hig hly

dependent on t u i t i o n revenues, the r a t i o o f FTE enrollment to to ta l
headcount enrollment is important.
Fall p a rt-tim e enrollments
The fa c t th a t headcount enrollment f o r the 16 colleges i n ­
creased in percentage more than the FTE enrollment is due to a large
increase in p a rt-tim e students during the 7 years.

As colleges n a tio n ­

wide have attempted to increase or maintain enrollments during the past
decade, many have s p e c i f i c a l l y developed programs to appeal to p a rttime students and p a r t i c u l a r l y to the " n o n - t r a d it io n a l" or "older
a d u lt" c li e n t e l e .

As a group the colleges in th is study have been

able to keep t h e ir enrollments a t le v e ls which would have been less i f
i t were not fo r the increases in the p a rt-tim e student enrollm ent.
Some o f the colleges have r e lie d very l i t t l e on p a rt-tim e
students and thus have seen very l i t t l e change in t h is enrollment area
during the 7 years.

Out o f the 16 co lle g e s , 7 have less than 100

p a rt-tim e students enrolled w ith 6 o f these 7 having less than 40
p a rt-tim e students.

As is shown in Table 3, however, as a to t a l group

there was an increase o f 46.1 percent from 1977 to 1983 in the number
o f p a rt-tim e students e n ro lle d .

During th is 7-year pe riod, the to ta l

headcount increased 3,032 students.

Of th a t increase, 2,219 students

were p a rt-tim e which represents 73.2 percent of the increase.

This

c le a r ly shows th a t fo r a t le a s t some o f the colle g e s , p a rt-tim e students
played an important ro le in increasing enrollm ent, maintaining e n r o l l ­
ment, or keeping enrollment declines from being more severe.

81

TABLE 3

FALL PART-TIME ENROLLMENTS 1977 - 1983

Col lege

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

Adrian
A1bion
Alma
Aqui nas

87
28
5
790

121
29
14
922

106
34
25
1,000

88
28
11
945

81
25
12
1,049

92
31
2
1 ,163

99
24
6
1 ,154

Calvin
Concordia
H ills d a le
Hope

274
15
32
253

285
6
28
263

307
19
20
288

274
24
31
330

303
33
21
262

326
34
22
283

360
34
23
326

Kalamazoo
Madonna
Marygrove
Mercy

-

Nazareth
01 iv e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor
Totals

S o u rce :

_

_

_

_

_

1 ,528
271
760

1,881
300
875

1 ,997
352
884

1,986
336
1,081

2,017
411
847

2,065
433
860

2,354
456
934

197
21
441
115

276
28
472
104

163
36
477
159

173
36
627
225

188
28
707
241

263
31
683
252

320
33
656
257

4,817

5,604

5,867

6,195

6,225

6,540

7,036

16.3

4.7

5.6

0.5

5.1

7.6

22.9

23.3

23.3

23.5

24.9

26.2

Percent Increase
Percent o f Total
Headcount

_

20.3

T a b le c o m p ile d fro m d a ta p r o v id e d fro m t h e N a t io n a l C e n te r f o r
E d u c a tio n S t a t i s t i c s and fro m t h e i n d i v i d u a l c o l l e g e s .

82

For the 7 colleges th a t have p a rt-tim e enrollments under 100
and r e ly very l i t t l e on p a rt-tim e students f o r enrollm ent, as a group
t h e ir headcount enrollment declined 7.5 percent over the 7 years.

For

the other 9 colleg es, however, as a group t h e i r to t a l headcount e n r o l l ­
ment increased 22.4 percent.

The c o n tra s t of these two fig u re s helps

to show the s ig n ific a n c e th a t the p a rt-tim e students have been to the
o ve ra ll 7-year enrollment trends.
To fu r th e r i l l u s t r a t e the s ig n ific a n c e o f p a rt-tim e students,
as is indicated in Table 3, p a rt-tim e students made up 20.3 percent
of the headcount enrollment in 1977 and 26.2 percent in 1983.

As was

discussed in Chapter 2, a s h i f t in enrollment patterns to a higher
percentage of p a rt-tim e students can mean planned or unplanned changes
in a c o lle g e 's operational procedures and mission.
The pattern f o r p a rt-tim e student enrollment in these colleges
follo w s national trends f o r the past two years.

From the f a l l o f 1981

to 1982 the p a rt-tim e enrollment in s e le c tiv e and less s e le c tiv e
p riv a te lib e r a l a rts colleges increased 5.7 percent and 5.9 percent
re s p e c tiv e ly .

148

From 1982 to 1983 the increase fo r li b e r a l a rts

colleges n a tio n a lly was 6.2 percent w hile the to t a l headcount in creased only 1.2 percent.

149

Fall f i r s t - t i m e freshmen enrollments
U nfortunately w hile the p a rt-tim e enrollments have been
increasing, another very important area, f i r s t - t i m e freshmen e n r o l l ­
ment, has been d e c lin in g .

Table 4 i l l u s t r a t e s th is enrollment trend

^Jack

M a g a r re ll,

" P r i v a t e C o lle g e s R e p o rt . . . "

^Jack

M a g a r re ll,

" E a r l y S u rve y s F in d

. . ."p.

p. 8.

18.

83

TABLE 4
FALL FIRST-TIME FRESHMEN ENROLLMENTS 1977 - 1983

Col lege

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

Adrian
A1 bion
Alma
Aquinas

256
522
358
192

211
565
346
289

368
506
351
314

416
562
352
403

357
537
354
430

358
476
300
328

297
445
253
292

Calvin
Concordia
H ills d a le
Hope

1 , 20b
208
344
590

1,121
188
255
579

1,082
178
306
594

1,150
148
295
598

1,049
137
341
587

973
133
298
599

1,025
100
247
522

Kalamazoo
Madonna
Marygrove
Mercy

414
274
108
307

390
332
175
295

420
283
148
252

385
368
196
260

360
354
177
230

280
328
141
212

286
472
119
201

Nazareth
01iv e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor

91
246
278
195

92
223
262
238

101
162
303
223

93
205
315
191

76
202
261
189

55
168
253
157

74
195
268
198

5,583

5,561

5,591

5,937

5,641

5,059

4,994

-0.4

0.5

6.2

-5.0

-10.3

-1.3

22.7

22.2

22.3

21.3

19.4

18.6

Totals
Percent Increase
Percent of Total
Headcount
S ou rce :

23.5

T a b le c o m p ile d fro m d a ta p r o v id e d fro m t h e N a t io n a l C e n te r f o r
E d u c a tio n S t a t i s t i c s and fro m t h e i n d i v i d u a l c o l l e g e s .

84

which should be of considerable concern to the colleg es.

For the 16

colleges as a group, the number o f f i r s t - t i m e freshmen f o r the f a l l of
1983 was the lowest of the 7 years included in the study.
from 1977 to 1983 was 10.5 percent.

The decrease

More s i g n if ic a n t , however, is the

fa c t th a t the decrease was 15.9 percent over the l a s t 3-year period.
F ir s t- tim e freshmen made up 23.5 percent o f the t o t a l headcount en­
ro llm ent in 1977 but dropped to 18.6 percent o f the 1983 headcount
enrollment.

Out of the 16 colle g e s, 11 had fewer f i r s t - t i m e freshmen

in 1983 than in 1977 and 13 had fewer f i r s t - t i m e freshmen in 1983 than
they had in 1981.
P rivate lib e r a l a rts colleges have t y p i c a l l y re lie d on f u l l ­
time students f o r most o f t h e ir enrollment.

For the colleges in th is

study, f u l l - t i m e students represented 79.7 and 73.8 percent o f the
to t a l headcount enrollment f o r 1977 and 1983 re s p e c tiv e ly .
make up an important p a rt o f th a t f u l l - t i m e enrollm ent.

Freshmen

In th is study,

f o r example, approximately 94’ percent o f the freshmen enrolled f o r the
f a l l of 1983 were en rolled f u l l - t i m e .

Freshmen have the p o te n tia l of

e n ro llin g f o r 4 years and colleges implement various programs in an
attempt to re ta in as many students as possible from year to year.

A

decline in f i r s t - t i m e freshmen in one year, th e re fo re , can s e rio u s ly
a f f e c t enrollment f o r several years.

As a group, and f o r most i n d i ­

vidual colleges in th is study, the enrollment trends in f i r s t - t i m e
freshmen over the past 7 years give cause f o r very serious concern.
N a tio n a lly , f o r the f a l l o f 1982, 63 percent o f a l l p riv a te
colleges experienced a decline in freshmen from the previous f a l l .

^Jack

M a g a rre ll,

" P r i v a t e C o lle g e s R e p o rt

. . . " p. 8.

150

85

The o v e ra ll decrease f o r p riv a te l i b e r a l a rts colleges was 2.5 per­
cent f o r s e le c tiv e colleges and 5.4 percent f o r less s e le c tiv e c o l­
leges, and a l l p riv a te colleges in the Midwest region o f the country
1
had an average decrease o f 5.6 p e rc e n t.1

For th a t year the colleges

in th is study experienced a decline o f 10.3 percent.

For the f a l l o f

1983 a l l types o f p riv a te colleges in the Midwest had an average
increase o f 2.4 percent f i r s t - t i m e freshmen w hile n a tio n a lly the p r i vate li b e r a l a r ts colleges had a s l i g h t increase o f 0.5 percent.

152

As a group the colleges in th is study had an average decrease o f 1.3
percent.

Thus f o r the l a s t two years, the Michigan colleges in th is

study experienced greater losses in f i r s t - t i m e freshmen than did
p riv a te colleges n a tio n a lly .
Cost Trends
Along w ith a concern f o r enrollment s t a b i l iz a t i o n , colleges
have been very concerned about operational cost trends over the past
several years.

As concerns f o r enrollments increase, colleges are

looking f o r ways to keep cost increases minimal.
ways to look a t college costs.

There are are various

Chapter 3 explained the bases on which

the tables in t h is section were determined.

This section w i l l present

cost trends over a 6-year period f o r 15 colleges in the study.
Total d ir e c t educational costs
The to t a l d ir e c t educational costs f o r the 15 colleges f o r the
1977/78 through the 1982/83 f i s c a l years are given in Table 5.

151 I b i d . p. 8.
1 52

Jack M a g a rre ll, "E arly Surveys Find . . . " p .

18.

The:

86

TABLE 5
CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES - TOTAL DIRECT EDUCATIONAL COSTS
1 97 7 /7 8 - 1 9 8 2 /8 3 *

College
Adrian
A1bion
Alma

77/78

78/79

79/80

80/81

81/82

82/83 77/78-82/83
% Increase

$ 4,342 $ 4,714 $ 5,719 $ 7,096 $ 8,051 $ 8,351
7,069
7,892
9,082 10,364 11,353 12,315
7,648
8,863
9,770
5,320
5,994
6,758

92%
74
84

Aquinas
Calvi n
Concordia

4,292
11,599
1,782

4,903
12,191
1,989

5,963
14,120
2,317

7,058
15,691
2,506

8,374
17,324
2,791

9,009
19,591
2,801

no

H ills d a le
Hope
Kalamazoo

4,951
7,822
7,583

5,375
8,987
7,615

6,211
9,955
6,936

7,222
11,752
9,013

7,882
13,570
9,890

8,777
14,860
10,472

77
90
38

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

2,757
4,599
1 ,654

3,656
4,976
1,710

4,154
5,991
1 ,832

4,920
6,646
2,189

5,216
6,682
2,551

5,840
7,481
2,770

2,768
Siena Heights 2,800
Spring Arbor 3,218

2,944
2,984
3,430

3,081
3,356
4,195

3,904
4,375
4,772

4,005
4,791
5,100

3,835
4,846
5,251

39
73
63

89,670 105,156 116,443 125,969

74

01iv e t

Totals
Percent
Increase

72,556

79,360
9.4

13.0

17.3

10.7

69
57

-

112
63
67

8.2

* In thousands o f d o lla rs
S o u rc e :

T a b le c o m p ile d fro m d a ta p r o v id e d fro m t h e N a t io n a l C e n te r f o r
E d u c a tio n S t a t i s t i c s and fro m t h e i n d i v i d u a l c o l l e g e s .

87

y e a rly to ta l fig u re s include expenditures f o r the 6 expenditure
categories o f i n s t r u c t io n , academic support, student services, i n ­
s t i t u t io n a l support, p la n t operation and maintenance, and scholar­
ships and fe llo w s h ip s .

Each of these 6 areas w i l l be discussed in

more d e ta il l a t e r in t h i s section.
The to t a l spent f o r d ir e c t educational costs by the 15 c o l­
leges increased by 74 percent over the 6 years going from 72.5 m i llio n
d o lla rs to 126 m i l l i o n d o lla r s .

While the data in th is tab le provides

useful info rm a tio n , these fig u re s in and o f themselves cannot be used
to e x tra c t any meaningful conclusions or to make any appropriate
comparisons.

Along w ith costs, one must also look a t enrollments

since large enrollment increases w i l l u s u a lly r e s u lt in more costs.
Madonna and Aquinas Colleges, f o r example, show the la rg e s t percentage
increases in costs which increased 112 and 110 percent re s p e c tiv e ly .
The enrollment data in the previous section o f th is chapter also shows
th a t these two colleges had the la rg e s t increases in to t a l enrollments
which helps to explain the cost increases.

Therefore, t h is table of

to ta l d ir e c t educational costs becomes meaningful only as i t is used
in the re s t o f th is chapter along w ith enrollment data and s p e c ific
cost categories data.
Per student costs
By taking the to t a l d ir e c t educational costs f o r a fis c a l
year and d iv id in g by the f a l l f u l l - t i m e equivalent enrollment fo r
th a t year, a per student cost fig u r e can be determined.

This per

student cost data provides much more meaningful inform ation about costs
f o r the colleges as a group and in comparison w ith each other.

88

Tables 6 and 7 give data re la ted to per student costs.

Table

6 shows per student cost fig u re s f o r each college over the 6 years of
the study while Table 7 shows what those costs meant in terms of the
percentage o f increase in per student costs from year to year.
The range o f per student costs among the colleges is q u ite
large.

In 1977/78 the d iffe re n c e between the lowest per student cost

and the highest was $3,442.
$6,821.

By the 1982/83 year th a t d iffe re n c e was

As was noted e a r l i e r in th is study, the researcher is not

intending to determine th a t one fig u r e is too low or th a t another too
high.

Rather the study is intending to show how d i f f e r e n t operational

procedures, missions, and general nature of a college can r e s u lt in
s i g n i f i c a n t l y d i f f e r e n t costs.
Howard Bowen in his national study o f higher education costs
found s im ila r diffe re n c e s in per student costs from college to college.
While the source o f his

data was somewhat d i f f e r e n t than th is study,

he found a range o f per student costs in 65 p riv a te l ib e r a l
leges from a minimum of
f i s c a l year.

153

a rts c o l­

$824 to a maximum o f $6,492 f o r the 1976/77

While educational outcomes are often d i f f i c u l t to

measure, the diffe re n c e s in per student costs among colleges do ra is e
questions about q u a lity and outcomes.

In another study conducted by

Bowen and Douglass, they concluded th a t substantial cost differences
among colleges do not necessarily r e s u lt in s ig n if ic a n t differences
in educational outcomes.

154

The s ig in ifa n c e of these cost d i f f e r ­

ences w i l l be discussed f u r th e r in Chapter 6.

153

Howard R. Bowen, The Costs of . . .

1541bid pp. 118-119.

p. 117.

89

TABLE 6
PER STUDENT COSTS - 1977/78 - 1982/83 *

82/83 77/78-82/83
$ Increase

Col lege

77/78

78/79

79/80

80/81

81/82

Adrian
A1bion
Alma

$5,008
4,185
4,563

$6,244
4,459
5,145

$6,440
5,149
5,689

$6,626
5,626
6,411

$7,332
6,130
8,028

$7,144
7,143
9,234

$2,136
2,958
4,671

Aquinas
Calvi n
Concordia

3,568
2.955
2.955

3,873
3,181
3,603

4,059
3,694
4,307

3,934
4,017
4,914

4,312
4,594
5,276

4,762
5,373
5,418

1,194
2,418
2,463

H ills d a le
Hope
Kalamazoo

4,816
3,613
4,943

5,343
4,083
5,285

6,048
4,605
4,823

7,325
5,216
6,207

7,638
5,973
7,235

8,497
6,389
8,479

3,681
2,776
3,536

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

1,566
2,628
4,156

1,779
2,953
4,052

1,948
3,453
4,383

2,237
3,780
5,326

2,245
3,924
6,442

2,413
4,453
6,823

847
1,825
2,667

O liv e t
4,000
Siena Heights 3,444
Spring Arbor 4,223

4,522
3,548
4,342

5,101
3,779
4,276

6,062
4,147
4,864

6,481
4,420
5,550

7,063
4,865
6,170

3,063
1,421
1 ,947

Average

3,884

4,259

4,768

5,290

5,860

2,295

3,565

*Obtained by d iv id in g the f i s c a l year to ta l d i r e c t educational costs by
the f a l l f u l l - t i m e equivalent enrollment (see Tables 2 and 5).

90

TABLE 7

PER STUDENT COSTS - PERCENTAGE INCREASE OVER PREVIOUS YEAR
1977/78 - 1982/83

College

78/79

79/80

80/81

81/82

82/83

77/78-82/83
o/o i ncrease

Adrian
A1bion
Alma

24.7%
6.5
12.8

3.1%
15.5
10.6

2.9%
9.3
12.7

10.7%
9.0
25.2

-2.6%
16.5
15.0

Aqui nas
Calvin
Concordia

8.5
7.6
21 .9

4.8
16.1
19.5

-3.1
8.7
14.1

9.6
14.4
7.4

10.4
17.0
2.7

33.5
81.8
83.4

H ills d a le
Hope
Kalamazoo

10.9
13.0
6.9

13.2
12.8
-8.7

21 .1
13.3
28.7

4.3
14.5
16.6

11.2
7.0
17.2

76.4
76.8
71.5

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

13.6
12.4
-2.5

9.5
16.9
8.2

14.8
9.5
21.5

0.4
3.8
21 .0

7.5
13.5
5.9

54.1
69.4
64.2

01iv e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor

13.1
3.0
2.8

12.8
6.5
-1.5

18.8
9.7
13.8

6.9
6.6
14.1

9.0
10.1
11.2

76.6
41 .3
46.1

8.9

9.7

12.0

10.9

10.8

64.4

10.9

14.3

9.6

7.1

2.6

64.0

Average
U. S. Consumer
Price Index
Increase*

42.7%
70.7
102.4

*From U. S. Department o f Labor, Bureau o f Labor S t a t i s t i c s . Figure
ind ica tes i n f l a t i o n increase during th a t academic year (June 30 to
June 30).

91

While the diffe re n ce s in per student costs from college to
college cover a wide range, Table 7 also shows th a t the percentage
of per student cost increases over the 6 years varies w ith in a wide
range.

The percentage increase varied from a low o f 33.5 percent to

a high o f 102.4 percent.

For the 'co lle g e s as a group the y e a rly

percentage increase flu c tu a te d only w ith in a 3 percent range w ith a
to ta l percentage increase over the 6 years o f 64.4 percent.

This

increase f o r the group was almost exactly the same as the increase in
the national i n f l a t i o n ra te during those 6 years.

A concern a ris e s ,

however, when one looks a t the la s t 3 years o f the study.

In each

of those 3 years the percentage cost increase was la rg e r than the
i n f l a t i o n ra te w ith the la s t y e a r's percentage increase higher than
the i n f l a t i o n ra te by 8.2 percent.

This seems to v e r if y the discus­

sion on costs in Chapter 2 which indicated th a t the percentage increase
in college costs w i l l be higher than the i n f l a t i o n ra te during the
next few years i f the i n f l a t i o n ra te remains low.
In s tru c tio n a l costs
To get a b e tte r idea of how the to ta l college expenditures
are spent, the remainder o f t h is section of the chapter w i l l present
data f o r the six major expenditure categories.
makes up the la rg e s t expenditure is in s tr u c tio n .

The category which
Tables 8 and 9 give

data re la te d to th is category.
While there is a large range in the amount o f increase in
d o lla rs spent f o r in s tr u c tio n among the colleg es, as a group the
percentage increase in expenditures f o r in s tr u c tio n over the 6 years
was almost id e n tic a l to the percentage increase in per student costs.

TABLE 8
CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES - INSTRUCTION
1 9 7 7 /7 8 - 1 9 8 2 /8 3 *

Col lege
Adrian
A1bion
Alma

77/78

78/79

79/80

80/81

81/82

82/83

$ 1,486 $ 1,615 $ 1,884 $ 2,160 $ 2,609 $ 2,648
4,772
2,645
2,904
3,266
3,660
4,132
1,892
2,363
3,133
2,951
2,129
2,666

77/78-82/83
%Increase

78%
80
66

Aqui nas
Calvin
Concordia

1,894
6,226
704

2,073
6,242
863

2,544
6,934
1,001

3,120
7,700
1 ,047

3,750
8,715
1 ,182

4,159
9,257
1 ,212

120
49
72

H ills d a le
Hope
Kalamazoo

1,352
3,377
3,508

1 ,545
3,755
3,607

1 ,717
4,069
3,340

2,037
4,777
4,083

2,263
5,282
4,439

2,338
5,732
4,513

73
70
29

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

1 ,348
2,232
699

1,762
2,410
723

2,194
2,930
799

2,455
3,237
888

2,505
3,401
1,128

2,850
3,673
1 ,206

65
' 73

01iv e t
1,022
Siena Heights 1,090
Spring Arbor 1,058

1 ,021
1 ,210
893

1 ,000
1,379
1,157

1 ,125
1,688
1,293

1 ,217
1,938
1,311

1,258
2,001
1,414

23
84
34

30,533

32,752

36,577

41,936

46,823

50,166

64

7.3

11.7

14.7

11.7

7.1

Totals
Percent
Increase

in

* In thousands of d o lla rs
S o u rc e :

T a b le c o m p ile d fro m d a t a p r o v id e d fro m t h e N a t io n a l C e n te r f o r
E d u c a tio n S t a t i s t i c s and fro m t h e i n d i v i d u a l c o l l e g e s .

93

TABLE 9
PERCENT INSTRUCTION OF CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES
1 9 7 7 /7 8 - 1 9 8 2 /8 3 *

College

77/78

78/79

79/80

80/81

81/82

82/83

Adrian
A1 bion
Alma

34.2%
37.4
35.6

34.3%
36.8
35.5

32.9%
36.0
35.0

30.4%
35.3
34.9

32.4%
36.4
33.3

31 .7%
38.7
32.1

Aqu i na s
Calvin
Concordia

44.1
53.7
39.5

42.3
51 .2
43.4

42.7
49.1
43.2

44.2
49.1
41 .8

44.8
50.3
42.4

46.2
47.3
43.3

H ills d a le
Hope
Kalamazoo

27.3
43.2
46.3

28.7
41 .8
47.4

27.6
40.9
48.2

28.2
40.6
45.3

28.7
38.9
44.9

26.6
38.6
43.1

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

48.9
48.5
42.3

48.2
48.4
42.3

52.8
48.9
43.6

49.9
48.7
40.6

48.0
50.9
44.2

48.8
49.1
43.5

01 iv e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor

36.9
38.9
32.9

34.7
40.5
26.0

32.5
41 .1
27.6

28.8
38.6
27.1

30.4
40.5
25.7

32.8
41 .3
26.9

Average

42.1

41.3

40.8

39.9

40.2

39.8

*Obtained by d iv id in g the c u rre n t funds expenditures - in s tr u c tio n
(Table 8) by the to t a l d i r e c t educational costs (Table 5).

94

As Table 9 in d ic a te s , however, the percentage th a t in s tr u c tio n a l
expenditures were o f the to ta l expenditures dropped from 42.1 percent
to 39.8 percent f o r the colleges as a group.

While in s tr u c tio n a l

expenditures should c e r t a in ly be a major p r i o r i t y f o r a c o lle g e ,
enrollment declines or le v e lin g o f f and cost increases may r e s u lt in
college budgets s h i f t i n g somewhat to areas such as i n s t i t u t i o n a l
support, p la n t o p era tions, and scholarships.
While the average college budget shows an expenditure o f
around 40 percent on in s t r u c t io n , the range goes from 26.6 percent to
close to 50 percent o f the to t a l budget.

Again w hile there are many

reasons f o r these d iffe re n c e s , colleges should continue to look
c lo s e ly a t th is expenditure area as a p r i o r i t y area f o r carrying out
the primary fu n c tio n o f an educational i n s t i t u t i o n .
Academic support
Academic support includes expenditures f o r the necessary
support services th a t are an important p a rt o f a c o lle g e 's primary
mission of in s tr u c tio n .

This area includes funds which are spent fo r

l i b r a r i e s , academic a d m in is tra tio n , course and curriculum development,
personnel development, au dio/visual service s, academic computing ser­
v ic e s , a n c illa r y support, museums, and g a lle r ie s .

Tables 10 and 11

give the to t a l expenditures f o r th is budget area as well as the per­
centage increase in expenditures from year to year.
The to t a l percentage increase during the 6 years of the study
f o r the colleges as a group was somewhat higher than the per student
cost increase in d ic a tin g th a t th is budget area received some increased
emphasis from a t le a s t some o f the colleg es.

The change from college

95

TABLE 10
CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES - ACADEMIC SUPPORT
1 97 7 /7 8 - 1 9 8 2 /8 3 *

College

77/78

Adrian
A1 bion
Alma

$

234
475
476

78/79
$

233
545
558

79/80
$

303
617
642

80/81
$

384
689
727

81/82
$

82/83

383 $
783
870

376
825
919

77/78-82/83
% Increase
61%
74
93
24'
80
67

Aquinas
Calvin
Concordia

485
602
98

313
697
105

403
847
134

473
763
142

576
888
167

602
1 ,083
164

H ills d a le
Hope
Kalamazoo

390
898
505

460
915
537

522
1 ,069
451

556
1,248
665

656
1 ,417
709

736
1,792
786

89
100
56

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

164
708
224

188
713
185

230
775
310

356
847
388

475
886
428

523
951
462

219
34
106

01iv e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor

131
295
216

139
241
346

170
199
356

153
334
589

197
209
590

281
227
682

115
-23
216

5,901

6,175

7,028

8,314

9,234

10,409

76

4.6

13.8

18.3

11.1

Totals
Percent
Increase

12.7

* In thousands o f d o lla r s ; includes l i b r a r y expenditures
S o u rce :

T a b le c o m p ile d fro m d a ta p r o v id e d fro m t h e N a t io n a l C e n te r f o r
E d u c a tio n S t a t i s t i c s and fro m t h e i n d i v i d u a l c o l l e g e s .

96

TABLE 11
PERCENT ACADEMIC SUPPORT OF CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES
1 97 7 /7 8 - 1 9 8 2 /8 3 *

College
Adrian
A1 bion
Alma

77/78
5.4%
6.7
8.9

78/79
4.9%
6.9
9.3

79/80

80/81

81/82

82/83

5.3%
6.8
9.5

5.4%
6.6
9.5

4.8%
6.9
9.8

4.5%
6.7
9.4

Aquinas
Calvin
Concordia

11.3
5.2
5.5

6.4
' 5.7
5.3

6.8
6.0
5.8

6.7
4.9
5.7

6.9
5.1
6.0

6.7
5.5
5.9

Hi 11sdale
Hope
Kalamazoo

7.9
11.5
6.7

8.6
10.2
7.1

8.4
10.7
6.5

7.7
10.6
7.4

8.3
10.4
7.2

8.4
12.1
7.5

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

5.9
15.4
13.5

5.1
14.3
10.8

5.5
12.9
16.9

7.2
12.7
17.7

9.1
13.3
16.8

9.0
12.7
16.7

01iv e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor

4.7
10.5
6.7

4.7
8.1
10.1

5.5
5.9
8.5

3.9
7.6
12.3

4.9
4.4
11 .6

7.3
4.7
13.0

8.1

7.8

7.8

7.9

7.9

8.3

Average

*Obtained by d iv id in g the c u rre n t expenditures - academic support
(Table 10) by the to t a l d i r e c t educational costs (Table 5).

97

to college shows a very wide range going from one college which
decreased expenditures to two colleges which had an increase of over
200 percent.
Table 11 gives a more meaningful pi c tu re of t h i s budget area.
As a percentage of t o t a l expenditures, funds spent on academic support
f o r the colleges as a group remained very consistent during the 6 years
varying w i t h i n only a 0.5 percent range.

In comparing the 1977/78 to

the 1982/83 f i s c a l year, 10 colleges increased the percentage spent on
academic support while 4 colleges decreased the percentage of expendi­
tures in t h i s area.

Looking at the in d iv id ua l college percentages f o r

the 1982/83 f i s c a l year shows a range from 4.5 percent to 16.7 percent.
The percentage of t o t a l budget spent on academic support f o r the c o l ­
leges as a group is the lowest of the six expenditure categories.
Student services
The student services budget area includes expenditures f o r
admissions, r e g i s t r a r , and student development.

Student development

includes those a c t i v i t i e s which co n tri bu te to the students' c u l t u r a l ,
s o c i a l , and i n t e l l e c t u a l development (outside of formal i n s t r u c t i o n ) ,
and to students' emotional and physical w ell-b eing.

Some s p e c i fi c

examples would be counseling services, career guidance, fi n a n c i a l aid
a d m in is tr a ti o n , and health services (unless operated as a s e l f - s u p p o r t ­
ing a u x i l i a r y se rv ice ).

Tables 12 and 13 give the data f o r t h i s

budget area.
As is noted in Table 12, the percentage increase in to t a l
d o l l a r s spent on students services f o r the colleges as a group over the
6 years was 110 percent.

This compares to the increase in per student

98

TABLE 12
CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES - STUDENT SERVICES
1 97 7 /7 8 - 1 9 8 2 /8 3 *

77/78

College
Adrian
A1bion
Alma

$

635
660
282

78/79
$

758
762
779

79/80
$

80/81

81/82

82/83

77/78-82/83
% Increase

924 $ 1,137 $ 1,242 $ 1,171
938
1,094
1 ,266
1 ,413
867
999
1 ,240
1,315

84%
114
366

Aqui nas
Calvin
Concordia

353
490
136

379
563
175

481
677
200

562
788
202

733
1 ,192
290

780
1 ,289
337

121
163
148

Hillsdale
Hope
Kalamazoo

778
678
861

840
748
820

979
793
803

1,053
1 ,015
1,039

1 ,287
1 ,702
1 ,135

1,254
1 ,884
1,166

61
178
35

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

230
218
180

346
230
220

290
237
120

407
273
147

525
311
147

584
349
170

154
60
-6

01 i v e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor

262
368
363

265
421
476

323
488
521

321
588
625

421
677
695

427
814
685

63
121
89

6,494

7,782

8,641

10,250

12,863

13,638

110

19.8

11.0

18.6

25.5

6.0

Totals
Percent
Increase

* I n thousands o f d o l la r s
S o u rc e :

T a b le c o m p ile d fro m d a ta p r o v id e d fro m t h e N a t io n a l C e n te r f o r
E d u c a tio n S t a t i s t i c s and fro m t h e i n d i v i d u a l c o l l e g e s .

99

TABLE 13
PERCENT STUDENT SERVICES OF CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES
1 977/78 - 1 9 8 2 /8 3 *

College

77/78

78/79

79/80

80/81

14.6%
9.3
5.3

16.1%
9.7
13.0

16.2%
10.3
12.8

16.0%
10.6
13.1

Aquinas
Calvin
Concordia

8.2
4.2
7.6

7.7
4.6
8.8

8.1
4.8
8.6

Hillsdale
Hope
Kalamazoo

15.7
8.7
11.4

15.6
8.3
10.8

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

8.3
4.7
10.9

01 i v e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor

9.5
13.1
11.3
9.0

Adrian
A1bion
Alma

Average

.

81/82

82/83

15.4%
11.2
14.0

14.0%
11.5
13.5

8.0
5.0
8.1

8.8
6.9
10.4

8.7
6.6
12.0

15.8
8.0
11.6

14.6
8.6
11.5

16.3
12.5
11.5

14.3
12.7
11.1

7.0
4.0
6.6

8.3
4.1
6.7

10.1
4.7
5.8

10.0
4.7
6.1

9.0
14.1
13.9

10.5
14.5
12.4

8.2
13.4
13.1

10.5
14.1
13.6

11 .1
16.8
13.0

9.8

9.6

9.7

11.0

10.8

9.5
4.6
12.9

■

* O b t a in e d by d i v i d i n g t h e c u r r e n t fu n d s e x p e n d i t u r e s - s t u d e n t s e r v i c e s
( T a b le 12) by t h e t o t a l d i r e c t e d u c a t i o n a l c o s t s (T a b le 5 ) .

100

costs of 64.4 percent.

The 110 percent increase is the la rg e s t

increase of any of the 6 expenditure categories.

As was noted in

the previous two categories, the range of increases from college to
college varied widely.
Table 13 shows more c l e a r l y the r e s u l ts of t h i s 110 percent
d o l l a r increase f o r the colleges as a group.

As a percentage o f t o t a l

expenditures t h i s budget area increased from 9.0 percent in 1977/78 to
10.8 percent in 1982/83.

This is the la rg e s t percentage increase of

the 6 expenditure categories.

In comparing in d iv id ua l col leges, 10

colleges have increased the percentage of to t a l budget spent on student
services and 4 have decreased.

The range f o r the in d iv id u a l colleges

was from 4.7 percent to 16.8 percent f o r the 1982/83 f i s c a l year.
Since the s t a t i s t i c a l
include

reports used f o r t h i s study did not

a more s p e c i f i c budget breakdown w i th i n the 6 major categories,

the precise reason f o r the increase in t h i s area is not known.

The

researcher, however, would speculate th a t i t is probably due in pa rt
to increased expenditures in the area of admissions since, as e n r o l l ­
ments decline or level o f f , colleges need to increase t h e i r admissions
e fforts.
I n s t i t u t i o n a l support
Tables 14 and 15 show the expenditures and percentage of t o t a l
budget spent f o r i n s t i t u t i o n a l

support.

I n s t i t u t i o n a l support is the

budget category on which the colleges spend the next to highest amount
o f money.

This budget category includes the day-to-day operational

support of the i n s t i t u t i o n , not including expenditures f o r physical
plant operations.

Included in t h i s category are the areas of general

101
TABLE 14
CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES - INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT
1 97 7 /7 8 - 1 9 8 2 /8 3 *

College
Adrian
A1bion
Alma

77/78
$

78/79

79/80

80/81

81/82

82/83 77/78-82/83
7o Increase

780 $
840 $ 1 ,048 $ 1,308 $ 1,347 $ 1,446
1 ,844
1,990
2,230
1,479
1,642
2,209
1 ,223
1,473
1,407
1,088
1,689
2,029

85%
51
44

Aqui nas
Calvin
Concordia

629
1,339
388

1,090
1 ,450
393

1,259
1,869
446

1,307
2,271
517

1 ,610
2,297
505

1,762
2,565
436

180
92
12

Hillsdale
Hope
Kalamazoo

1,030
1 ,054
1 ,111

1 ,075
1 ,190
1,042

1 ,364
1 ,515
863

1,607
1 ,727
1,084

1 ,501
1,672
1 ,333

1,694
1,847
1,496

64
75
35

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

547
706
254

841
866
266

873
1 ,170
274

1,045
1,372
311

1,206
1 ,054
346

1 ,366
1 ,190
372

150
69
46

01i v e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor

514
588
749

521
634
800

548
724
1,193

849
1,007
908

828
987
1 ,028

778
1 ,065
929

51
81
24

12,575

13,738

16,213

18,776

19,612

21,205

69

9.2

18.0

15.8

4.5

8.1

Totals
Percent
Increase

* I n thousands of d o l l a r s
S o u rce :

T a b le c o m p ile d fr o m d a ta p r o v id e d fr o m t h e N a t io n a l C e n te r f o r
E d u c a tio n S t a t i s t i c s and fro m t h e i n d i v i d u a l c o l l e g e s .

102

TABLE 15
PERCENT INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT OF CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES
1977/78 - 1982/83*

College

77/78

78/79

79/80

80/81

81/82

82/83

Adrian
A1bion
Alma

18.0%
20.9
26.4

17.8%
20.8
18.2

18.3%
20.3
18.1

18.4%
19.2
19.3

16.7%
19.5
19.1

17.3%
18.1
20.8

Aquinas
Calvin
Concordia

14.7
11.5
21 .8

22.2
11.9
19.8

21.1
13.2
19.2

18.5
14.5
20.6

19.2
13.3
18.1

19.6
13.1
15.6

H illsdale
Hope
Kalamazoo

20.8
13.5
14.7

20.0
13.2
13.7

22.0
15.2
12.4

22.3
14.7
12.0

19.0
12.3
13.5

19.3
12.4
14.3

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

19.8
15.4
15.4

23.0
17.4
15.6

21 .0
19.5
15.0

21.2
20.6
14.2

23.1
15.8
13.6

23.4
15.9
13.4

01 i v e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor

18.6
21 .0
23.3

17.7
21 .2
23.3

17.8
21 .6
28.4

21 .7
23.0
19.0

20.7
20.6
20.2

20.3
22.0
17.7

Average

17.3

17.3

18.1

17.9

16.8

16.8

* 0 b t a i n e d by d i v i d i n g t h e c u r r e n t fu n d s e x p e n d i t u r e s - i n s t i t u t i o n a l
s u p p o r t ( T a b le 14) by t h e t o t a l d i r e c t e d u c a t i o n a l c o s t s ( T a b le 5 ) .

.

103

a d m i ni st ra tiv e services, executive d i r e c t i o n and planning, f i s c a l
operations, legal operations, public r e l a t i o n s , and fundr ai si ng.
The 69 percent increase from the 1977/78 to the 1982/83
f i s c a l year f o r the colleges as a group was close to the increase in
per student costs f o r the 6 years.

Looking a t the in d iv id u a l colleges,

the smallest percentage increase over the 6 years was 12 percent while
the la rg e s t increase was 180 percent.
Table 15 shows t h a t the expenditures f o r i n s t i t u t i o n a l support
f o r the colleges as a group fl uc tu at e d only s l i g h t l y when viewed as a
percentage of t o t a l expenditures.

For the l a s t two years o f the study

the colleges spent 0.5 percent less than they did f o r the f i r s t two
years.

The lowest percentage spent on i n s t i t u t i o n a l support by one

college was 12.4 percent f o r the 1982/83 f i s c a l year while the highest
percentage was 23.4.
Plant operation and maintenance
Tables 16 and 17 give data f o r the expenditures f o r plant
operation and maintenance.

This includes a l l expenditures f o r opera­

tion s established to provide service and maintenance related to campus
grounds and f a c i l i t i e s used f o r educational and general purposes.

As

w i l l be noted in more d e t a i l in Chapter 5, costs rela ted to plant
operation and maintenance have been one of the most pressing issues f o r
college ad minis trator s.

Over the past several years colleges have

taken many s p e c i f i c measures to reduce costs in t h i s budget category.
They view t h i s budget area with major concern as they a n t i c i p a t e cost
increases during the next few years.

Several colleges indicated th a t

t h i s was one of the more s i g n i f i c a n t cost increase areas during the

104

TABLE 16
CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES - PLANT OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
197 7 /7 8 - 1 9 8 2 /8 3 *

College

77/78

Adrian
A1 bion
Alma

$

78/79

79/80

80/81

81/82

82/83

717 $
749 $
927 $
999 $ 1,033 $ 1,031
896
1,033
1,132
1 ,380
1,406
1,639
779
1,138
885
1,070
1,068
1,162

77/78-82/83
%Increase
44%
83
46

Aquinas
Calvin
Concordia

418
1,035
286

499
1,163
404

691
1,449
473

834
1,622
548

883
1,872
557

859
2,088
464

106
102
62

Hillsdale
Hope
Kalamazoo

662
1,051
917

675
1 ,553
899

764
1,668
700

941
2,116
1 ,050

918
2,617
1,089

1 ,164
2,388
1 ,116

76
127
22

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

304
658
213

358
693
205

382
791
225

483
826
253

462
925
284

484
931
261

59
41
23

01i v e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor

465
274
515

510
322
566

554
400
557

579
521
629

672
730
664

843
474
632

81
73
23

9,190

10,514

11,783

13,849

15,274

15,512

69

14.4

12.1

17.5

10.3

1 .6

Totals
Percent
Increase

* I n thousands o f d o lla r s
S o u rce :

T a b le c o m p ile d fr o m d a ta p r o v id e d fro m t h e N a t io n a l C e n te r f o r
E d u c a tio n S t a t i s t i c s and fro m t h e i n d i v i d u a l c o l l e g e s .

105

TABLE 17
PERCENT PLANT OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES
1 97 7 /7 8 - 1 9 8 2 /8 3 *

College

77/78

78/79

79/80

80/81

81/82

82/83

Adrian
A1bion
Alma

16.5%
12.7
14.6

15.9%
13.1
14.8

16.2%
12.5
15.8

14.1%
13.3
14.0

12.8%
12.4
13.1

12.3%
13.3
11.6

Aquinas
Calvin
Concordia

9.7
8.9
16.0

10.2
9.5
20.3

11.6
10.3
20.4

11 .8
10.3
21 .9

10.5
10.8
20.0

9.5
10.7
16.6

Hillsdale
Hope
Kalamazoo

13.4
13.4
12.1

12.6
17.3
11 .8

12.3
16.8
10.1

13.0
18.0
11.6

11.6
19.3
11.0

13.3
16.1
10.7

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

11.0
14.3
12.9

9.8
13.9
12.0

9.2
• 13.2
12.3

9.8
12.4
11 .6

8.9
13.8
11 .1

8.3
12.4
9.4

01i v e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor

16.8
9.8
16.0

17.3
10.8
16.5

18.0
11.9
13.3

14.8
11 .9
13.2

16.8
15.2
13.0

22.0
9.8
12.0

Average

12.7

13.2

13.1

13.2

13.1

12.3

♦ O b ta in e d by d i v i d i n g t h e c u r r e n t fu n d s e x p e n d i t u r e s - p l a n t o p e r a t i o n
and m a in te n a n c e (T a b le 16) by t h e t o t a l d i r e c t e d u c a t i o n a l c o s t s ( T a b le
5 ).

106

past several years.
4

The data from t h i s study shows t h a t the concern over plant
operational costs and the a c t i v i t i e s taken to contain these costs have
produced good r e s u l t s .

The increase i n t o t a l d o l l a r s spent f o r the

colleges as a group during the 6 years was j u s t s l i g h t l y higher than
the increase in per student costs.

Total expenditures f o r the 1982/83

f i s c a l year only increased 1.6 percent over the previous year.

The

percentage increases over the 6 years by i n d iv id u a l college ranged
from 22 percent to 127 percent.
Table 17 indicates th a t as a percentage of t o t a l expenditures
the colleges were able to keep expenditures f o r pl a nt operation and
maintenance qu ite consistent from year to year varying w i t h i n a 0.9
percent range.
the 6 years.

The percentage f o r the 1982/83 year was the lowest of
The percentage of to t a l expenditures spent f o r plant

operation by the in d iv id u a l colleges ranged from a low of 8.3 percent
to a high of 22.0 percent f o r 1982/83.

.Nine colleges spent less on

plant operations as a percent of t o t a l budget in 1982/83 than they did
in 1977/78.
Scholarships and fellowships
. The l a s t of the 6 expenditure categories in t h i s study is
scholarships and fe l l o w sh ip s.

The data given in Tables 18 and 19 are

f o r scholarships and fellowships awarded by the colleges excluding
federal and state student fi n a n c i a l aid .

Student f i n a n c i a l aid is

becoming more of a concern f o r many colleges since i t is now being used
as a r e c r u i t i n g t o o l .
Table 18 shows th a t the increase in to t a l d o l la r s spent in

107

TABLE 18
CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES - SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS
1 97 7 /7 8 - 1 9 8 2 /8 3 *

Col 1ege

77/78

Adrian
A1bion
Alma

$

490
914
484

78/79
$

519
1,006
555

79/80
$

80/81

81/82

82/83

633 $ 1,108 $ 1,437 $ 1,679
1 ,285
1,551
1,557
1,436
593
715
1 ,236
951

77/78-82/83
7o Increase
243%
57
155

Aquinas
Calvin
Concordia

513
1,907
170

549
2,076
49

585
2,344
63

762
2,547
50

822
2,360
90

847
3,309
188

65
74
11

H illsdale
Hope
Kalamazoo

739
764
681

780
826
710

865
841
779

1 ,028
869
1,092

1,257
880
1,185

1,591
1,217
1,395

115
59
105

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

164
77
84

161
64
111

185
88
104

174
91
202

43
105
218

33
387
299

-80
403
256

01 i v e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor

374
185
317

488
156
349

486
166
411

877
237
728

670
250
812

248
265
909

-3443
187

7,863

8,399

9,428

12,031

12,637

15,039

91

6.8

12.3

27.6

Totals
Percent
Increase

5.0

19.0

* I n thousands of d o lla r s
S o u rce :

T a b le c o m p ile d fro m d a ta p r o v id e d fro m t h e N a t io n a l C e n te r f o r
E d u c a tio n S t a t i s t i c s and fro m t h e i n d i v i d u a l c o l l e g e s .

108

TABLE 19

PERCENT SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS OF CURRENT FUNDS EXPENDITURES
1977/78 - 1982/83*

College

77/78

78/79

79/80

80/81

81/82

82/83

Adrian
A1bion
Alma

11.3%
12.9
9.1

11 .0%
12.7
9.3

11.1%
14.1
8.8

15.6%
15.0
9.3

17.8%
13.7
10.7

20.1%
11 .7
12.7

Aquinas
Calvin
Concordia

12.0
16.4
9.5

11 .2
17.0
2.5

9.8
16.6
2.7

10.8
16.2
2.0

9.8
13.6
3.2

9.4
16.9
6.7

H il l s d a l e
Hope
Kalamazoo

14.9
9.8
9.0

14.5
9.2
9.3

13.9
8.4
11.2

14.2
7.4
12.1

15.9
6.5
12.0

18.1
8.2
13.3

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

5.9
1 .7
5.1

4.4
1 .3
6.5

4.5
1.5
5.7

3.5
1 .4
9.2

0.8
1 .6
8.5

0.6
5.2
10.8

01i v e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor

13.5
6.6
9.9

16.6
5.2
10.2

15.8
4.9
9.8

22.5
5.4
15.3

16.7
5.2
15.9

6.5
5.5
17.3

Average

10.8

10.6

10.5

11 .4

10.9

11.9

* O b ta in e d by d i v i d i n g t h e c u r r e n t fu n d s e x p e n d i t u r e s - s c h o l a r s h i p s and
f e l l o w s h i p s ( T a b le 18) by th e t o t a l d i r e c t e d u c a t i o n a l c o s t s ( T a b le 5 ) .

t h i s category f o r the colleges as a group increased 91 percent from
1977/78 to 1982/83.

This increase is the second highest percentage

increase of the 6 expenditure categories.

There i s a very wide range

of percentage increase from college to college.

Two colleges, Madonna

and O l i v e t , showed a decrease in 1982/83 over 1977/78.

In both cases

t h i s was the r e s u l t of a d e l ib er a te philosophical decision about
f i n a n c i a l aid.

Madonna College is attempting to keep t u i t i o n low

which in essence re s u l ts in " f i n a n c i a l aid" to a l l students.

The drop

in scholarship expenditures f o r O li v e t College f o r the 1982/83 f i s c a l
year was due to a change in t h e i r f i n a n c i a l aid p o lic y which changed
many grants to student work programs.

Thus the college receives work

in return f o r the "aid" d o l l a r s given to the students.
As Table 19 i n d ic a te s, over the 6 years there was some change
in percentage th a t scholarships and fellowsh ips were of the t o t a l
expenditures.

I t increased from 10.8 percent in 1977/78 to 11.9 per­

cent in 1982/83.

While the percentage f o r the colleges as a group

increased, 7 of the colleges were spending a smaller percentage of
t h e i r t o t a l budget on scholarships in 1982/83 than they did in 1977/78.
Five of these 7 colleges were spending more money in 1982/83 on scholar­
ships but not as much on a percentage basis.

Of the 8 colleges which

were spending a larger percent of t h e i r budgets on scholarships in
1982/83 than in 1977/78, 7 of them had an increase in t o t a l d o l l a r
spending on scholarships of more than 100 percent.
Revenue Trends
Revenue sources vary considerably depending on the type of
college.

While many pr iv a te colleges receive some federal or state

no
aid in the form of various grants, t h i s source of income is quite
small in comparison to t h e i r t o t a l budgets.

The three major p riv a te

sources of revenues are t u i t i o n , pr iv a te g i f t s and grants, and endow­
ment income.

These three revenue sources represented 94.2 percent of

the t o t a l d i r e c t educational Costs in 1982/83 f o r the colleges in t h i s
study taken as a group.

This section of the study w i l l discuss revenue

trends over 6 years f o r 15 colleges in the study.
T u it i o n and fees
Tables 20 and 21 present data related to t u i t i o n and fees
income.

T u i ti o n c o n s ti tu te s the la rg e s t and most important single

source of income f o r p r iv a t e colleges.

Because of t h i s , as was d i s ­

cussed in Chapter 2, t u i t i o n income becomes a major concern when a
college begins to experience enrollment d i f f i c u l t i e s .

As noted in

Table 20, t o t a l income from t u i t i o n and fees over the 6 years increased
80 percent f o r the colleges as a group.

This increase was somewhat

higher than the 74 percent increase in to t a l expenditures over the
6 years.

As a r e s u l t , as shown in Table 21, the percentage of to t a l

expenditures met from t u i t i o n and fees income increased from 71.0
percent f o r the 1977/78 f i s c a l year to 73.6 percent in 1982/83.
While as a group the percentage of t o t a l
by t u i t i o n and fees was 73.6 percent f o r 1982/83,

expenditures covered
the percentage f o r

in d iv id u a l colleges ranged from a low of 48.4 percent to a high of
91.4 percent.

Of the 15 colleges 10 had a higher percentage of costs

covered by t u i t i o n in 1982/83 than they did in 1977/78.

This indicates

th a t the colleges have continued to r e l y heavily on t u i t i o n income as
t h e i r major source of revenue.

m
TABLE 20
CURRENT FUNDS REVENUES - TUITION AND FEES
1 97 7 /7 8 - 1 9 8 2 /8 3 *

College
Adrian
Albion
Alma

77/78

78/79

79/80

80/81

81/82

82/83

$ 2,439 $ 2,362 $ 3,107 $ 4,091 $ 5,050 $ 5,772
5,814
6,620
7,052
8,194
9,351
9,568
3,610
4,116
4,661
5,220
5,866
6,325

77/78-82/83
%Increase
137%
65
75

Aqui nas
Calvi n
Concordia

3,055
8,317
706

3,688
9,012
833

4,687
10,038
876

5,883
11,278
1,109

6,920
12,545
1 ,212

7,537
14,287
1 ,356

147
72
92

Hillsdale
Hope
Kalamazoo

3,383
6,145
4,930

3,482
6,791
5,134

4,015
7,557
5,113

4,490
9,083
6,629

5,135
10,260
7,385

5,639
11,499
7,790

67
87
58

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

2,461
4,106
1,126

2,915
4,373
1 ,224

3,166
4,860
1,384

3,696
5,214
1,607

4,451
5,529
1,792

5,338
5,968
2,019

117
45
•79

01i v e t
1,950
Siena Heights 1 ,485
Spring Arbor 1,977

2,069
1,698
2,182

2,076
2,118
2,722

2,522
2,653
3,377

2,796
2,975
3,424

2,758
3,185
3,683

41
114

56,499

63,432

75,046

84,691

92,724

80

9.7

12.3

18.3

12.9

9.5

Totals
Percent
Increase

51,504

86

* I n thousands of d o l la r s
S o u rce :

T a b le c o m p ile d f r o m d a t a p r o v id e d fro m t h e N a t io n a l C e n te r f o r
E d u c a tio n S t a t i s t i c s and fro m t h e i n d i v i d u a l c o l l e g e s .

112

TABLE 21
CURRENT FUNDS REVENUES
PERCENT TUITION AND FEES OF TOTAL DIRECT EDUCATIONAL COSTS
1 9 7 7 /7 8 - 1 9 8 2 /8 3 *

College

77/78

78/79

79/80

80/81

81/82

82/83

Adrian
A1bion
Alma

56.2%
82.2
67.9

50.1%
83.9
68.7.

54.3%
77.6
69.0

57.7%
79.1
68.3

62.7%
82.4
66.2

69.1%
77.7
64.7

Aqui nas
Calvin
Concordia

71.2
71 .7
39.6

75.2
73.9
41.9

78.6
71 .1
37.8

83.4
71.9
44.3

82.6
72.4
43.4

83.7
72.9
48.4

Hillsdale
Hope
Kalamazoo

68.3
78.6
65.0

64.8
75.6
67.4

64.6
75.9
73.7

62.2
77.3 '
73.5

65.1
75.6
74.7

64.2
77.4
74.4

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

89.3
89.3
68.1

79.7
87.9
71 .6

76.2
81 .1
75.5

75.1
78.5
73.4

85.3
82.7
70.2

91 .4
79.8
72.9

01 i v e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor

70.4
53.0
61 .4

70.3
56.9
63.6

67.4
63.1
64.9

64.6
60.6
70.8

69.8
62.1
67.1

71.9
65.7
70.1

Average

71 .0

71 .2

70.7

71.4

72.7

73.6

*0btained by d i v i d i n g the current funds revenues - t u i t i o n and fees
(Table 20) by the t o t a l d i r e c t educational costs (Tabl e 5).

113

Private g i f t s , grants, and contracts
Since about th re e- fo u rth s of the col leges' t o t a l expenditures
are covered by t u i t i o n and fees revenues, colleges spend a s i g n i f i c a n t
amount of time and e f f o r t attempting to r a is e ad dit ion al revenues in
the forms of p r iv a t e g i f t s and grants.

Alumni, f r i e n d s , parents,

businesses, foundations, and even f a c u l t y and students receive various
appeals from colleges to c o n tr ib u te both to current operational ex­
penses and to special projects such as new f a c i l i t i e s .

Private g i f t s

and grants include revenue from donors f o r which no legal consideration
is involved.

They include a l l un re s tr ic te d g i f t s earned during the

f i s c a l year and r e s t r i c t e d funds to the extent t h a t those funds were
used f o r current operational purposes.
Tables 22 and 23 show d o l l a r and percentage data f o r p r iv a te
g i f t s , grants, and con tracts.

Unfortunately, as is indicated in Table

22, t h i s revenue source f o r colleges has not kept pace with expenditure
increases.

Over the 6 years the t o t a l revenues from these sources

increased 56 percent f o r the colleges as a group.

This compares to a

t o t a l d i r e c t educational costs increase of 74 percent and an increase
in per student costs o f 64.4 percent.

As a group the colleges e x p e ri ­

enced the la rg e s t ye a rly percentage increase in g i f t and grant income
of 25.3 percent f o r the 1980/81 f i s c a l year.

That same year they also

experienced the la rg e s t y e a r l y percentage increase in t o t a l costs of
17.3 percent.

Ind ividua l colleges varied widely in t h e i r experiences

with g i f t and grant income.

From 1977/78 to 1982/83 while 3 colleges

experienced increases from t h i s revenue source of over 100 percent,
two colleges had increases of 15 percent or less and one college had a
decrease of 17 percent.

114

TABLE 22
CURRENT FUNDS REVENUES - PRIVATE GIFTS, GRANTS, AND CONTRACTS
1 97 7 /7 8 - 1 9 8 2 /8 3 *

77/78

College
Adrian
A1bion
Alma

$

78/79

474 $
726
747

79/80

748 $
771
846

80/81

81/82

82/83

666 $ 1,767 $ 1,212 $ 1,010
795
891
1 ,012
964
914
1,963
1,372
836

77/78-82/83
%Increase
113%
33
84

Aqui nas
Calvin
Concordia

649
1,836
959

641
1,794
987

886
2,067
998

860
2,259
1 ,039

839
2,495
1 ,090

1 ,025
2,780
1,011

'58
51
5

H illsdale
Hope
Kalamazoo

1 ,294
1 ,152
876

1,420
1 ,438
1 ,134

1,574
1 ,493
881

1,681
1,502
1,478

1 ,844
1 ,533
1 ,256

2,023
1,684
2,085

56
46
138

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

196
368
437

237
376
384

294
282
390

472
316
485

615
332
567

526
304
540

168
-17
24

01i v e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor

672
488
889

546
650
597

381
666
840

860
834
997

754
846
1,763

1 ,081
894
1,019

61
83
15

11,763

12,569

13,049

16,355

18,161

18,318

56

6.9

3.8

25.3

11.0

0.9

Totals
Percent
Increase

* I n thousands of d o l l a r s
S o u rce :

T a b le c o m p ile d fro m d a ta p r o v id e d fro m t h e N a t io n a l C e n te r f o r
E d u c a t io n S t a t i s t i c s and fro m t h e i n d i v i d u a l c o l l e g e s .

115

TABLE 23
CURRENT FUNDS REVENUES
PERCENT PRIVATE GIFTS, GRANTS, AND CONTRACTS OF TOTAL
DIRECT EDUCATIONAL COSTS - 1 97 7 /7 8 - 1 9 8 2 /8 3 *

Col 1ege

77/78

78/79

79/80

80/81

81/82

82/83

Adrian
A1 bion
Alma

10.9%
10.3
14.0

15.9%
9.8
14.1

11.6%
8.8
12.4

24.9%
8.6
12.0

15.1%
8.9
22.1

12.1%
7.8
14.0

Aqui nas
Calvi n
Concordia

15.1
15.8
53.8

13.1
14.7
49.6

14.9
14.6
43.1

12.2
14.4
41 .5

10.0
14.4
39.1

11 .4
14.2
36.1

H il l s d a l e
Hope
Kalamazoo

26.1
14.7
11 .6

26.4
16.0
14.9

25.3
15.0
12.7

23.3
12.8
16.4

23.4
11.3
13.1

23.0
11 .3
19.9

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

7.1
8.0
26.4

6.5
7.6
22.5

7.1
4.7
21 .3

9.6
•4.8
22.2

11 .8
5.0
22.2

9.0
4.1
19.5

01 i v e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor

24.3
17.4
27.6

18.5
21 .8
17.4

12.4
19.8
20.0

22.0
19.1
20.9

18.8
17.7
34.6

28.2
18.4
■ 19.4

Average

16.2

15.8

14.6

15.6

15.6

14.5

'

* O b ta in e d by d i v i d i n g t h e c u r r e n t fu n d s re ve nu e s - g i f t s , g r a n t s , and
c o n t r a c t s ( T a b le 22) by t h e t o t a l d i r e c t e d u c a t i o n a l c o s t s (T a b le 5 ) .

116

Table 23 shows th a t the slowing down of p r iv a te g i f t s and
grants revenues resulted in a smaller percentage of t o t a l costs being
met through t h i s revenue source.

While 16.2 percent of t o t a l costs

f o r the colleges as a group were met by p r iv a te g i f t s and grants in
1977/78, th a t percentage dropped to 14.5 percent f o r the 1982/83 year.
Out of the 15 colleg es, 9 followed t h i s pattern of a lower percentage
in 1982/83 than in 1977/78.

For the in d iv i d u a l colleges the smallest

percentage of costs covered by p r iv a te g i f t s and grants in 1982/83 was
4.1 percent and the l a r g e s t was 36.1 percent.
Endowment income
Endowment income includes revenues from u n re st ri ct ed endow­
ment funds, from r e s t r i c t e d endowment and s i m i l a r funds i f the income
was expended f o r current operations, and from funds held in t r u s t by
others under irrevocable t r u s t s .
losses.

I t does not include c a p it a l gains or

Endowment income is not t y p i c a l l y a large revenue source f o r

most small p r iv a te colleges.

When concerns about the p o s s i b i l i t y of

enrollment declines a r i s e , colleges with good endowments can feel
somewhat more secure about t h e i r f i n a n c i a l p o s i ti o n .
Tables 24 and 25 show t h a t endowment income f o r the colleges
as a group has been r e l a t i v e l y small but has also increased f a i r l y
s u b s t a n t i a l l y during the 6 years o f the study.

Through the 1979/80

f i s c a l year, no college had yet rea li ze d at l e a s t one m i l l i o n d o l la r s
from endowment income and 8 of the 15 colleges received less than
$200,000 per year from endowment income.

By 1982/83, 3 o f the colleges

received over one m i l l i o n d o l l a r s from endowment revenues and 6 s t i l l
were receiving less than $200,000.

The colleges as a group had an

117

TABLE 24

CURRENT FUNDS REVENUES - ENDOWMENT INCOME
1977/78 - 1982/83*

College

77/78

Adrian
A1bion
Alma

$

559
541
578

78/79
$

638
609
716

79/80
$

798
864
901

80/81
$

625
817
1,044

81/82
$

700
769
1,097

82/83
$

550
811
1 ,388

77/78-82/83
%Increase
-2%
50
140

Aquinas
Calvin
Concordia

23
18
20

26
24
19

24
37
41

43
37
45

53
59
33

82
104
50

257
478
150

H illsdale
Hope
Kalamazoo

404
190
665

568
213
900

895
468
749

999
625
1,160

1 ,097
653
1,160

1 ,271
673
1 ,466

215
254
120

Madonna
Mercy
Nazareth

124
19
3

220
24
5

315
103
6

398
231
8

30
290
8

401
329
0

223
1632
-100

98
35
0

104
0
0

132
0
6

152
122
2

142
218
63

158
224
119

61
540

3,277

4,066

5,339

6,308

6,372

7,626

133

24.1

31 .3

18.1

1 .0

19.7

01i v e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor
Totals
Percent
Increase

* I n thousands of d o lla r s
S o u rc e :

T a b le c o m p ile d fr o m d a ta p r o v id e d fro m th e N a t io n a l C e n te r f o r
E d u c a tio n S t a t i s t i c s and fro m t h e i n d i v i d u a l c o l l e g e s .

118

TABLE 25
CURRENT FUNDS REVENUES
PERCENT ENDOWMENT INCOME OF TOTAL DIRECT EDUCATIONAL COSTS
1 9 7 7 /7 8 - 1 9 8 2 /8 3 *

College

77/78

78/79

79/80

80/81

81/82

82/83

12.9%
7.7
10.9

13.5%
7.7
11-9

14.0%
9.5
13.3

8.8%
7.9
13.7

8.7%
6.8
12.4

6.6%
6.6
14.2

Aqui nas
Calvin
Concordia

0.5
0.2
1.1

0.5
0.2
1.0

0.4
0.3
1 .8

0.6
0.2
1 .8

0.6
0.3
1 .2

0.9
0.5
1 .8

H i ! 1sdale
Hope
Kalamazoo

8.2
2.4
8.8

10.6
2.4
11 .8

14.4
4.7
10.8

13.8
5.3
12.9

13.9
4.8
11.7

14.5
4.5
14.0

Madonna,
Mercy
Nazareth

4.5
0.4
0.2

6.0
0.5
0.3

7.6
1.7
0.3

8.1
3.5
0.4

0.6
4.3
0.3

6.9
4.4
0.0

01i v e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor

3.5
1.3
0.0

3.5
0.0
0.0

4.3
0.0
0.1

3.9
2.8
0.0

3.5
4.6
1.2

4.1
4.6
2.3

Average

4.5

5.1

6.0

6.0

5.5

6.1

Adrian
A1bion
Alma

* 0 b t a in e d by d i v i d i n g th e c u r r e n t fu n d s re ve n u e s - endowment income
( T a b le 24) by t h e t o t a l d i r e c t e d u c a t i o n a l c o s t s ( T a b le 5 ) .

119

increase in endowment revenues of 133 percent from 1977/78 to 1982/83.
The d o l l a r increase from 1977/78 to 1982/83 was large enough
to increase the percentage th a t endowment revenues were of the to t a l
d i r e c t educational costs.
of t o t a l costs.

In 1977/78 endowment income met 4.5 percent

That percentage increased to 6.1 percent f o r the

1982/83 f i s c a l year.

For the in d iv id u a l colleges, 12 of the 15

followed t h i s pattern of an increased percentage of t o t a l costs met
from endowment.

Three colleges had endowment revenues large enough to

meet around 14 percent o f t o t a l expenditures while one college had no
income from endowments.
Pell Grants
While t u i t i o n income is the major revenue source f o r p riv a te
colleges, the ways in which the students pay t h e i r t u i t i o n charges are
not a pa rt of t h i s study.

Because of the r e l a t i v e l y high t u i t i o n

charges a t most p r iv a te colleges the a b i l i t y f o r students to pay tha t
t u i t i o n can have a major a f f e c t on enrollment.

The data col lected

f o r t h i s study did not include state and federal f i n a n c i a l aid.

For

the f i r s t time, however, the 1982/83 HEGIS f i n a n c i a l repor t asked
colleges to l i s t the amount o f f i n a n c i a l aid which students received
from the f e d e r a l l y funded Pell Grant program.
The researcher decided to include t h i s information as a part
of t h i s study since i t i s an important issue f o r p r iv a t e colleges.

As

Chapter 5 i n d ic a te s , several colleges in t h i s study feel th a t reduc­
tion s in federal and/or s ta te aid could have a s i g n i f i c a n t detrimental
e f f e c t on them in terms o f enrollment.

There are many students who

attend p r iv a t e colleges who could not af f o rd to attend them without

120

the a v a i l a b i l i t y of considerable student fi n a n c i a l aid from state and
federal sources.
The major federal student educational grant program is the
Pell Grant.

A student's e l i g i b i l i t y to receive money from a Pell Grant

is based on the f i n a n c i a l need of the student.

Table 26 shows that

f o r the 1982/83 f i s c a l year, students attending 15 of the colleges in
t h i s study received a t o t a l of 6.7 m i l l i o n d o l la r s in Pell Grants.
H i l l s d a l e College does not p a r t i c i p a t e in the Pell Grant program.
Given the size o f th a t amount, one can understand why many colleges
are very concerned about the continuation of t h i s and other student aid
programs.
When the amount o f the Pell Grants received by each college
is looked at in terms of f a l l f u l l - t i m e equivalent enrollments, a wide
range of average Pell Grants is seen.

The researcher used t h i s

method of comparison since data was not a v a ila bl e f o r the number of
students at each college who received Pell Grants.

Using t h i s com­

parison method, 5 colleges received Pell Grants equating to less than
$200 per f a l l FTE enrollment while 4 colleges averaged more than $500
per f a l l FTE enrollment.

While s u f f i c i e n t data is not ava ila ble to

reach accurate conclusions about students’ fi n a n c i a l backgrounds,
since the Pell Grants are based on fi n a n c i a l need the average Pell
Grant per f a l l FTE enrollment does give a general in d ic a t i o n of the
fi n a n c i a l status o f the students in a college when compared to the
costs o f attending t h a t col lege.

121

TABLE 26
1982-83 PELL GRANTS

Total Pell
Grants*

College
Adrian
Albion
Alma
Aqui nas

$

Fall 1982 FTE
Enrollments

449
273
270
501

Average Pell
Grant Pe
Fall FI

1,169
1,724
1,058
1,892

$384
158
255
265

3,646
517

189
315

1

Calvin
Concordia
H illsdale
Hope

690
163
441

2,326

190

Kalamazoo
Madonna
Marygrove
Mercy

243
472
881
849

1,235
2,420
943
1 ,680

197
195
934
505

Nazareth
01 i v e t
Siena Heights
Spring Arbor

133
331
366
631

406
543
996
851

328
610
367
741

6,693

21,406

313

-

Totals

-

-

* I n thousands of d o lla r s
S o u rc e :

T a b le c o m p ile d fro m d a ta p r o v id e d fro m t h e N a t io n a l
E d u c a tio n S t a t i s t i c s .

C e n te r f o r

CHAPTER 5
COLLEGES' SELF-REPORTED PROJECTIONS
As was discussed in Chapter 3, one o f the aspects of t h i s
study was an attempt to discover how the colleges in the study were
viewing the next f i v e years.

The questionnaire which was sent to

each of them sought to obtain enrollment p r o je c ti o n s , t u i t i o n i n ­
creases p r o j e c t i o n s , and steps th a t were being taken to strengthen
enrollment, programs, finances, and ad m in is tr a tio n .

Nine o f the 16

colleges completed the questionnaire so the material in t h i s chapter
is based on the responses from those 9 colleges.

As per the r e ­

searcher's agreement wi th the colleges, in d iv id ua l colleges are not
i d e n t i f i e d wi th the information in t h i s chapter.
Enrollment Projections
The colleges were asked to p r o j e c t headcount and f u l l - t i m e
equivalent enrollments f o r the next f i v e years.
projected a decrease in enrollment.

Only one college

Four colleges believe t h a t t h e i r

enrollments w i l l remain steady and three colleges are pr ojec tin g
increases in enrollments.
projection.

One college did not give an enrollment

Thus 7 of the 9 colleges expect t h e i r enrollments to

remain steady or increase in s p it e of na ti o n a l, re gi on al , and state
data presented in Chapter 2 which pr ojects substantial declines in
the 18 to 22 yea r-o ld population.
They were also asked to give projectio ns f o r f i r s t - t i m e
122

123

freshmen enrollments over a f i v e - y e a r period.

While one college did

not give a p r o j e c t i o n , the other 8 colleges expect t h e i r f i r s t - t i m e
freshmen enrollments to remain r e l a t i v e l y stable.

This again is an

in t e r e s t i n g p r o j e c ti o n i n l i g h t of the decline in the 18-22 year-old
population.

As was noted in Chapter 4, f i r s t - t i m e freshmen enrollment

declined 16 percent f o r the colleges in t h i s study from 1980 to 1983.
The 8 colleges re porting in t h i s part of the study experienced an 11
percent decline in f i r s t - t i m e freshmen from 1980 to 1983.

They expect

t h i s trend to stop and the freshmen enrollment to level o f f at cur ren t
enrollment ra tes.
The researcher asked each college
increasing

th a t

projected steady or

enrollments to give reasons why they f e l t t h e i r college

would not f o l l o w national projections of de cl in in g enrollments.

The

reasons given included:
- increases in n o n -t r a d iti o n a l students
-

increased recruitment a c t i v i t y ; more
expanding i n q u ir y and applicant pools

agressive marketing;

- be tt e r re te nt io n
- increasing tr a n s fe r student enrollment
- development o f new programs
- a d d it io n of graduate level programs
- a d d it io n of major i n t e r c o l l e g i a t e sports
Revenue Projections
Most of the revenues received by the p r iv a t e colleges in t h i s
study are derived from student t u i t i o n and fees, various types of
g i f t s and grants, and endowment earnings.

For the 9 colleges d i s ­

cussed in t h i s chapter, the percentage of d i r e c t educational costs

124

covered by student t u i t i o n and fee revenues during the 1982/83 f i s c a l
year ranged from 64 percent to 91 percent.

This c l e a r l y shows the

importance of t u i t i o n revenues to the colleges and, in t u r n , the
importance of keeping enrollments from d e c l in i n g .

Comparing the 1977/78

f i s c a l year to the 1982/83 f i s c a l year f o r 15 colleges in the study
shows th a t t h i s percentage o f d i r e c t educational costs covered by
t u i t i o n and fees has increased at 10 o f the colleges and has declined at
5 of them.
The colleges were asked whether they expect t h i s percentage
of t u i t i o n revenues to d e cl in e, increase, or remain b a s i c a l ly the same
during the next f i v e years.

Seven of the 9 colleges expect t h i s per­

centage to remain the same.

One college expects the percentage to

increase s l i g h t l y and another college expects.the percentage to decline
due to substantial increases in i t s endowment income.
Another area discussed under revenues was th a t of the
p o s s i b i l i t y of increasing revenues from various sources over the next
f i v e years.

Eight of the colleges indicated those areas in which they

f e l t they could r e a l i s t i c a l l y plan on increased revenues.

Seven of

the 8 colleges expect increases in g i f t revenues and 5 expect increases
in endowment revenues.

Five colleges s p e c i f i c a l l y indicated t h a t these

increases should come as the r e s u l t of major fund r a is i n g campaigns.
Two of the colleges expect revenue increases from t u i t i o n r e s u l t i n g
from increases in n o n - tr a d i ti o n a l student enrollment.

Two colleges

mentioned th a t they are attempting to increase revenues from services
such as summer i n s t i t u t e s and special conferences and seminars.
college indicated t h a t i t expects to increase revenues through an
increase in government grants.

One

125

Obviously the primary source of expected revenues increases
<

is from t u i t i o n .

Two of the 9 colleges did not have t u i t i o n p r o je c ­

tions a v a ila b le .

The other 7 colleges expect f u l l - t i m e t u i t i o n to

increase from the 1983-84 year to the 1987-88 year as fo ll o w s:
$1,868

- 36 percent increase

1,700

- 31 percent increase

1,580

- 42 percent increase

1,570

- 26 percent increase

1,380

- 32 percent increase

1,356

- 26 percent increase

600

- 31 percent increase

Thus over the 4-year period the colleges expect an average ye a rly
t u i t i o n increase ranging from 6.5 percent to 10.5 percent.
An issue which pr iv a te colleges must c o n t i n u a l l y address is
th at of the t u i t i o n di ff e re n c e between pr iv a te colleges and s ta t e supported colleges.

In a d d i t i o n , each p r iv a te college is competing

with other p r iv a te colleges and dif ferences in t h e i r t u i t i o n s can
a f f e c t t h e i r enrollments.

The questionnaire asked the colleges to

respond to the question, " Is your college ad mi nis tra tion at a l l con­
cerned with the p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t your t u i t i o n could get ‘ too high' and
r e s u l t in ' p r i c i n g y o u r s e l f out of the market?' "

Five of the colleges

indicated th a t they are qu ite concerned about t h i s issue.

One college

commented th a t "We feel th a t given the precarious Michigan economy and
the high percentage of Michigan students at (our c o l le g e ) , many with
modest fa m ily incomes, t h i s is an important f a c t o r . "

The other 4

colleges do not view t h i s as an area of s i g n i f i c a n t concern.

They

feel t h a t t h e i r t u i t i o n is competitive with other colleges in what

126

they view as t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r market segment.

One college indicated

tha t they t r y to balance the p o s s i b i l i t y of p r i c i n g themselves beyond
t h e i r market and the p o s s i b i l i t y of looking too cheap.
Educational Costs
While colleges are concerned about keeping revenues at a
level s u f f i c i e n t to provide a good q u a l i t y educational program f o r
t h e i r students, they are also concerned about keeping costs under
control.

When faced wi th the p o s s i b i l i t i e s of enrollment s t a b i l i z a t i o n

or decreases, cost con tro ls and cutbacks become a major concern.
E f f i c i e n t operation and appropriate a l l o c a t i o n o f f i n a n c i a l resources
take top p r i o r i t y in many colleges which sometimes r e s u l t s in educa­
tion al program decisions being made on the basis o f monetary rather
than educational considerations.
The researcher asked the colleges to in d ic a te what measures
have been taken during the past 3 to 5 years to reduce costs.

Eight

of the 9 colleges responded to t h i s question and a l l 8 l i s t e d energy
conservation programs as having been a primary area f o r cost reduction
efforts.
- reduced energy costs by weather s t r i p p i n g and i n s t a l l i n g
in s u la ti o n
- energy consumption controls
- i n s t a l l a t i o n of energy conservation measures to reduce
u t i l i t y costs
- energy management study and implementation have accomplished
savings in c e r t a i n areas
- storm windows and i n s u l a t i o n have been added to buildings
- energy conservation in buildings
- repairs on b o i le rs and new con tro ls on b o i le r s to conserve
energy

127

- energy a u d i t and r e s u l t i n g i n s t a l l a t i o n of heat saving
devices on ra d ia to rs and thermo windows in a l l dorms
- converted separate bu ild in g heating systems to the central
heating system reducing heating costs in those buildings
- i n s t a l l e d computerized e l e c t r i c a l control system
The areas of s t a f f i n g and sal a ries were mentioned by 6 of
the 8 colleges as having been used to reduce costs.
- release of personnel and vacated po sitions not f i l l e d
- "no growth" in s t a f f i n g
- s t a f f s t a b i l i z a t i o n and some selected cutbacks
- consolidation of a d m i n i s t r a t i v e / s t a f f positions
- retirement of personnel without replacement
- reduction of p a rt -t i m e personnel
- ea rly retirement plan
- sala ries r o l l e d back
- moderate salary increases
- one year salary freeze
Of the 31 s p e c i f i c measures t h a t the colleges mentioned tha t
were taken to reduce costs, 21 of them d e a l t with energy conservation,
s t a f f i n g cutbacks, and salary cutbacks.

Additional measures tha t were

taken included:
- s i g n i f i c a n t t i g h te n in g o f f i s c a l operations
- consol ida tion of colleg e pu blica tio ns
- reduction o f expense a l l o c a t i o n s
- development o f a copy center, reducing high cost of
contracted p r i n t i n g
- reduction in the number of courses offered
- student safety or ganization replacing outside se c u ri ty
con tractor

128

- d i f f e r e n t i a l t u i t i o n and fees schedules to meet the costs
of high cost programs
- reduced budgets overall
- r e s t r u c t u r i n g of some operations to bring about economics
- pe riod ic review of personnel p o l i c i e s and operating
procedures to improve p r o d u c t i v i t y
These colleges were then asked to l i s t measures t h a t they
planned to take during the next 3 to 5 years to reduce costs.

Six o f

the 8 colleges responding to t h i s question stated t h a t they w i l l con­
tinue to attempt to reduce costs through energy conservation programs.
Four of the 8 colleges a n t i c i p a t e f u r t h e r s t a b i l i z a t i o n and cutbacks
in personnel.

Other measures planned to reduce costs include:

- replacement o f some personnel with student workers
- cost containment program in the area of f r i n g e behefits
- reductions of some programs
- increase in the fa c u l t y / s t u d e n t r a t i o
■- conservation
- in sta lla tio n

in communication costs
of new telephone system

- development o f word processing
While costs in
the past several years,
others.

a l l budget areas have ris en f o r colleges during
some areas of increase have been f e l t more

than

The colleges were asked to in d ic a te those budget areas th a t

have increased s i g n i f i c a n t l y during the past 5 years in terms o f the
increase in the percentage of the t o t a l budget.

One college did not

respond to t h i s question and one college indicated t h a t there were no
budget areas th a t have increased s i g n i f i c a n t l y more than others.
v a r i e t y o f areas were mentioned by the other 7 colleges.
of colleges mentioning the area is noted in parentheses.)

A

(The number

129

- energy costs (5)
- sala rie s (5)
- f r i n g e be nef its (4)
- computer services (3)
- admissions (2)
- a d m in is tra tio n (2)
- food costs
- physical p l a n t operation
- athletics
- communication costs
- student f i n a n c i a l aid
- i n te rn a ti o n a l education
On the other hand, the colleges were asked to i nd ica te those
budget areas th a t had decreased in the percentage of the t o t a l budget
during the past 5 years.

The number of areas l i s t e d was much less than

the number o f areas l i s t e d as increasing.

One college had realized

a decrease in u t i l i t y costs through the implementation of energy con­
servation measures.

That same college had also managed to decrease

maintenance costs through careful use of maintenance resources.

Two

colleges decreased the percentage of the budget spent on the l i b r a r y
operation.

Other areas mentioned by the colleges as having decreased

in percentage of the t o t a l budget were:
- instruction
- sal ar ies in some areas
- a d m i n i s tr a ti v e costs
- general operational and i n s t i t u t i o n a l expenses
- fund r a is i n g and public r e l a t i o n s

130

- equipment replacement
- workers compensation costs
The researcher was interested in obtaining ad di tio n al i n f o r ­
mation concerning budget expenses in the area o f i n s t i t u t i o n a l l y - f u n d e d
student f i n a n c i a l aid.

As was noted in Chapter 2, the percentage of

student charges covered by stat e and federal student f i n a n c i a l aid has
declined during the past few years.

Colleges t h a t place a high p r i o r i t y

on f i n a n c i a l aid as a recruitment tool and enrollment ince nti ve are
faced with the need to increase i n s t i t u t i o n a l l y - f u n d e d aid to compen­
sate f o r the decrease in government student aid .

The colleges in t h i s

study were asked to p r o j e c t i f they expect a decrease, increase, or no
change during the next 5 years in the budget
ti o n a l l y -f u n d e d student f i n a n c i a l aid .
decrease in t h i s percentage.

percentage of i n s t i t u ­

None of the colleges expects a

Three of the 9 colleges expect that

percentage to remain the same and 6 colleges

expect i t to increase.

Five of the 6 colleges th a t expect the percentage to increase r e l a t e
th at expectation to the funding level of government student f i n a n c i a l
aid.

Two of the 3 colleges th a t expect the percentage to remain the

same have comparatively low t u i t i o n which represents a form of fi n a n c i a l
aid f o r a l l of t h e i r students.

Since they plan to continue to attempt

to keep t h e i r t u i t i o n low, they do not a n t i c i p a t e pu tt in g a higher
percentage of t h e i r budgets in ad dit ion al student aid.
Admi ni s t r a t i on
The responses on the questionnaires in d ic a te t h a t the colleges
are, and have been, addressing the issues of a d m i n is tr a ti v e e f f i c i e n c y
and ef f ect iv en ess .

Several steps have been taken to improve t h i s

e f f i c i e n c y and eff ectiveness during the past few years.

131

- overall reorganization of ad m in is tr a ti v e o f f i c e s
- developed computer software f o r a d m i n i s tr a ti v e functions
- b e tte r d e f i n i t i o n s o f governance system and rep or tin g
s tr u ct ur e
- professional development programs aimed s p e c i f i c a l l y at
improving communication s k i l l s
- use o f consultants in selected areas
- i n s t i t u t e d an a d m i n i s tr a ti v e appraisal system
- increased discussion and i n t e r a c t i o n between vice presidents
and the president
- established c e r t a i n new po sitions designed to generate
income and consolidated others
- established a planning council and process
- improved c l a r i t y o f p o l i c i e s and procedures handbooks
- i n s t a l l e d word processing equipment
- hired a college c o n t r o l l e r
- increased involvement o f the Board of Trustees Finance
Committee wi th the president and vice presidents in the
budgeting process
As the colleges plan f o r the next few years, t h e i r i n t e r e s t
and concern f o r a d m in is tr a ti v e e f f i c i e n c y and effectiveness w i l l
continue.

Many of the actions which have already been taken w i l l be

continued by the colleges.

In a d d i t i o n , items which the colleges

l i s t e d as being planned f o r implementation include:
- extending word processing services to a l l o f f i c e s
- more use of computer systems and services
- development o f s t r a t e g i c plan
- reduction o f c l e r i c a l and support s t a f f
- establishment of more encompassing i n s t i t u t i o n a l develop­
ment program
- a d m in i s tr a ti v e s t a f f reductions with concomitant reductions

132

or combinations in functions
Of the 8 colleges responding to questions on ad m in is tr a tiv e
e f f i c i e n c y and eff ec tiv en es s, a l l but one have increased the number
of a d m in i s tr a ti v e and a d m i n i s tr a ti v e s t a f f personnel during the past
5 years.

The increases ranged from 1 to 11.

For the next f i v e years,

however, most of the colleges a n t i c i p a t e t h a t the number w i l l remain
about the same or decrease.

The fo ll o w in g comment came from a c o l ­

lege t h a t added 5 a d m i n i s tr a ti v e personnel during the past 5 years.
I t is a n ti ci pa te d th a t the number of ad ministrators w i l l
decrease during the next f i v e years mainly due to economic
conditions and the need to r e a l i z e economies in the current
fund operation.
Another college which added 11 ad m in is tr a tiv e s t a f f personnel
during the past 5 years stated t h a t a "Decrease is planned beginning
in f i s c a l year 84 as a cost containment measure."

One college expects

to increase a d m i n i s tr a ti v e personnel because they are " i n s t i t u t i n g
s i g n i f i c a n t new programs."
Academic Programs
The colleges are d e f i n i t e l y taking a close look a t how t h e i r
academic programs match wi th the market demand.

Low enrollment pro­

grams are being looked a t c l os e ly as areas of possible cost reductions.
On the other hand, some programs are being considered f o r increased
emphasis and s t a f f i n g because of t h e i r po ten tia l f o r a t t r a c t i n g
ad dit ion al students.

Some colleges are considering adding programs

which they have not previously of fe re d .

The researcher asked the

colleges to l i s t the academic programs they plan to drop or cut back
in terms of budget and/or personnel during the next 5 years, and to
also l i s t those t h a t they plan to increase emphasis on or add.

133

Decisions to cut back programs are being made p r i m a r i l y on
the basis of low enrollments.

Four of the colleges s p e c i f i c a l l y

mentioned teacher education as an area where dec lin ing enrollments are
causing them to consider cutbacks.

Physical education, English, and

home economics were mentioned by 2 colleges as being considered f o r
cutbacks.

A few other d i s c i p l i n e s were mentioned once as being

studied f o r possible cutbacks.

Those mentioned include nursing, a r t ,

h i s t o r y , social work, music, public ad m in is tr a ti o n , earth science,
and social science.
Several programs have been i d e n t i f i e d by the colleges f o r
ad dition al emphases or to be added to the curriculum.
plan to expand t h e i r computer science programs.

Five colleges

Four colleges are

looking at various emphases w i t h i n the communications d i s c i p l i n e f o r
possible expansion.

The colleges are viewing he al th -r el a te d programs

as one o f the best sources f o r a t t r a c t i n g ad dit ion al students.

Six

colleges plan to add or increase emphases on he al th -r el a te d programs
including 2 t h a t plan to add nursing programs.

Other areas being

considered f o r increased emphases or to be added include a r t ,
biology, business, music, engineering, r e l i g i o n / C h r i s t i a n studies,
chemistry, languages, mathematics, continuing education, physics,
and sociology.
I t is i n t e r e s t i n g to note th a t in some cases one college is
planning to cutback on a program because of de cl in in g enrollments
while at the same time another college is planning to expand or add
the same program because of an increase in student demand.
occurred in the areas of a r t , music, and nursing.

This

134
t

Cl i e n te l e
The d i v e r s i t y o f the makeup o f the student bodies among
the colleges shows up most c l e a r l y from t h e i r responses to questions
addressed under the c l i e n t e l e section of the questionnaire.

As was

indicated in Chapter 2, some of the colleges a c t i v e l y r e c r u i t nont r a d i t i o n a l ad ul t students and t h i s segment of t h e i r study body
makes up an important p a rt o f t h e i r enrollments.

Other colleges

have very small p a rt -t im e enrollments and do not attempt to increase
'

them.

The colleges which r e l y more heavily on part- tim e n o n -t r a d iti o n a l

enrollments tend to be located in large population areas where i t is
f a i r l y easy f o r students to commute to school from t h e i r homes.
The colleges were asked to in d ic a te the percentage of t h e i r
headcount enrollment f o r the f a l l o f 1982 tha t was in the t r a d i t i o n a l
18-21 year-old age group.

The responses ranged from 30 percent to 99

percent and related cl o s e ly to the number of pa rt-time students enrolled.
Four of the colleges expect t h i s percentage to remain the same f o r the
next 5 years, and 4 of them expect t h a t percentage to decrease as more
n o n - t r a d i t i o n a l a d u l t students are r e c r u it e d .

One college tha t has a

low percentage of 18-21 year-olds is expecting tha t percentage to
increase since they are designing s p e c i f i c r e c r u i t i n g s tr a te g ie s to
en ro ll more students in t h a t age range in order to have a be tte r
dormitory occupancy ra te .
The researcher asked the colleges whether or not they are
a c t i v e l y t r y i n g to increase t h e i r enrollment by r e c r u i t i n g c l i e n t e l e
other than the 18-21 yea r-o ld group.

Four of the colleges are

a c t i v e l y r e c r u i t i n g c l i e n t e l e from older age groups and 4 are not.
One college i s addressing t h a t issue to determine whether or not i t

135

fe e l s i t should increase i t s r e c r u i t i n g of n o n -t r a d iti o n a l students.
Since the y e a rl y pool o f high school graduates is predicted
to decline by a la rg er percentage in Michigan than in most other
states during the next several years, the geographical composition of
a co l l e g e 's student body could a f f e c t i t s enrollment s t a b i l i t y .

For

the f a l l of 1982, the percentage of the t o t a l headcount t h a t were
Michigan residents a t the colleges ranged from 55 percent to 99 percent.
Six of the colleges had 80 percent or more of t h e i r t o t a l enrollment
from Michigan.
The colleges were asked i f they are s p e c i f i c a l l y t r y i n g to
increase t h e i r percentage of o u t - o f - s t a t e student enrollment and, i f
they are, how they are doing i t .

Five o f the 9 colleges are increasing

t h e i r a c t i v i t y in r e c r u i t i n g o u t - o f - s t a t e students and 4 are not.

Some

methods being used to r e c r u i t more o u t - o f - s t a t e students include:
- u t i l i z e alumni and fri e nd s of the college in r e c r u i t i n g
- be tte r communication with high school counselors
- newspaper ad ver tisi ng
- more v i s i t s to o u t - o f - s t a t e high schools
- special f i n a n c i a l aid packages f o r o u t - o f - s t a t e students
- receptions in key market areas
- increase d i r e c t mail programs to prospective students
PIanni ng
Planning is always an important fun cti on f o r colleges to be
involved in on a regular basis.

I t becomes even more important when

demographic and economic fa c t o rs are not predicted to be too good.
A l l of the 8 colleges responding to the planning section of the ques­
t i o n n a i r e understand the importance of good planning and are involved

136

with ongoing planning processes.

Various committees and councils

have been formed on campuses to study, propose, and implement various
planning s tr a te g ie s .
A ll of the colleges use approximately 5 years f o r fu t u r e
comprehensive plans f o r t h e i r campuses in terms of enrollment,
personnel, programs, and b u ild in g s .

Some have a great deal of c o n f i ­

dence t h a t t h e i r 5-year plan w i l l match with r e a l i t y while others
express the expectation t h a t probably only 2 or 3 years are somewhat
accurate.

The colleges were asked to l i s t fa c t o rs which could occur

which would have a s i g n i f i c a n t detrimental e f f e c t on t h e i r long-range
plans.

The responses include:
- f u r t h e r s i g n i f i c a n t reductions in stat e and federal aid
- no change in the Michigan depressed economy
- s i g n i f i c a n t drop in enrollment
- continued i n f l a t i o n a r y cost pressures
- s i g n i f i c a n t change in federal and stat e f i n a n c i a l aid
- d r a s t i c drop in f u l l - t i m e enrollment
- the economic state of the state and nation
- collapse of the supporting denomination
- d r a f t of men and women in to the armed forces
- bu ild in g a community college in the c i t y
- re tu rn of high i n f l a t i o n rates c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the 1970s
I t is i n t e r e s t i n g to note t h a t while t h i s study only includes

p r iv a t e colleges, 6 of the 8 colleges responding specifically^mentioned
t h a t reductions in state and/or federal aid could have a s i g n i f i c a n t
detrimental e f f e c t f o r them.

137

Summaries
At the end of the questionnaire the researcher asked each
college to "Give a b r i e f overall summary of your c o ll eg e' s expecta­
tion s f o r the next f i v e y ea rs ."

The fo l l o w i n g paragraphs are the

summaries from 8 of the 9 responding colleges.

In some cases some

of the wording has been changed in order to pro tect the i d e n t i t y of
the college.
We a n t i c i p a t e a ra the r austere period characterized by
a modest enrollment de cl ine , slow growth in income from t u i t i o n
and from p r iv a t e g i v i n g , few new program or c u r r i c u l a r e f f o r t s ,
and steady-state budgeting.
We expect enrollment to remain constant while increasing
student and f a c u l t y q u a l i t y . We expect to add some new programs
and a moderate increase in f a c u l t y . We plan to increase our
f u n d -r a is i n g base and to bu ild two new buildings.
In .g en era l, assuming no major unanticipated changes in the
economic climate , the college expects enrollments to r i s e slowly
over the next f i v e years with most of the growth occuring in the
graduate program and in two undergraduate programs - business
and computer science. T u i t i o n rates w i l l r i s e although i f
enrollment growth does occur and i f the c o ll eg e' s e f f o r t s to
improve p r o d u c t i v i t y and resource u t i l i z a t i o n are successful, i t
i s a n ti cip at e d t h a t the rate of r i s e in t u i t i o n w i l l remain at
or below the general i n f l a t i o n ra te . We are ca u tio us ly o p t i m i s t i c .
Stable enrollment - s l i g h t l y down from current l e v e l ;
co n sol ida tion of academic programs; greater emphasis on l i b e r a l
arts/general education; greater emphasis on q u a l i t y education and
the r e l i g i o u s i d e n t i t y of the co ll eg e; la rg er endowment; la rg e r
external degree program.
A very challenging period which w i l l involve i n s t i t u t i o n a l
downsizing and w i l l demand bold and imaginative steps to r e a l l o ­
cate resources in ways which w i l l strengthen the c o l le g e 's
p o s i ti o n (a ttr a ct iv e n e ss to prospective students, p o s i t i v e o u t ­
comes f o r graduates) yet maintain very s el e ct iv e academic standards
and the central educational values of the c o ll e g e 's program.
Steady state and then a small increase f o r enrollment of
the campus program; large enrollment increase in the n o n -t r a d iti o n a l student population; steady enrollment in an off-campus
program; balanced budgets; development of c u r r i c u l a r s p e c i a l i ­
zations as the college matures; strengthened t i e s to the co l l e g e 's
sponsoring r e l i g i o u s denomination.

138

We hope enrollment w i l l remain stable and or possibly r i s e
s l i g h t l y as new program markets and more aggressive r e c r u i t i n g
r e s u l t . We have not had our s u f f i c i e n t share of the market in
the past. Given t h i s assumption and an assumption about moderate
but steady economic growth each year, the f i s c a l a f f a i r s and
budget pressures should also improve moderately. Plan to increase
f u l l - t i m e enrollment over next two years, then s t a b i l i z e while
continuing to increase p a rt -t im e and n o n - t r a d i t i o n a l enrollment.
Emphasis on service orie nt e d, career preparatory educational
programs with a s o l i d base in the l i b e r a l a r t s . More off-campus
academic programs. Move to master degree level academic programs.
Devote time and e f f o r t to the establishment of a l i m i t e d , but
a ctive endowment fund to ease the pressure to r e l y on t u i t i o n
revenue to d riv e the i n s t i t u t i o n .
We plan to review the curriculum to f i n d programs to
enlarge or receive new status but maintain our l i b e r a l ar ts
emphasis. L ik e ly candidates f o r new emphasis are accounting,
computer, and continuing education. We expect enrollment to
decline during the next f i v e years. Development o f new pro­
grams, combined wi th increased e f f o r t s at student recruitment
and r e t e n t io n , hold the p o s s i b i l i t y of minimizing the enrollment
decline. We w i l l place much more emphasis on r a is i n g money f o r
student f i n a n c i a l aid .

CHAPTER 6

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
This study was i n i t i a t e d from a concern on the p a rt of the
researcher f o r the f u t u r e of p r iv a te higher education.

Since the

researcher li v e d in Michigan and worked at a p r iv a te l i b e r a l ar ts
college, t h i s concern was p a r t i c u l a r l y focused toward those pr iv a te
colleges in Michigan which had a stated mission of being l i b e r a l ar ts
oriented.
As demographic data rela ted to population growth and s h i f t s
became a v a ila b le during the past 15 years, i t became evident to many
education researchers and ad ministrator s t h a t the decade of the eig hti es
would bring enrollment pressures which could p o t e n t i a l l y cause s i g n i f i ­
cant changes in higher education.

These enrollment pressures are of

a p a r t i c u l a r concern f o r p r iv a te l i b e r a l ar ts colleges since they r e l y
so heavily on t u i t i o n and fees f o r t h e i r operating revenues.

As of

1984, many colleges have already f e l t the r e s u l ts of enrollment
pressures and of economic pressures from enrollment drops and from
general national and s ta te economic problems.

These pressures have

been e s p e c ia ll y d i f f i c u l t f o r colleges in Michigan due to an exces­
s i v e l y large decline in population in the st a t e , the highest unemploy­
ment rate in the nation, and severe economic pressures on the state
r e s u l t i n g from problems with the automobile ind ustry.
While enrollment and f i n a n c i a l data related to public colleges
139

140

and u n i v e r s i t i e s in Michigan is a v a ila b le as a r e s u l t o f required
re p o r ti n g , data from p r iv a t e colleges i s not as r e a d i l y a v a ila b le and
is not shared among the col leges.

The researcher desired to assess

the "health" of the p r iv a t e l i b e r a l a r t s colleges Michigan as a group
and also to compare data from college to college w i t h i n the group in
an e f f o r t to show the colleges those areas of enrollment and finances
which perhaps need to be studied more c a r e f u l l y by them.
In t h i s chapter, a summary of the fin d i n g s w i l l be presented
followed by some conclusions which the researcher fe e ls are s i g n i f i ­
cant and can be inf e rre d from the fi n d i n g s .
Summary of Findings from the Study
The fin d in g s from t h i s study w i l l begin with a summary of the
s i g n i f i c a n t concerns a r i s i n g from the l i t e r a t u r e review in Chapter 2.
The fin d in g s from the f i n a n c i a l and enrollment data in Chapter 4 w i l l
then be discussed followed by a summary o f the s e l f- r e p o r te d information
from the colleges as was discussed in Chapter 5.
L i t e r a t u r e review fin d i n g s
The data a v a i la b l e from the l i t e r a t u r e review c l e a r l y shows
th a t , based on demographic data, enrollment pressures on colleges and
u n i v e r s i t i e s w i l l continue to increase during the next 10 years.
While the r e s u l t s and reactions to th a t pressure w i l l vary from college
to col lege, colleges are j u s t i f i e d in being very concerned about how
the decline in the 18 to 22 yea r-old population w i l l a f f e c t t h e i r
enrollments.

In l i g h t of t h i s data, any college which chooses to

ignore i t or to feel t h a t i t w i l l not impact them is f o l l o w i n g a pre­
carious course of actio n which could r e s u l t in s i g n i f i c a n t f i n a n c i a l

141

problems due to a lack o f good planning.

This is esp eci all y true f o r

colleges in Michigan since the projected decline in 18 to 22 year-olds
is higher than i t is f o r many other states.

There is no i n d ic a ti o n

th a t the percentage o f high school graduates e n r o l l i n g in postsecondary
educational i n s t i t u t i o n s w i l l increase.
The l i t e r a t u r e review also revealed th a t in an attempt to
compensate f o r the de clin in g 18 to 22 year-old population, colleges
and u n i v e r s i t i e s have increased t h e i r e f f o r t s to en roll no ntr ad ition al
older students.

This has resulted in new academic programs, new course

d e l iv e r y systems, more f l e x i b l e scheduling, new student development
concerns, and a s h i f t in mission f o r some colleges.

Colleges are

planning to continue e f f o r t s to enroll t h i s segment of the population
s p e c i f i c a l l y as a way to o f f s e t the de cl in in g t r a d i t i o n a l enrollment.
Other issues which may have an e f f e c t on enrollment patterns
at s p e c i f i c colleges include:

1) tha t the decline in b i r t h rates over

the past 15 years was p r i m a r i l y w i t h i n the Caucasian population
re s u l t i n g in a higher percentage of high school graduates being from
m i n o r i t y populations, 2) t h a t a decline in the number of high school
graduates may increase the demand and pay f o r entry level jobs which
may a t t r a c t graduates in to the job market instead of to col leg e, 3)
th a t colleges are facing more competition from corporations th a t are
developing t h e i r own postsecondary education programs, and 4) th a t a
la r g e r number of c h il d r e n are being raised in sing le-p ar en t fa m i li e s
and t h a t these c hi ld r en have a lower level of school achievement.
Various w r i t e r s raised serious concerns about what enrollment
pressures have done and w i l l continue to do in r e l a t i o n s h i p to a c o l ­
lege's mission.

The fe a r is t h a t col leges' missions are changing,

142

i n t e n t i o n a l l y or u n i n t e n t i o n a l l y , with fi n a n c i a l considerations over­
r i d i n g a l l other considerations.
This concern over enrollment pressures becomes p a r t i c u l a r l y
acute f o r p r iv a t e colleges since they r e l y so heavily on t u i t i o n f o r
income.

Before the 18 year-old population pool started to de cl ine ,

the percentage of college students e n r o l l i n g in p r iv a t e colleges had
been dropping.

I f t h i s pattern continues along wi th the decline in

high school graduates, p r iv a t e colleges could face severe f i n a n c i a l
pressures because of a lack of t u i t i o n revenues and fi n d themselves
needing to ra ise t u i t i o n to unreasonable l e v e ls .

This can lead to the

p o s s i b i l i t y of a college p r ic i n g i t s e l f out of the market or a t lea st
out of part of the market.

As competition f o r students increases,

the cost d i ffe re n ce of attending one college as compared to another
college could become a major f a c t o r in a student's decision as to which
college to attend.
Another f a c t o r which the l i t e r a t u r e revealed has become a
concern f o r many colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s is th a t of fi n a n c i a l aid.
As a percentage of t u i t i o n and fees charged to students, the amount of
government f i n a n c i a l aid has decreased during the past 10 years.

Since

generally p r iv a t e colleges charge considerably more than public
colleg es, t h i s decline in f i n a n c i a l aid a v a i l a b i l i t y has become a major
concern f o r many of them.

Realizing the importance of f i n a n c i a l aid to

low income and middle income students, many colleges are t r y i n g to
increase t h e i r own i n s t i t u t i o n a l fi n a n c i a l aid programs.

This in turn

requires t h a t ad dit ion al revenues be found to fund the aid.
As a r e s u l t o f past problems which many colleges have faced
due to enrollment declines and economic pressures, and with the

143

expectations th a t such problems w i l l continue to e x i s t and perhaps
a f f e c t a growing number o f colleges, several higher education research­
ers and administrators have raised the issue of fi n a n c i a l e f f i c i e n c y
in operating colleges.

As is true with most n o n - p r o f i t organ ization s,

colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s do not have to be concerned about making a
"p ro fit."

Therefore, the incentive to run a cost e f f i c i e n t operation

has not t y p i c a l l y been a major concern f o r college ad minis trator s.
Generally whatever funds could be raised would be spent.

As revenues

ti g h t e n , however, i t becomes imperative th a t college administrators
take the concept of e f f i c i e n c y ser iously and make c e r ta in th a t funds
are put to the best possible use.
Enrollment fin d in g s from t h i s study
A f t e r steady increases in to t a l headcount enrollments and in
f u l l - t i m e equivalent enrollments from 1977 to 1980 f o r the 16 colleges
as a group in t h i s study, enrollment leveled o f f and even declined
s l i g h t l y f o r two years.

The t o t a l headcount f o r the group was only 0.6

percent higher f o r the f a l l of 1983 than i t was in 1980 while the f a l l
1983 f u l l - t i m e equivalent enrollment was 0.5 percent less than i t was
in 1980.

Thus as a group enrollment remained b a s ic a l l y the same from

1980 to 1983.

Given th a t during these fou r years the number of high

school graduates was d e c l in i n g , the pr iv a te l i b e r a l ar ts colleges did
f a i r l y well in holding t h e i r own in enrollments.

When one looks at

the in d iv id u a l college enrollment s t a t i s t i c s , however, i t is evident
th a t some colleges experienced some good gains in enrollment while
others suffered some serious declines.
A concern i s ra ised, however, when one looks at how the

144

colleges as a group were able to maintain a level enrollment from 1980
to 1983.

Most of the colleges r e l y p r i m a r i l y on f u l l - t i m e student

enrollments.

Out of the 16 colleges, 15 en ro ll more f u l l - t i m e stu­

dents than pa rt-time students and the average f u l l - t i m e enrollment f o r
the group f o r the f a l l o f 1980 was 76.7 percent of the t o t a l headcount
enrollment.

That percentage dropped to 73.8 f o r the f a l l of 1983.

The number of f u l l - t i m e students dropped 675 from 1980 to 1983 and
the number of pa rt-time students increased by 841.

I f the number of

part- tim e students had remained the same from 1980 to 1983, the
colleges as a group would have experienced a headcount enrollment drop
of 2.5 percent over those 4 years.

Therefore, the f a c t t h a t the to t a l

headcount enrollment has remained f a i r l y stable f o r the group is due
e n t i r e l y to an increase in p a rt -t im e student enrollments.

Given the

f a c t th a t most of these colleges r e l y p r i m a r i l y on f u l l - t i m e e n r o l l ­
ments and th a t demographic data project s several years of declines in
high school graduates, the question must be raised as to whether or
not the colleges can generate enough ad di tio n al p a rt -t im e enrollments
to o f f s e t continuing declines in f u l l - t i m e enrollments.

The problem

with t h i s re lianc e on pa rt- tim e enrollment can be seen in the 7
colleges th a t had 92 percent or more of t h e i r students enrolled as
f u l l - t i m e students in the f a l l o f 1983.

Six of the 7 had a drop in

to t a l headcount enrollment from the f a l l of 1982.
An even greater concern about the f u t u r e o f enrollments in
the colleges of t h i s study is raised when one looks a t the data f o r
f i r s t - t i m e freshmen enrollments.

The number of f i r s t - t i m e freshmen

e n r o l l i n g in the colleges in t h i s study dropped 943 from the f a l l of
1980 to the f a l l of 1983 giving a percentage drop of 15.9 percent.

Fourteen of the 16 colleges enrolled fewer freshmen in 1983 than they
did in 1980.

Since the number of enrolled freshmen in any given year

determines to a large extent what the enrollment w i l l be f o r the next
three years, declines in freshmen enrollment ra ise serious questions
about the a b i l i t y of colleges to maintain t h e i r current level of
enrolIments.
Expenditure fin d i n g s from t h i s study
Chapter 4 summarized the data f o r s p e c i f i c expenditure
categories f o r the colleges in t h i s study.

This summary section w i l l

b r i e f l y review these s p e c i f i c expenditure categories and then expand
upon the data rela ted to diff er en ces in per student costs.
The six expenditure categories examined in t h i s study were
i n s t r u c t i o n , academic support, student services, i n s t i t u t i o n a l support,
pla nt operation and maintenance, and scholarships and fe ll o w sh ip s.

The

increase in t o t a l d i r e c t educational costs f o r the colleges as a group
increased 74 percent from the 1977/78 f i s c a l year to the 1982/83
f i s c a l year.

The smallest increase by s p e c i f ic expenditure category

was 64 percent f o r i n s t r u c t i o n .

The two categories which had increases

s u b s t a n t i a l l y la rg e r than the t o t a l expenditures increase were scholar­
ships and fel lowships wi th an increase o f 91 percent and student ser­
vices which had an increase of 110 percent.

The impact of these

diff er en ces in expenditure increases by category can be seen by looking
at the percentage th a t a category was of t o t a l expenditures.

For the

1977/78 f i s c a l year, expenditures f o r i n s t r u c t i o n made up 42.1 percent
of t o t a l educational expenditures.
percent of t o t a l expenditures.

By 1982/83, i n s t r u c t i o n was 39.8

While scholarships and fellowships

146

made up 10.8 percent o f t o t a l expenditures in 1977/78, th a t percentage
increased to 11.9 percent by 1982/83.

Expenditures f o r student services

as a percentage of t o t a l expenditures increased from 9.0 percent in
1977/78 to 10.8 percent in 1982/83.

The other 3 categories did not

change more than 0.5 percent of t o t a l expenditures from 1977/78 to
1982/83.

The r e s u l ts o f these changes show th a t some expenditures have

been s h i ft e d away from i n s t r u c t i o n and to student services and scholar­
ships and fe l l o w sh ip s.

This raises some concern since the primary

fun ction o f a college should be i n s t r u c t i o n .
Since expenditures and enrollments are i n t e r r e l a t e d , the most
meaningful cost increase data comes from looking at per student costs.
Per student costs f o r the group of 15 colleges increased $2,295 from
1977/78 to 1982/83 which was 64.4 percent.

This compares to an increase

in i n f l a t i o n of 64.0 percent over the same time span.

While t h i s i n ­

crease in per student costs compares favorably with i n f l a t i o n , d i f f e r ­
ent r e s u lts are seen when comparing the two fig u re s over the l a s t two
years of the study.

While i n f l a t i o n increased by 9.9 percent from

June 1981 to July of 1983, per student costs increased 22.9 percent
during th a t same time.

While the i n f l a t i o n rate has dropped s i g n i f i ­

can tly over the l a s t fo u r years, the increases in per student costs
have not.

I f the per student costs at these colleges continue to

increase y e a rl y by several percentage points more than i n f l a t i o n ,
t u i t i o n increases needed to help cover those increased costs may
create ad di tion al problems with students not being able to a ff o r d to
attend.
One of the most i n t e r e s t i n g aspects of the per student costs
data is the diffe ren ces in per student costs from college to college.

147

Per student costs ranged from a low of $2,413 to a high of $9,234 f o r
the 1982/83 f i s c a l year.

As has been previously noted, t h i s study w i l l

not attempt to in d ic a te t h a t one is too low, th a t another is too high,
or t h a t there is an ideal f i g u r e th a t colleges should s t r i v e f o r when
c a l c u la t i n g per student costs.

D i f f e r e n t college missions, operational

procedures, salary scales, and extent of student services w i l l
r e s u l t in d i f f e r e n t per student costs.

Given the f a c t th a t the primary

fu n ction of a college is academic i n s t r u c t i o n , however, such d i f f e r ­
ences in costs do raise questions as to whether or not there are s im i­
l a r dif ferences in educational outcomes.
Educational outcomes and q u a l i t y o f education programs are
d i f f i c u l t to measure.

Some researchers have conducted studies which

attempted to compare student costs with the q u a l i t y of student ou t­
comes.

As was noted in Chapter 4, i t is questionable th a t cost

diffe ren ces r e s u l t in any s i g n i f i c a n t differences in outcomes.

Howard

R. Bowen conducted an extensive study of the costs of higher education
f o r the Carnegie Foundation f o r the Advancement of Teaching.

One

chapter of the re po rt d e a l t with the cost differen ces among colleges
and u n i v e r s i t i e s and what the s i g n ifi ca nc e of those cost differences
might mean.

Since the fin d i n g s of t h i s study show such large per

student cost diff er en ces among the colleges, the researcher f e l t tha t
Bowen's fin d in g s and his comments on the fin d in g s should be presented
here.
In no respect are colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s more diverse
than in t h e i r u n i t costs, t h a t i s , in the amount they spend
per student. The range of differen ces in cost per student is
astonishing. Some o f the v a r ia t i o n may be explained by d i f f e r ­
ences in mission.
. . . But differences in expenditure remain
even when only educational costs are considered and when the

148

i n s t i t u t i o n s being compared seem to have s i m i l a r missions,
l o c a t i o n , and size and to be rendering services of s im i l a r
q u a ! i t y . (155)
Even i f one could s el e c t t i n y groups of comparable i n s t i t u ­
tions so homogeneous as to elim ina te a l l cost di ff e re n c e s , one
would not change the r e a l i t y t h a t the cost o f carrying out
e s s e n t i a l l y the same services varies widely among American
colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s . The dispersion o f costs is astonish­
i n g ly great - so great t h a t one may reasonably question the
r a t i o n a l i t y or equ ity in the a l l o c a t i o n of resources among higher
educational i n s t i t u t i o n s . This s ta te of a f f a i r s may be tole ra te d
because so l i t t l e i s known about the r e l a ti o n s h i p s between the
amount of resources and educational outcomes. The depth of t h i s
ignorance is indicated by the almost universal tendency to judge
i n s t i t u t i o n a l r e s u l t s or q u a l i t y in terms o f inputs ra the r than
outputs and to assume without evidence t h a t more inputs somehow
w i l l i n e v it a b l y produce commensurately greater or bet ter
r e s u l t s . (156)
Wide diffe re n c es among i n s t i t u t i o n s in cost per student have
been observed i n every study of comparative costs. These d i f f e r ­
ences have been found to p e r s i s t even when great care has been
taken to compare c l o s e l y - s i m i l a r i n s t i t u t i o n s , to adjust f o r
geographical diff e re n ce s i n pr ice l e v e l s , and to adju st and r e f i n e
the cost data so as to exclude expenditures f o r research, public
service, and a u x i l i a r y enterprises and to standardize student
u n i t s . What do these differen ces s ig n if y ?
One possible answer is th a t the i n s t i t u t i o n s being compared
are a c t u a l l y less homogeneous with respect to the educational
programs offered than they seem. This may be e s p ec ia ll y so at
the two extremes (major research u n i v e r s i t i e s and community
col leg es) . But f o r the many i n s t i t u t i o n s th a t l i e between these
extremes, the program differen ces are l i k e l y to be f a r fewer.
In the case o f s e l e c t i v e l i b e r a l a r t s colleges, they are l i k e l y
to be minuscule. Be t h a t as i t may, there is a serious log ic a l
problem in declaring t h a t cost diffe re n ce s are due to d i f f e r ­
ences in program. I t is by no means cl ea r whether expensive
programs are a r e s u l t or a cause o f high costs. An i n s t i t u t i o n
which succeeds in r a is i n g ample funds can a ff o r d to o f f e r expen­
sive programs. I t can o f f e r and even require science, f i n e a r t s ,
or c la s s i c s , whereas a less a f f l u e n t i n s t i t u t i o n w i l l tend to
steer away from these subjects toward less c o s t l y sociology and
education. S i m i l a r l y , a r i c h i n s t i t u t i o n may have highly
developed psychological counseling, a r t museums, and expensive
a t h l e t i c f a c i l i t i e s , whereas a less a f f l u e n t i n s t i t u t i o n may
have to streamline i t s student services and c u l t u r a l o f f e r i n g s .

'^Howard R. Bowen, The Costs of . . .
156Ibid pp. 120-121.

p. 114.

149

High cost i n s t i t u t i o n s cannot maintain t h a t t h e i r high costs
are due so le ly to the character o f t h e i r o f f e r i n g s ; the h i s t o r ­
ical fa ct s may be the exact o p p o s i t e . (157)
The wide differen ces in cost per student are sometimes j u s t i ­
f i e d by c i t i n g s i g n i f i c a n t though subtle diffe ren ces in i n s t i t u ­
ti on al q u a l i t y . This argument comes in four forms a l l r e l a t i n g
to the benefits of d i v e r s i t y .
F i r s t , i t is sometimes argued t h a t the higher educational
system, since i t is c all ed upon to serve widely varied c l i e n t e l e s ,
must be diverse. Substantial cost diff er en ces are th er ef ore held
to be le g it im a te and even necessary. The widely acknowledged
need f o r d i v e r s i t y does not, however, explain why i n s t i t u t i o n s
serving the same or very s i m i l a r c l i e n t e l e s - f o r example,
s el e ct iv e l i b e r a l ar ts colleges or large state colleges - should
e x h i b i t such disparate costs per student.
Second, i t is argued th a t d i v e r s i t y among i n s t i t u t i o n s is
beneficial as i t f o s t e rs innovation in higher education. The
acknowledged benefits from innovation do not, however, explain
the substantial cost differences among i n s t i t u t i o n s t h a t are
s i m i l a r not only in size and mission but also in t h e i r t r a d i ­
tion al i sm.
Third, i t is argued th a t r i c h i n s t i t u t i o n s lead the way f o r
the less a f f l u e n t i n s t i t u t i o n s in showing how to make good use of
increasing resources as the funds f o r a l l of higher education
grow. This argument may go in to reverse in a period of dec lin ing
real resources. In tha t case, the l e s s - a f f l u e n t i n s t i t u t i o n s
may be able to i n s t r u c t t h e i r r i c h neighbors in how to cope with
poverty.
Fourth, i t is argued th a t d i v e r s i t y leading to cost d i f f e r ­
ences among colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s is essential to i n t e l l e c t u a l
and c u l t u r a l excellence. I t is held t h a t there is not enough
money or ta le nt s to produce such excellence in every i n s t i t u t i o n
and th a t i f a l l i n s t i t u t i o n s were to subsist a t the same level of
cost per student, the r e s u l t would be widely d i ff u sed me dioc rity .
. . . But even accepting the importance of special peaks of
excellence there is no explanation of the f a c t th a t i n s t i t u t i o n s
tha t could be said to have reached the highest peaks of excellence
operate at widely d i f f e r e n t costs per s t u d e n t . (158)
Revenue fi nd ing s from t h i s study
While many p r iv a t e colleges receive some government fi n a n c i a l
assistance in various forms, most of t h e i r revenues f o r operational

157Ibid pp. 122, 127.
^58Ibid p. 128.

150

expenditures come from t u i t i o n and fees, pr iv a te g i f t s and grants,
and endowment income.
Revenues from t u i t i o n and fees increased 80 percent from 1977/78
to 1982/83 which was s l i g h t l y higher than the increase in t o t a l d i r e c t
educational expenditures o f 74 percent.

In 1982/83 t u i t i o n and fees

revenues amounted to 73.6 percent of the t o t a l educational expenditures.
This was up from 71.0 percent in 1977/78 and c l e a r l y shows the major
importance of t u i t i o n to the f i n a n c i a l well-being o f a college.

With

such a high r e lia nc e on t u i t i o n revenues, any s i g n i f i c a n t decline in
enrollment w i l l r e s u l t i n budget d i f f i c u l t i e s .
The second l a r g e s t source of revenues f o r educational opera­
tions comes from p r iv a te g i f t s and grants.

Unfortunately the increase

from t h i s revenue source, 56 percent, was less than the increase in
expenditures from 1977/78 to 1982/83.

While 16.2 percent of t o t a l

educational expenditures were met through g i f t s and grants in 1977/78,
that percentage dropped to 14.5 percent f o r 1982/83.

Since t h i s

revenue source is a major one f o r most pr iv a te colleges, e f f o r t s need
to be made to increase g i f t s and grants.

The importance of g i f t s and

grants to meeting college budgets varies from college to college.
While one college used g i f t s and grants to meet 36.1 percent of i t s
t o t a l educational expenditures in 1982/83, another college only used
4.1 percent.
The t h i r d major revenue source f o r pr iv a te colleges is
endowment income.

This source also varies widely in importance to

individual colleges.

While 3 colleges have less than one percent of

t h e i r t o t a l educational expenditures met from endowment income f o r
1982/83, another 3 colleges re alized a t l e a s t 14 percent from t h i s

151

income source.

As a group, revenues from endowment income increased

133 percent from 1977/78 to 1982/83 which re sulted in an increase in
the percentage o f to t a l educational expenditures covered from th is
source.
Enrollment and fin a n c ia l p rojectio ns
Chapter 5 summarized the responses from questionnaires th a t
were sent to the researcher from 9 o f the colleges.

This section w i l l

not repeat those summaries but w i l l make some observations re la te d to
those summaries.
Seven colleges expect t h e ir headcount and f u l l - t i m e equivalent
enrollments to remain steady or increase during the next several years
and 8 colleges expect t h e i r f i r s t - t i m e freshmen enrollments to remain
stab le.

In l i g h t of the enrollment data presented in th is study fo r

these colleges and given the demographic data p e rta in in g to high school
graduates, the researcher believes th a t these colleges are being
unreasonably o p tim is tic about enrollment and should have some c o n tin ­
gency plans on hand which are based on enrollment declines.
Seven o f the 8 colleges responding to a question on revenue
p ro je ctio n s expect to have increases in g i f t s and grants.

Given the

data from th is study f o r g i f t s and grants revenues, the colleges w i l l
need to work hard to increase t h is revenue source.

Five o f the 8

colleges also expect endowment revenues to increase to help them cover
more o f t h e i r expenditures.
Colleges do expect to have to continue ra is in g t u i t i o n .
P rojections o f increases ranged from 6.5 percent to 10.5 percent per
year over the next 4 years.

I f i n f l a t i o n continues to increase between

152

3 and 4 percent as i t has f o r the la s t two years, these colleges are
expecting to have to increase t u i t i o n possibly 2 to 3 times more than
in fla tio n .

At the same time they are p ro je c tin g these t u i t i o n i n ­

creases, most are very concerned about not p ric in g themselves out of
the market.
The budget percentage o f i n s t i t u t i o n a l l y funded student
fin a n c ia l aid is expected to increase a t 6 o f the 9 colleges.

As

competition increases, the o f f e r o f fin a n c ia l aid to a prospective
student becomes a key r e c r u itin g tool f o r many colleges.

Two other

areas th a t colleges seem to be most concerned about in terms of cost
increases are p la n t operation and maintenance, and personnel costs.
The various responses from the colleges to the researcher's
questionnaire can best be summed up by using one c o lle g e 's response
o f being "c a u tio u s ly o p t i m i s t i c . "

In order to keep fa c u lt y , s t a f f ,

and student morale up colleges need to plan c a r e f u lly , work hard on
enrollment and fin a n c ia l e f f ic ie n c y , be r e a l i s t i c , and r e f l e c t as much
optimism as possible.

That optimism d e f i n i t e l y needs to be tempered

w ith cau tion, however, so th a t they d o n 't end up w ith unexpected
surprises which could threaten the existence of an i n s t i t u t i o n or
s e rio u s ly dim inish an i n s t i t u t i o n ' s q u a lity o f programs and/or e ffe c ­
tiveness in carry in g out i t s mission.
Conclusions from the Study
Having summarized the more p e rtin e n t fin d in g s from the
l i t e r a t u r e review, the h is t o r ic a l data obtained f o r the colleg es, and
the p ro je c tio n inform ation from the questionnaires completed by the
c olleg es, t h is section w i l l present several conclusions th a t can be

153

drawn concerning th is group o f p riv a te l ib e r a l a rts colleges as a
r e s u lt o f t h is study.
While data in th is study has been presented both f o r i n d iv i d ­
ual colleges and f o r the colleges as a group, the conclusions presented,
here are based on data f o r the to t a l group.

The conclusions cannot be

applied to a s p e c ific college in the study.

While a conclusion may be

able to be applied to an in d iv id u a l c o lle g e , i t may not be applicab le
to another one.

Each college would need to examine i t s own data to see

whether or not the conclusions f o r the group could be applied to them.
- The la te 1970s and e a rly 1980s have been d i f f i c u l t years
f o r enrollment and finances f o r Michigan l ib e r a l a rts c o lle g e s .
Data presented on to ta l enrollments, f u l l - t i m e enrollments, per
student costs, and g i f t and grant revenues indicates th a t most
colleges have been s tru g g lin g to maintain enrollments and balance
budgets.
- F u ll-tim e enrollm ents, and consequently headcount and f u l l ­
time equivalent enrollments, w i l l continue to be a problem and w i l l
de clin e during the next several ye a rs.
Enrollment data from the la s t few years coupled w ith demographic data
re la te d to high school graduates and Michigan population m igration data
support t h is conclusion.

One primary support f o r th is conclusion is

the data re la te d to the decline in f i r s t - t i m e freshmen enrollments.

In

order to prevent a decline in enrollment there would have to be a f a i r l y
s i g n if ic a n t enrollment s h i f t from public to p riv a te colleges which does
not seem l i k e l y given the cost d iffe ren ces between the two sectors o f
higher education.
- An increase in p a rt-tim e enrollments has prevented to ta l

154

headcount and f u l l - t i m e equivalent enrollments from d e c lin in g in some
colleges as much as they might have; however, i t is doubtful th a t
p a rt-tim e enrollments can continue to o f f s e t declines in f u l l - t i m e
en rollm ents.
P'art-time enrollment has f a i r l y well leveled o f f during the l a s t 3
years except f o r 4 or 5 o f the colleges.

With so much emphasis having

been placed on n o n tra d itio n a l p a rt-tim e students during the past several
years, i t is questionable th a t an increase in th is market can continue
a t any s ig n if ic a n t level f o r p riv a te colleges.

Several o f the colleges

are not located in population areas which are large enough to be able
to expect to r e c r u i t large numbers o f p a rt-tim e students.
- Colleges s e lf-re p o rte d enrollment p ro je ctio n s are un realis t ic a lly o p tim is tic .
The colleges are not expecting a decline in enrollments over the next
several years.

The a v a ila b le data does not support t h e i r optimism.

- Because the colleges are hig h ly tuition-dependent fo r
revenues, fin a n c ia l pressures w i l l continue to be f e l t and may increase
as enrollments d e c lin e .
T u itio n determines to a high extent the fin a n c ia l s t a b i l i t y o f p riv a te
colleges.

As enrollments d e c lin e , the fin a n c ia l status o f many i n s t i ­

tu tio n s could become very d i f f i c u l t .

I t is u n lik e ly th a t ad ditio n a l

endowment income or g i f t income can o f f s e t reduced t u i t i o n revenues.
- The cost d iffe re n c e s between pu b lic and p riv a te colleges
and among p riv a te colleges w i l l continue to be a concern and may become
more o f a concern as 'enrollments decline and t u i t i o n is raised to o f f s e t
the r e s u ltin g l o s t revenues.
Faced w ith d e c lin in g enrollments and l o s t t u i t i o n revenue, colleges

155

w i l l be forced to look a t the p o s s i b i l i t y o f ra is in g t u i t i o n in order
to balance t h e ir budgets.

Then they w i l l be faced w ith the problem of

p ric in g themselves too high f o r many students to be able to pay.
- T u itio n charges by the colleges w i l l increase in percentage
fa s te r than the i n f l a t i o n ra te i f i n f l a t i o n stays under 5 percent per
y e a r.
This conclusion is supported by the s e lf-re p o rte d planned t u i t i o n
increases f o r the next few years and by national p ro je c tio n data.

The

reasons f o r th is are th a t colleges are h ig h ly labor-dependent and th a t
during a few recent years o f high i n f l a t i o n many b u ild in g and mainte­
nance needs were deferred.
- Given projected enrollment declines and the subsequent
fin a n c ia l pressures, com petition f o r students among colleges w i l l
increase s i g n i f i c a n t l y .
While a c e rta in amount o f competition is healthy and helps to keep a
c o lle g e 's programs and mission in focus, com petition out o f a sense of
desperation and survival could become too intense and r e s u lt in
questionable r e c r u itin g p ra c tic e s .

Colleges w i l l need to be careful

to maintain i n t e g r i t y and honesty as they attempt to r e c r u i t students
during the next several years.
- P rivate g i f t s and grants over the past several years have
not kept pace w ith cost increases.
This has to be a major concern f o r colleges as they face a reduction
in t u i t i o n revenues.

The colleges need to step up e f f o r t s to make

the pu blic more aware o f what p riv a te colleges have to o f f e r and to
also make the pu blic aware o f the need f o r t h e i r fin a n c ia l support.
- Most colleges need to s i g n if ic a n t l y increase t h e i r

156

revenues from endowment income.
Except fo r a few colle g e s , endowment income does not co n trib u te
s i g n if ic a n t l y to a c o lle g e 's operations budget which re s u lts in a less
stable budgetary process.

Endowment income becomes p a r t i c u l a r l y

valuable during times of enrollment and fin a n c ia l stre ss.

The colleges

in th is study need to make a strong e f f o r t to increase t h e i r endowment
holdings.

This may be d i f f i c u l t to do when they are faced a t the same

time w ith needing increased g i f t s f o r c u rre n t operating funds.
- The percentage of the to t a l d ir e c t educational costs spent
fo r in s tr u c tio n has declined ra is in g questions about i n s t i t u t i o n a l
budgetary p r i o r i t i e s .
The primary educational mission o f a college should be to teach
students.

As a smaller percentage o f the budget is spent f o r in s tr u c ­

t io n , questions have to be raised about t h is p r i o r i t y .

Each college

needs to examine i t s own budgetary fig u re s to see i f i t r e f le c t s th a t
in s titu tio n 's p r io r itie s .
- I n s t it u t i o n a l fin a n c ia l aid is becoming more o f a concern
f o r colleges and is being used as a r e c r u it in g t o o l .
As competition f o r students increases, as t u i t i o n charges increase,
and as government fin a n c ia l aid d e c lin e s , colleges are using i n s t i t u ­
tio n a l fin a n c ia l aid as a r e c r u it in g t o o l.

Increases in th is aid

re s u lts in a need to increase revenues from other sources to cover the
funding fo r the aid .

I f t u i t i o n has to be raised to cover more aid

then the college may end up p r ic in g i t s e l f too high fo r other students
and w i l l be taking from one student to give to another.

To avoid

th is colleges should only use g i f t s , grants, and endowment income when
fin a n c ia l aid to students is increased.

157

- Colleges should seek possible ways to cooperate w ith each
other whenever p o s s ib le .
Instead of continuing to in te n s ify com petition w ith each other in some
programs, consortium or c o a lit io n arrangements might be worked out
allow ing some colleges to reduce costs by cooperating w ith other
colleges.

This might allow some colleges to drop weak programs and

concentrate on strong programs.
~ Colleges should work d i l i g e n t l y to operate more e f f i c i e n t l y
and make personnel and program cuts wherever p o s s ib le .
Generally colleges are not in the habit o f laying o f f people and
c u ttin g out programs.

Faced w ith c u rre n t enrollment and fin a n c ia l

data, however, i t is u n r e a lis t ic to assume th a t a l l o f a c o lle g e 's
fin a n c ia l problems can be solved j u s t by increasing revenues.

Care­

f u l l y planned cutbacks need to be implemented along w ith plans to
increase revenues.
- Given enrollment and fin a n c ia l pressures, colleges need to
keep t h e ir unigue mission c le a r ly in mind.
When a college fin d s th a t most decisions are being made on the basis
o f fin a n c ia l concerns, there is a danger th a t budget p r i o r i t i e s may not
r e f l e c t a c o lle g e 's mission.

When new c l i e n t e le are re c ru ite d to t r y

to make up f o r a decline in a c o lle g e 's t r a d i t i o n a l c l i e n t e l e , a college
may u n in te n tio n a lly fin d i t is s h if t in g i t s mission.

During the next

several years i t w i l l be very important f o r colleges to discuss t h e i r
primary mission and o b je ctive s as they make enrollment and fin a n c ia l
plans and decisions.

158

Recommendations f o r A dditional Research
As the researcher reviews th is study, some areas o f concern
remain which would b e n e fit from fu r th e r study.
F i r s t o f a l l i t seems as though i t would be valuable f o r the
data which was used in t h is study to be c o lle c te d and analyzed in
succeeding years in order to continue to monitor the status o f th is
unique and important group o f l ib e r a l a rts colleges.
to occur smoothly colleges

should agree to cooperate

For th is
w ith such an

e ffo rt.
Since th is group o f colleges is s im ila r in nature and a l l
o f them sta te a s im ila r mission, cooperative marketing studies on the
status and the p u b lic 's perception o f p riv a te l ib e r a l a rts education
in Michigan should be undertaken.
in t h e i r re cruitm e nt e f f o r t s .

The re s u lts could help the colleges

The inform ation from th is current study

showed th a t w hile one colleg e planned to add a program, another planned
to cut back the same program and both plans were based on enrollment
considerations.

Such a marketing study could help to c l a r i f y these

kinds o f issues f o r the colleg es.
This cu rre n t study showed a large d iffe re n c e in per student
costs from one college to another.

An educational outcomes study

would be valuable to t r y to assess whether or not such large per
student cost d iffe re n c e s do make a d iffe re n c e in educational outcomes.
Along w ith cost d iffe re n c e s concerns could be a study to attempt to
determine why such large per student cost d iffe re n ce s e x is t.
Another suggested area f o r study would be to determine what
causes the d iffe re n c e s from one college to another in the percentage
o f budget spent in a s p e c ific expenditure category.

This would be

159

d i f f i c u l t to do f o r the colleges as a group since i t would require
th a t each colleg e fu rn is h ra th e r d e ta ile d fin a n c ia l inform ation.

It

is a study, however, th a t the researcher would recommend th a t an i n d i ­
vidual college carry out i f th a t college seems to be q u ite low or q u ite
high in a s p e c ific budget category when compared w ith other colleges
in th is study.
F in a lly , the researcher would recommend th a t the colleges
study ways in which they could cooperate w ith each other in whatever
areas possible.

While they have worked together in the areas of fund

ra is in g and sta te governmental a f f a i r s , i t could be b e n e fic ia l to
fin d ways to cooperate in some areas o f academic programs.

APPENDIX A
COLLEGE QUESTIONNAIRE

APPENDIX A
QUESTIONNAIRE
MICHIGAN PRIVATE LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES
Enrollment and Economic Impact 1983-87
Many educators are p re d ic tin g d i f f i c u l t times fo r p riv a te colleges
during the next several years due to p re d ictio n s o f enrollm ent d e clin es,
increasing costs, and economic recession. P rivate colleges in Michigan
could be some o f the hardest h i t in the country since 1) the decline in
the number o f high school graduates in Michigan is projected to be almost
double the national average, 2) Michigan's economy is being h i t hard due
to the unemployment rate which is one o f the highest in the country, and
3) many people are leaving the state to look f o r work elsewhere.
In a study o f p riv a te higher education, the Carnegie Commission,
b e lie v in g th a t the p riv a te sector should be preserved and strengthened,
has made recommendations fo r p riva te colleges which include:
1) Seek increased revenues from p riv a te sources
2) Improve a d m inistra tion
3) Reduce costs
4) Develop new programs
5) Seek out new c lie n t e le
6) Plan ahead in order to improve t h e i r economic s itu a tio n s
The purpose o f th is questionnaire is to ascertain each c o lle g e 's
perception about the next fiv e years and to determine whether or not each
is involved in a c t i v i t i e s re lated to the recommendations noted above.
The re s u lts o f th is study w i l l include the responses to th is ques­
tio n n a ire as well as a d d itio n a l h is to r ic a l and projected data f o r each
c o lle g e , fo r the State o f Michigan, and fo r higher .education in general.
A summary o f the re s u lts w i l l be provided to each college involved w ith
the study, to the Association o f Independent Colleges and U n iv e rs itie s
in Michigan, and to the Michigan Colleges Foundation. The study is being
conducted by Mr. Ray Whiteman working through the Department o f Admin­
i s t r a t i o n and Higher Education at Michigan State U n iv e rs ity .
Return Completed Questionnaire To:
Mr. Ray Whiteman
1516 Wakeman Avenue
Wheaton, I l l i n o i s 60187
(Please return by March 10, 1983)

College:

Thank you f o r your p a r tic ip a tio n in th is study. Your time is appreciated
and the re s u lts should be he lp fu l to a l l who are concerned about p riv a te
higher education in Michigan.
160

161
Page 1

Col le g e :

A. ENROLLMENT
(1) Listed below are f a l 1 headcount and FTE enrollm ent s t a t i s t i c s fo r
the past s ix years. Please in d ic a te your projected headcount and
FTE enrollments fo r the next fiv e years.
F a ll:
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
Headcount
FTE
F a ll:

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

Headcount
FTE
(2) Listed below are fa l 1 f i r s t - t i m e freshmen enrollm ent s t a t i s t i c s fo r
the past s ix years. Please in d ic a te your projected f i r s t - t i m e
freshmen enrollment f o r the next fiv e years.
F a ll:
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
F a ll:

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

(3) I f you are p ro je c tin g enrollment to remain steady or increase
during the next fiv e years, why do you believe your college w i l l
not fo llo w projected enrollm ent declines?

B. REVENUE
(1) Listed below is the percentage th a t your d ir e c t educational costs
were covered by t u i t i o n revenue fo r each o f fiv e years.
1977-78
1978-79
1979-80
1980-81
1981-82
(2) Do you expect the percentage o f t u i t i o n th a t covers d ir e c t educa­
tio n a l costs to d e c lin e , increase, or remain the same during the.
next fiv e years? Why?

College:

162

Page 2

REVENUE - continued
(3) What do you view as being the possible sources f o r increased
revenue during the next f i v e years? From which o f these are you
r e a l i s t i c a l l y planning on a meaningful increase a t your college?

(4) What is your projected y e a rly f u l l - t im e t u i t i o n f o r the next fiv e
years?
1983-84
1984-85
1985-86
1986-87
1987-88

(5) Is your college a d m in is tra tio n a t a l l concerned w ith the p o s s i b i l i t y
th a t your t u i t i o n could get "too high" and r e s u lt in "p ric in g
y o u rs e lf out o f the market?"

C. COSTS
(1) What s p e c ific measures have been taken during the past three to
f i v e years to reduce costs?

College:

163

Page 3

COSTS - continued
(2) What s p e c ific measures are you planning f o r the next three to f i v e
years to reduce costs?

(3) Are you p ro je c tin g a decrease, increase, or no change during the
next f i v e years in the budget percentage o f i n s t i t u t i o n a l funded
student fin a n c ia l aid? Why?

(4) What budget items have increased s i g n if ic a n t l y (as you would view
s ig n if ic a n t ) during the past f i v e years in terms of the increase in
percentage o f your t o t a l budget?

(5) What budget items have decreased in percentage of your to t a l budget
during the past f i v e years?

D. ADMINISTRATION
(1) What s p e c ific actions have been taken in an attempt to improve
a d m in is tra tiv e e f f ic ie n c y and effectiveness?

College:

164

Page 4

ADMINISTRATION - continued
(2) What actions are planned in an attempt to improve a d m in is tra tiv e
e ff ic ie n c y and effectiveness?

(3) During the past f i v e years, has the number o f a d m in is tra tiv e and
a d m in is tra tiv e s t a f f personnel increased, decreased, or remained
the same? I f increased, by how many people?

(4) Do you expect a decrease, increase, or no change during the next
f i v e years in the number of a d m in is tra tiv e and a d m in is tra tiv e s t a f f
personnel? Why?

E. ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
(1) What academic programs do you plan to drop or to cut back in terms
o f budget and/or personnel during the next fiv e years? Why?

(2) What academic programs do you plan to add or to increase emphasis
on in terms o f budget and/or personnel during the next f i v e years?
Why?

Col l e g e :

165

Page 5

F. CLIENTELE
(1) What percentage o f your headcount enrollment f o r f a l l of 1982 was
in the t r a d i t i o n a l 18-21 year old group? How does th is compare to
the f a l l o f 1977?

(2) Do you expect the 1982 percentage o f 18-21 year olds to increase,
decrease, or remain the same during the next f i v e years? Why?

(3) Are you a c tiv e ly tr y in g to increase your enrollment by appealing to
s p e c ific c l i e n t e l e groups other than the 18-21 year old group? I f
yes, who are they and what are you doing to a t t r a c t them?

(4) What percentage o f your f a l l 1982 headcount enrollment were
Michigan residents?

(5) Are you s p e c i f i c a l l y tr y in g to increase your percentage of o u t- o fs ta te enrollment? I f yes, how?

College:

166

Page 6

G. PLANNING
(1) Is there an in d iv id u a l and/or a committee on your campus who is
responsible f o r long-range planning? Which is i t and how a c tiv e
is he/she or are they?

(2) For how many years ahead do you have a comprehensive plan f o r your
campus in terms o f enrollm ent, personnel, programs, and buildings?

(3) For how many years ahead do you fe e l your plans w i l l match w ith
r e a lity ?

(4) What one or two fa c to rs could occur which would have a s i g n if ic a n t
detrimental e ffe c t on your plans?

H. SUMMARY - Give a b r i e f o v e ra ll summary o f your c o lle g e 's expectations
f o r the next f i v e years.

Person completing th is questionnaire__________
T i t l e ___________________________ Telephone

167

THE MICHIGAN COLLEGES FOUNDATION, INC.
m

711 Boulevard Center Building • 6560 Cass Avenue • Detroit, Michigan 48202
(313) 875-0555
John S. Lore, President

MEMORANDUM
TO:

Dr.
Dr.
Dr.
Dr.
Dr.
Dr.
Dr.

Donald S. Stanton
Bernard T. Lomas
Oscar E. Remick
Norbert J. Hruby
Anthony Diekema
George C. Roche I I I
Gordon J. Van Wylen

FROM:

John S. Lore

DATE:

January 31, 1983

Dr.
Sr.
Dr.
Sr.
Dr.
Dr.
Dr.
Dr.

George N. Rainsford
Mary Francilene
John E. Shay, J r .
Agnes Mary Mansour
John E. Hopkins
Donald A. Morris
Louis C. Vaccaro
Kenneth H. Coffman

Mr. Raymond E. Whiteman is p resen tly com piling data f o r his study on
p r iv a te li b e r a l a r ts colleges in Michigan. I ’ ve had the o p p o rtu n ity to
meet w ith Ray and was impressed w ith his background in p r iv a te higher
education as well as his in t e r e s t in pursuing data re la te d to our member
p r iv a te colleges f o r his doctoral study.
Ray is c u r r e n tly in the process o f o b ta in in g feedback concerning each
c o lle g e 's view o f i t s economic and enrollm ent outlook f o r the fu tu r e .
The questionnaire is based on some Carnegie Commission recommendations
f o r p riv a te co lle g e s. We encourage you to cooperate w ith Ray in t h i s
study. He has worked f o r several years in p r iv a te higher education,
most o f which has been in Michigan and w i l l t r e a t the data w ith a pro­
fessio nal p e rspe ctive. The r e s u lts o f his study w i l l be shared w ith you
and should be h e lp f u l.
Your assistance in responding to Ray's request is encouraged.
JSL: nls

One annual giant to MCF benefits 16 colleges. Adrian • Albion • Alm a • Andrews • Aquinas • Calvin
Hillsdale • Hope • Kalamazoo • M adonna • Marygrove • Mercy • Nazareth • Olivet • Siena Heights • Spring Arbor

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY
American Council on Education. 1982-83 Accredited I n s t it u t i o n s of
Postsecondary Education. Washington, D. C.: American Council
on Education, 1982.
Anderson, Richard E. S tra te g ic P olicy Changes a t P rivate Colleges.
New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia U n iv e rs ity , 1977.
Association Council f o r P olicy Analysis and Research. 1982 The National
Investment in Higher Education. Washington, D. C .: Associa­
tio n Council f o r P olicy Analysis and Research, 1982.
Bowen,

Howard R. The Costs o f Higher Education:
How Much Do Colleges
Spend per Student and How Much Should They Spend? San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass P ublishers, 1980.

Boyd, W. L. "Retrenchment in American Education: The P o l i t i c s of
E f fic ie n c y . " Paper presented a t the American Educational
Research Association Meeting, San Francisco, 1979.
Breneman, David W.
F igures."

"The Coming Enrollment C ris is - Focusing on the
Change, Vol. 15, No. 2 (March 1983), 14-19.

Breneman, David W. and Finn, Chester E., J r . , e d ito rs . Public Policy
and P rivate Higher Education. Washington, D. C.: The
Brookings I n s t i t u t i o n , 1978.
B rick,

Michael and McGrath, Earl J. Innovation in Liberal Arts
Col 1eges. New York:
Published f o r the I n s t i t u t e of Higher
Education by Teachers College Press, Columbia U n iv e rs ity ,
1969.

Brinkman, Paul and Krakower, Jack. Comparative Data f o r A dm inistra­
to rs in Higher Education. Boulder, Colorado: National
Center f o r Higher Education Management Systems, 1983.
Bureau o f Labor S t a t i s t i c s .

Telephone conversation, December 16, 1983.

Bureau o f the Census, U. S. Department o f Commerce. I l l u s t r a t i v e
P roje ctions o f State Populations by Age, Race, and Sex, 1975
to 2000. Washington, D. C.: U. S. Government P rin tin g O ffic e .
Cameron, Kim. "S tra te g ic Responses to Conditions o f Decline: Higher
Education and the P riv a te S ector." The Journal o f Higher
Education, Vol. 54, No. 4 (July/August 1983), 359-380.
168

169

Carnegie Council on P olicy Studies in Higher Education.
Council on P olicy Studies in Higher Education.
Jossey-Bass P ublishers, 1930.

The Carnegie
San Francisco:

Carnegie Council on P olicy Studies in Higher Education. The States
and P rivate Higher Education: Problems and P o lic ie s in a
New Era. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass P ublishers, 1977.
Carnegie Council on P olicy Studies in Higher Education.
Three Thousand
Futures - The Next Twenty Years f o r Higher Education. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass P ublishers, 1980.
Carnegie Foundation f o r the Advancement of Teaching. More Than
S u rv iv a l: Prospects f o r Higher Education in a Period of
. U n c e rta in ty . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1975.
Carnevale, Anthony P. "Higher Education's Role in the American
Economy." Educational Record, Vol. 64, No. 4 (F a ll 1983),
6-16.
Change Magazine. Colleges and Money.
Press, 1976.

New York:

Change Magazine

Council o f Economic Advisers. America's New Beginning: A Program fo r
Economic Recovery. Report to the President o f the United
States. Washington, D. C.: U. S. Government P rin tin g O ffic e ,
1981.
Data Dispenser. Newsletter of the American Association o f C ollegiate
Registrars and Admissions O ffic e r s , Vol. 2, No. 11 (Ju ly 1983).
Data Dispenser. Newsletter o f the American Association o f C ollegiate
Registrars and Admissions O ffic e r s , Vol. 3, No. 3 (November
1983).
Deutsch, Jerome M. "Retrenchment: C ris is or Challenge?"
Record, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Winter 1983), 41-44.

Educational

Educational Research Service, Inc. In d ic a to rs o f Future School E n r o ll­
ments: A Reference Manual f o r Planners. A rlin g to n , V ir g in ia :
Educational Research Service, In c . , 1980.
Gallagher, Buell G. Campus in C r i s i s .
P ublishers, 1974.

New York:

Harper and Row

Ginsburg, Sigmund G. "Avoiding Financial Exigency."
Record, Vol. 64, No. 3 (Summer.1983), 40-46.
Glenny,

Lyman A ., e t. a l .Presidents Confront
Complex to U n iv e rs ity Without W alls.
Bass P ublishers, 1976.

Educational

R e a lity : FromE d ific e
San Francisco: Jossey-

170

Hecker, Stanley E. and Ignatovich, Frederick R. Michigan Total Public
and Non-Public Membership P ro je c tio n s . East Lansing, M ichi­
gan: College o f Education, Michigan State U n iv e rs ity , August
1981 .
Hecker, Stanley E. and Ign ato vich, Frederick R. National and Michigan
Resident B i r t h s . East Lansing, Michigan: College o f Educa­
t io n , Michigan State U n iv e rs ity , A p ril 1982.
Hecker, Stanley E. and Ign ato vich, Frederick R. United States Public
and Michigan P u b lic-P ro v isio n a l Enrollments and P ro je c tio n s .
East Lansing, Michigan: College o f Education, Michigan State
U n iv e rs ity , A p ril 1982.
Heger, Herbert K. "Revolution in the Small C olleges."
Record, Vol. 63, No. 4 (F a ll 1982), 18-19.

Educational

Henderson, Algo D. and Henderson, Jean Glidden. Higher Education in
America. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass P ublishers, 1974.
Hodgkinson, Harold L. Guess Who's Coming to College: Your Students
in 1990. Washington, D. C.: National I n s t i t u t e o f Independent
Colleges and U n iv e r s itie s , 1983.
Hodgkinson, Harold L. I n s t it u t i o n s in T ra n s itio n .
H i l l Book Co., 1971.

New York:

McGraw

Hoenacck, Stephen A. "P ric in g and E ffic ie n c y in Higher Education."
Journal of Higher Education, Vol 53, No. 4 (July/August 1982),
403-418.
" I l l i n o i s Energy Costs Rise 126%." Chronicle o f Higher Education,
Vol. 27, No. 8 (October 19, 1983), 2"
Jellema, W illiam W., e d it o r . E f f i c i e n t College Management.
Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1972.

San

Kemerer, Frank R., e t. a l . S trategies f o r E ffe c tiv e Enrollment Manage­
ment. Washington, D. C.: American Association o f State
Colleges and U n iv e r s itie s , 1982.
Litzenburg, Thomas V ., J r .
"Prudent Planning, Not Wishful T h inking."
Change, Vol. 15, No. 2 (March 1983), 30-31,
M a g a rre ll, Jack. "Colleges' Energy Costs May Double i f U. S. L i f t s
L im its on Gas P ric e s ." The Chronicle of Higher Education,
Vol. 26, No. 9 (A p ril 27, 1983), 1.
M agarrell, Jack. "E arly Surveys Find Enrollment Holding Steady." The
Chronicle o f Higher Education, Vol. 27, No. 11 (November 9,
1983), i+ :

171

M a garrell, Jack. "P riva te Colleges Report 16,000 Fewer Freshmen."
The Chronicle o f Higher Education, Vol. 25, No. 10 (November
3, 1982), 8.
M a garrell, Jack. "P riv a te Colleges Seek 'P a r i t y ' in New York Grants."
The Chronicle o f Higher Education, Vol. 27, No. 7 (October
12, 1983), 12.
M a garrell, Jack. "P u b lic -P riv a te Competition In t e n s ify in g ." The
Chronicle o f Higher Education, Vol. 26, No. 13 (May 25,
1983), 1.
Mayhew, Lewis B. Surviving the E ig h tie s .
P ublishers, 1979.

San Francisco:

Jossey-Bass

McCurdy, Jack. " C a lifo rn ia Community Colleges Forced to Absorb Budget
Cut." The Chronicle o f Higher Education, Vol. 27, No. 5
(September 28, 1983), 11.
McCurdy, Jack. " C a lifo rn ia Governor Cuts College Aid by $381-Mi 11io n ."
The Chronicle o f Higher Education, Vol. 26, No. 23 (August 3,

198317 1.
Meyer, Edward D., Dean, A d m in is tra tiv e Services, Madonna College.
Telephone Conversation, March 8, 1984.
"Michigan Education School Faces 40-percent Budget Cut." The Chronicle
o f Higher Education, Vol. 27, No. 5 (September 28, 1983), 2.
Mingle, James R. and Associates. Challenges o f Retrenchment: S t r a t ­
egies For Consolidating Programs, Cutting Costs, and Reallo­
cating Resources. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1981.
M inter, John W. and Bowen, Howard R. Independent Higher Education.
Washington, D. C.: National I n s t i t u t e o f Independent Colleges
and U n iv e r s itie s , 1980.
Morgan, Anthony W. "Cost as a P olicy Issue: Lessons from the Health
Care S ector." The Journal o f Higher Education, Vol. 54, No. 3
(May/June 1983), 279-293.
National Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s , U. S. Department o f Educa­
t io n . Enrollment reports of i n s t i t u t i o n s o f higher education
sent to the researcher. Data compiled from the Higher Educa­
tio n General Inform ation Surveys.
National

Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s , U. S. Department of Educa­
tio n . The Condition o f Education. Washington, D. C.:
U. S.
Government P rin tin g O ffic e , 1980.

National

Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s , U. S. Department of Educa­
tio n . The Condition o f Education. Washington, D. C.:
U. S.
Government P rin tin g O ffic e , 1982.

172

National Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s , U. S. Department o f Educa­
t io n . The Condition o f Education. Washington, D. C.: U. S.
Government P rin tin g O ffic e , 1983.
National Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s , U. S. Department o f Educat io n . Education D ire cto ry o f Colleges and U n iv e rs itie s
1981-82. Washington, D. C.: U. S. Government P rin tin g
O ffic e , 1981.
National Center f o r Education S t a t i s t i c s , U. S. Department of Educatio n . P rojections o f Education S t a t is t ic s to 1990-91. Volume
I : A n a ly tic a l Report. Washington, D. C.: U. S. Government
P rin tin g O ffic e , 1982.
National Education A ssociation. Estimates o f School S t a t i s t i c s 1981-82.
Washington, D. C.: National Education A ssociatio n, 1982.
Quinn, Jane Bryant.
Students."

"College Equation is Simple: Less A id, Fewer
Chicago Tribune, October 11, 1983, Section 3, 1.

"Rate o f Increase in College Costs Slows th is Year."
Board News, Vol. 12, No. 1 (F all 1983), 1+.

The College

Remick, Oscar E. "A Call to Realism/A Call to Idealism ."
Vol. 15, No. 2 (March 1983), 28-29.

Change,

Schilpp, Paul A rth u r, e d ito r . Higher Education Faces the F uture.
York: Horace L iv e r ig h t , In c . , 1930.
Sheler,

New

J e ffre y L. "10 M i l l i o n People Without Jobs - Who They A re."
U. S. News and World Report, Vol. 92, No. 10(March 15, 1982),
71-74.

Snaviro, Sol. "College S u rv iva l: For the F i t or the Fortunate?"
Educational Record, Vol. 63, No. 3 (Summer 1982), 32-33.
Twentieth Century Fund. Funds f o r the Future. Report o f the Twen­
t i e t h Century Fund Task Force on College and U n iv e rs ity
Endowment P o lic y . New York: McGraw H i l l Book Co., 1975.
Verry, Donald and Davies, Bleddyn. U n iv e rs ity Costs and Outputs.
New York: E lsevier S c i e n t i f i c Publishing Co., 1976.
Watkins, Beverly T. "S tate s' Support f o r Colleges Up 12 Percent in
2 Years." The Chronicle o f Higher Education, Vol 27, No. 9
(October 26, 1983), 13+.
Western In te r s ta te Commission on Higher Education. High School
Graduates: P rojections f o r the F i f t y S ta te s . Boulder,
Colorado: Western In te r s ta te Commission on Higher Educa­
t i o n , 1979.

173

"Where Job Rate is High and Low." U. S. News and World Report, Vol.
95, No. 22 (December 16, 1983), 17.
^