Abstract
The concept of student engagement is receiving increased attention from researchers, higher education leaders, and the general public in recent years. This increased attention represents a shift from the more traditional “resource and reputation” model of academic quality to a model that emphasizes institutional best practices and student experiences that enhance student learning and development. At the same time, institutions face rising operating costs and the public faces rising costs of attendance. However, relatively little effort has been made to explore the potential relationship between these two important research and policy areas. This study examined the relationship between institutional expenditures and student engagement based on data from 142 colleges and universities. The results of an OLS multiple regression model, including a factor for student engagement as the dependent variable, suggest that administrative expenditures are negatively related to student engagement. These results support further exploration of potential complex causal links between expenditures and engagement and may provide support for initiatives to reverse historical trends and adjust institutional spending.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
A. W. Astin (1993) What Matters In College: Four Critical Years Revisited Jossey-Bass San Francisco
C. R. Belfield H. R. Thomas (2000) ArticleTitleThe relationship between resources and performance in further education colleges Oxford Review of Education 26 239–253
A. W. Chickering Z. F. Gamson (1987) ArticleTitleSeven principles for good practice in undergraduate education AAHE Bulletin 37 IssueID7 3–7
Ehrenberg (2000) Tuition Rising: Why College Costs So Much Harvard University Press CambridgeMA
J. Fox (1991) Regression Diagnostics. Sage University Papers Sage Publications Newbury Park
D. N. Gujarati (1995) Basic Econometrics EditionNumber3 McGraw-Hill New York
E. A. Hanushek (1997) ArticleTitleAssessing the effects of school resources on student performance: An update Educational Evaluation and Policv Analysis 19 141–164
InstitutionalAuthorNameHigher Learning Commission (2004) Handbook of Accreditation EditionNumber3 IL Chicago
Hodas, S. (1993). Is water input to a fish?: Problems with the production-function model in higher education. Education Policy Analysis Archives 1(12).
G. D. Kuh (2001) College students today: Why we can’t leave serendipity to chance P. Altbach P. Gumport B. Johnstone (Eds) Defense of the American University Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore 277–303
G. D. Kuh (2002) The College Student Report(4th ed). National Survey of Student EngagementCenter for Postsecondary Research and Planning Indiana University Bloomington
G. D. Kuh S. Hu (2001) ArticleTitleThe effects of student-faculty interaction in the 1990s The Review of Higher Education 24 309–332
G. L. Marco A.A. Abdel-fattah P.A. Baron (1992) Methods used to Establish Score Comparability on the Enhanced ACT Assessment and the SAT (College Board Report No. 92–3) The College Board New York, NY
W. F. Massy (Eds) (1996) Resource Allocation in Higher Education University of Michigan Press Ann Arbor
R. J. Meisinger (1994) College and University Budgeting: An Introduction for Faculty and Academic Administrators EditionNumber2 NACUBO Washington D.C
D. H. Monk (1992) ArticleTitleEducation productivity research: An update and assessment of its role in education finance reform Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 14 307–332
Monk, D. H. (1993). A reply to Mr. Hodas. Education Policy Analysis Archives 1(15).
National Center for Education Statistics (2003). Digest of Education Statistics. (NCES Publication No. 2003060). AuthorWashington, D.C.
National Survey of Student Engagement (2001). NSSE Technical and Norms Report. Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research and Planning.
E. T. Pascarella P. T. Terenzini (1991) How College Affects Students: Findings and Insights From Twenty Years Of Research Jossey-Bass San Francisco
G. R. Pike (2004) ArticleTitleMeasuring Quality: A comparison of U.S. News Rankings and NSSE Benchmarks Research in Higher Education 45 IssueID2 193–208
L. Pritchett D. Fulmer (1997) ArticleTitleWhat education production functions really show: A positive theory of education expenditures Economics of Education Review 18 IssueID2 223–239
J. F. Ryan (2004) ArticleTitleThe relationship between institutional expenditures and degree attainment at baccalaureate colleges Research in Higher Education 45 IssueID2 97–114
J. C. Smart C. A. Ethington R. O. Riggs M. D. Thompson (2002) ArticleTitleInfluences of institutional expenditure patterns on the development of students’ leadership competencies Research in Higher Education 43 115–132
W. Spady (1971) ArticleTitleDrop-outs from higher education: Toward an empirical model Interchange 1 38–82
V. Tinto (1975) ArticleTitleDropout from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research Review of Educational Research 45 89–125
V. Tinto (1993) Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition University of Chicago Press Chicago
R. K. Toutkoushian J. C. Smart (2001) ArticleTitleDo institutional characteristics affect gains from college? The Review of Higher Education 25 IssueID1 39–61
U.S. House of Representatives (2004). Committee on Education and the Workforce. College Cost Central Available: http://edworkforce.house. gov/issues/108th/education/highereducation/collegecostcentral/htm.
M. L. Upcraft J. N. Gardner (1989) The Freshman Year Experience: Helping Students Survive and Succeed in College Jossey-Bass San Francisco
H. Wenglinsky (1997) When Money Matters:How Educational Expenditures Improve Student Performance and How They Don’t NJ: Educational Testing Service Princeton
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
I would like to thank Ms. Cathy Statham for assistance in obtaining data for this study.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ryan, J.F. Institutional Expenditures and Student Engagement: a Role for Financial Resources in Enhancing Student Learning and Development?. Res High Educ 46, 235–249 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-004-1601-x
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-004-1601-x