Financial Health. Study of Independent Higher Education in Indiana / William W. Jellema and Others.

The financial health of private higher education in Indiana during 1968-1973 was assessed as part of a larger comprehensive study. In the report, attention is directed to enrollment trends, current fund revenues and expenditures, instructional expenditures, libraries, college administration, operations and maintenance, and balance sheets. Between 1968 and 1973, the 31 participating institutions experienced a 2.2 percent enrollment decline (average full-time equivalent enrollment dropped from 1,413 to 1,382). Current fund revenues and expenditures did not increase enough to offset inflation. The deficit appears to have stemmed from a substantial increase in college-funded student aid. At the same time, tuition income grew by 29 percent, and the schools became more dependent on tuition for revenue. The data show that generally the smaller, weaker institutions are having the most problems in recruiting students and in financing. Decreasing student-faculty ratios (from 17.3:1 to 14.5:1) reflect efforts to improve educational quality, but, even more, they reflect inability to eliminate instructional staff in the face of declining enrollments. The high and rising ratio of tenured faculty further reduces the ability of these schools to cope with declining enrollments as well as their flexibility in responding to market demands. (SW)

Policymakers. ericd

Practitioners. ericd

Microfiche. [Washington D.C.]: ERIC Clearinghouse microfiches : positive.