Projects
Cost modeling software
- World Bank Cost Models
- Based upon previous research into the cost of instruction for online courses, HigherEd.org was asked by the World Bank to evaluate a software tool for cost analysis of distance learning initiatives in Africa. This tool was developed by the British Open University and the South African Institute for Distance Education. HigherEd.org helps ensure that the development process is proceeding according to schedule and that the technical outputs are in line with the specified requirements and overall goals of the project. HigherEd.org staff reviewed the current beta version of the cost tool upon which the new tool is to be built.
- Mellon Foundation/Cost of Distance Learning
- With funding from the Andrew Mellon Foundation through George Mason University, Dr. Milam compared the net costs of online versus traditional delivery of pairs of courses at George Mason University in 1998-2000. As part of this research, he co-authored the Flashlight Cost Analysis Handbook. The study diverged from the basic activity-based costing approach in several respects. There was less interest in documenting the cost of specific tasks or activities, because data on faculty workload were not gathered at this level of specificity. Rather, there is a more direct application of the basic micro-costing techniques used in indirect cost recovery and supported in the literature of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) and the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO). A revised edition of the Flashlight Handbook was also published.
- Lumina Foundation Cost of Instruction Study
- This research builds on Lumina work that pointed to the proliferation of non-credit courses and to the need for deeper analysis of the factors shaping the provision of non-credit courses. A comprehensive literature review and interviews with key informants will form the basis of the development of a pilot design for modeling credit and noncredit course costs and the implication for curricular resource allocation decisions. This will be implemented with an electronic data collection instrument and undergo pilot testing. Comparative data will be gathered on both noncredit and credit activities with particular utility for adult learners, including institutional expenditures and revenues. A blend of micro-costing and activity-based costing approaches will be used, complemented by informal interviews with institutional planners, curriculum developers and others. A set of workshop materials will then be developed, tested in several settings, then modified according to participant experiences and assessments. These will serve as the basis for a series of composite case studies, which will then be incorporated into a larger monograph about the cost of credit and non-credit courses. The findings from project data collection and case studies have the potential to improve cost-of-instruction measures and to enable institutional planners to better assess the effectiveness of their resource allocation decisions in meeting the needs of adult learners and other postsecondary constituents.
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