A sustainable model for business schools

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the financial models used by business schools, with a specific focus on the cost side of the model.Design/methodology/approach – The paper systematically looks at sources of revenue and areas of expenditure under different business school models.Findings – The paper finds that the faculty model used by many business schools, with the need to devote significant effort to generate academic publications, is very cost intensive and not efficient. The paper suggests that alternative models can be developed which would make business schools more financially sustainable.Originality/value – While there has been a lot of societal attention paid to sources of income, most notably tuition, very little attention has been paid to the actual use of resources within the business school environment or to alternative models which could be used to deliver high quality education at lower cost.