Institutional Expenditures and Student Engagement: a Role for Financial Resources in Enhancing Student Learning and Development?

Author: John Ryan

Source: Research in Higher Education, Volume 46, Number 2, March 2005 , pp. 235-249(15)

Publisher: Springer

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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.

Keywords: higher education finance; student engagement; resource allocation; institutional expenditures

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11162-004-1601-x

Affiliations: 1: Office of Academic Affairs, The Ohio State University, 203 Bricker Hall, 190 North Oval Mall, Ohio, Columbus, 43210, Email: ryan.19@osu.edu

Publication date: 2005-03-01