University Budget Research Articles

Exploring the nexus between university sustainability practices and academic performance: An empirical analysis of the QS sustainability ranking and four world university rankings.

Universities, as agents of change, are expected to contribute to society's most pressing challenges, particularly the 21st century's central issue of sustainability. Amid growing expectations from governments, society, and an increasingly conscientious student body, universities have undergone significant institutional adjustments to incorporate sustainability into their core missions of education, research, and outreach. As universities worldwide increasingly engage in sustainability practices, the question arises: How do these sustainability endeavours correlate with academic performance on a global scale? This article, using data from the QS Sustainability Ranking and four prominent academic ranking (THEWUR, ARWU, QSWUR and USWUR), investigates this link. The study explores whether sustainability relates to the academic performance of universities, the validity of the relationship when academic scores of the four rankings are aggregated, and its dependence on country-level sustainability performance scores. Findings reveal that sustainability practices have a reflection on the university rankings, providing a global competitive advantage for universities. While this study incorporates aggregated scores as a methodological innovation addressing the lack of uniformity among ranking systems, it recommends the inclusion of university-level control variables (such as faculty expertise, university budget, infrastructure) and government and policy variables in future studies to ensure robustness of the results.

20 years of choices: a fight for increased funding for graduate students.

After 20 years of stagnation, federal scholarships have finally been increased within the new budget of the Canadian government. Tuition fees, inflation, and costs of living kept rising, which has resulted a rising number of graduate students in the life sciences living below poverty line, despite working far more than 40 h a week on science research in Canada. This does not only negatively affect the students research projects and thus science and innovation in Canada, but also their downstream decisions on whether to continue a research career in Canada and what jobs and economic endeavors to pursue. Graduate students are not just a line item in the budgets of universities, but integral for science and innovation, as well as the future high-quality personnel of the country. This importance should be reflected in all stipends and salaries of graduate students, not just the ones with a government scholarship.

The Complexities of Student Housing

Student housing is a crucial contributor to urban revitalization and neighborhood change. This paper offers a framework for conceptualizing student housing, engaging the complexity of the sector, including universities, students, and local governments, and placing it within the context of urban housing markets. Amidst university budget shortfalls and enrollment expansion, a dedicated student housing industry has emerged to fill housing shortfalls. The industry has reshaped local development patterns, with developers, operators, and investors capitalizing on the demand. Drawing from diverse academic research, this paper synthesizes insights into the form, processes, and implications of student housing, examining its relationship with higher education trends, its impact on neighborhood dynamics, and the interplay of market forces and institutional priorities. Focused primarily on the North American context, the discourse lays the groundwork for a renewed understanding of the importance of student housing in university communities and the ways local policy can help shape it.

Gauging Academic Unit Perceptions of Library Services During a Transition in University Budget Models

Gauging Academic Unit Perceptions of Library Services During a Transition in University Budget Models

Are University Budget Cuts Becoming a Threat to Mathematics?

Are University Budget Cuts Becoming a Threat to Mathematics?

Research on the Implementation Problems and Countermeasures of the Integrated System of University Budget Management

Research on the Implementation Problems and Countermeasures of the Integrated System of University Budget Management

Corporate entrepreneurship strategy in universities: emerging leadership in austerity time

AbstractPublic organizations have widely adopted corporate entrepreneurial strategy. The complex and financially constrained context in which public organizations operate calls for the implementation of entrepreneurial actions. Our study validates the theoretical framework of Kearney and Meynhardt (Int Public Manage J 19(4):543–572, 2016), which recognizes strategic vision and organizational factors as the main components of corporate entrepreneurial strategy and theorize its main antecedents and outcomes. Thus, by analyzing the public University of Bergamo as a single case study, we demonstrate that entrepreneurial orientation is beneficial for public organizations such as universities. Specifically, the entrepreneurial leadership was able to recognize opportunities in the unsupportive political external environment characterizing the entire Italian public sector during the period 2009-2015. The austerity policy known as the Gelmini reform was designed to make public organizations more efficient and transparent, by cutting personnel costs, by explicitly accounting for university budgets, and introducing external controls on university governance and performance. Despite the climate of general austerity, the entrepreneurial leadership succeeded in engaging several stakeholders and grounding an entrepreneurial strategy at the university. This has significantly changed the image of this public organization.

Neural Network Algorithm Optimization for Financial Budget of Universities

Efficient budget management is crucial for the successful execution of construction projects. To achieve this, the design of a Construction Project Audit Budget Management System based on combinatorial optimization offers significant advantages. Combinatorial optimization techniques focus on finding optimal solutions from a vast number of possible combinations, making them well-suited for complex budget management scenarios. This system employs advanced algorithms to analyze and optimize various factors such as resource allocation, cost estimation, risk assessment, and scheduling. This paper focused on the construction of the Project Fuzzy Audit System in China. The developed model computes total investment decision, preliminary design, design, contracting, construction, completion acceptance and other stages of the investment/cost, namely investment estimation, budget estimate, control price, contract price and settlement price. According to the project total investment/cost control needs in China Project. The constructed model uses the combinatorial Optimization model for the estimation of the investment estimation of the Construction Project for the cost index. Through the Fuzzy Audit System new method abolishes the "maximum price" in the bidding document with the limit as the unit, and gradually terminates the preparation of the budget quota, highlighting the market price, so there is an urgent need for a set of cost index in line with the actual needs. The results demonstrated that with the fuzzy Audit system new method abolishes the "maximum price" in the bidding document with the limit as the unit, and gradually terminates the preparation of the budget quota, highlighting the market price, Through analysis it is concluded that with fuzzy based optimization model effectively accumulate fast and accurate calculation of the Project cost.

Motherhood in Institutions of Higher Learning: The Case of Public Universities in Kenya

In many African societies and in the Old Testament in particular, motherhood is a blessing and a societal educational institution. While Eve is the mother of all the living, Kings shall come from Sarah (Gen. 3:20 & 17:16). By analogy, motherhood in the African traditional society was a sacred faculty of education. Unfortunately, in contemporary African it has become a life altering experience for many young ‘girls’ in institutions of higher learning. Unlike Sarah who gave birth in her old age as in Genesis 17:15-16; many girls in Kenya are giving birth before the age of eighteen. There has been emphasis on supporting ‘girls’ to attain university degrees. However, not much attention has been given to the socio-economic, psychological and gendered stereotypes that young girls go through while trying to balance between the classroom and motherhood in Kenyan Universities. Thus, this paper will use an ethnographic approach through an afro-feminist lens to propose that there is need to 1, have baby care centers in institutions of higher learning, 2 integrate secondary motherhood and parenthood tutorials in educational programs of higher learning, 3, and include financial support for young mothers in university budgets.

Адаптація системи фінансового планування та бюджетування до сучасної моделі розвитку університетів

The aim of the article is to develop an adapted system of financial planning and budgeting to the modern model of university development, focused on achieving strategic development priorities in the context of expanding the financial autonomy of higher education institutions (HEIs). On the basis of the above defined aim, the following tasks were performed: a critical analysis of literary sources was carried out from the position of identifying traditional and results-based approaches to university budgeting; the traditional model of financial planning and budgeting of the university is defined; a system of financial planning and budgeting adapted to the modern model of university development was elaborated. The work uses such research methods as analysis, synthesis, systematization, coefficient and visualization methods for the development of both the traditional and the adapted system of financial planning and budgeting. The main results of the study are: definition of the traditional model of financial planning and budgeting of the university, explanation of the relationship between its components, substantiation of its ineffectiveness in the conditions of transition to a new economic model of university development, focused on expanding financial autonomy. The specified hypothesis became the basis for the development of an adapted system of financial planning and budgeting, which is based on orientedness towards results, achievement of strategic priorities for the development of higher education institutions, identification of responsibility centers responsible for the diversification and growth of budget revenues, with the simultaneous opportunity to participate in their distribution for motivation personnel potential, creation of comfortable working conditions along with an appropriate material and technical support. This approach integrates all types of financial planning in an integrated manner, while strategic financial planning as a vector of the university’s development is based on it. The results of the study are more relevant for public universities.

A critical analysis of large scale research infrastructures’ performances

PurposeLarge scale research infrastructures (LSRIs) are rising in the competitive and globalized research environment, since they offer to external researchers-users, inputs and services for cutting-edge, large scale researches. Such researches would not be possible with usual infrastructures and budgets of single universities and research institutions. However, despite the strategic relevance acknowledged to LSRI by the nascent literature and by national policymakers, there is a lack of understanding of configurations and key performances of a LSRI. This paper aims to bridge this gap by identifying key morphologies of LSRIs and analysing their performances.Design/methodology/approachThe research is carried out adopting a mixed research methodology, merging a literature review with a survey conducted on a sample of 11 LSRIs; they provided the data set for the parametrization of a morphological matrix.FindingsThe research led to the identification of seven LSRIs morphologies, with different performance linked to their structure.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper originally proposes the data set needed to develop a morphological analysis of LSRIs.

Sociological insights: Designing pedagogically sound blended learning programs in enabling contexts

Higher education is currently experiencing an increasing focus on the use of innovative teaching methods to engage student cohorts within an atmosphere of shrinking university budgets. In this milieu, blended learning (BL), or integrating audio-visual materials into current face-to-face course designs, has become an increasingly attractive option that increases flexibility for students whilst adhering to challenging budgetary demands. In this paper, implementing BL in two sociology courses of an Australian university???s pathways program will be subject to critical reflection. Enabling pathways are free open-access programs offered to people who do not have the qualifications required for direct entry into an undergraduate degree program. We disseminated a suite of BL modules during 2019. These modules included visual learning objects featuring experts within their disciplinary fields and have a focus on bringing sociological theory into a real-world context. This paper aims to critique this pedagogical practice within a widening participation framework. We will examine the challenges of teaching students from under-represented backgrounds, including flexibility, engagement and infrastructure, and suggest a new pedagogical framework to address these challenges in a supportive environment.

Design and Implementation of a Responsive Web-based System for Controlling the Financial Budget of Universities

The management of the financial budget of universities is an extremely complex task due to having numerous different documents and calculation processes. In many developing regions and countries including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, budget execution and accounting processes are manual. This had deleterious effects on the functioning of their expenditure and income management. This research represents the design and implementation of a responsive web-based system for controlling the financial budget of universities. This system can improve the recording and processing of financial transactions. Moreover, it traces all the stages of the transaction processing from budget releases, does auditing, and accounting of expenditures, incomes, deposits, and funds. Furthermore, it provides financial information on present and past performance. The system is a responsive web-based system, which adjusts the layout of the pages based on the screen size and orientation of the user's device. The system was implemented by using programming languages such as HTML, PHP, JavaScript, jQuery, AJAX, and MySQL. Finally, the provided system needed to be investigated from the performance point of view. Therefore, a questionnaire was used to determine the system’s usability by using the System Usability Scale (SUS) tool. The results revealed that a score of 86.250% of satisfaction has been achieved.

Formation of the system of financial support of higher education institutions in Ukraine

In the conditions of a military challenge, the financial system of Ukraine is under significant pressure, which also affects the supply of universities. The purpose of the article is to analyze the formation of the system of financial support of higher education institutions in Ukraine. System analysis, comparison, modeling became the main methods for writing research. The research used indicators of expenditures of the consolidated budget of Ukraine. In the results, the role of the inflationary challenge in the financial support of higher education institutions of Ukraine was traced, and it was established that in fact the real volumes of budget financing of the industry (at the level of 7% of GDP) were never reached. Ensuring financial diversification is an important aspect for overcoming negative manifestations of lack of funds. The article traces separate methods: the introduction of a targeted tax, independent financial activity and the help of patrons, implementation of joint projects with private structures, receiving international financial assistance. With the help of content analysis, the strengths and weaknesses of all the proposed paths were determined. The conclusions state that in the conditions of martial law, the last two items are the most relevant sources of filling university budgets.

The Determination of State Budget Governance of Indonesian Public Higher Education Institutions Post COVID-19 Pandemic

The communication and information openness era, which has become increasingly massive after the COVID-19 Pandemic, has encouraged open relations between the community and state universities in education programs, especially budget management. This study aims to analyze the determination of state university budget management in terms of budget realization, the role of technology, and public information disclosure. This study raises the dimensions of the variable position of technology, perceptions of budget realization, public information disclosure, principles of general financial management, transparency, and accountability concerning managing state finances in universities. Convenience sampling became the technique chosen for sampling and was further analyzed with the SEM-PLS procedure through the SmartPLS application with 237 respondents. This study found the effect of budget realization and public information disclosure in fulfilling the principles of positive public financial management. However, this study does not support the role of technology in supporting the principles of public financial management. This study also notes the positive influence of public financial management principles on state universities' transparency and accountability. This study highlights the maximum future strengthening of higher education budget management with the organizational commitment of higher education institutions under the strict supervision of the government and the community indirectly. Technology does not support it, but it impacts the public in tracing information on Higher Education budget management according to the mandate of various parties, including the Indonesian Supreme Audit Institution.

Analysis of the Implementation Approach of University Budget Performance Project Based on Equity Realization Perspective

Abstract The rapid economic growth has not only created more opportunities for the development of colleges and universities, but also presented many challenges. In this paper, by analyzing the construction of university budget implementation system, based on 5 stages, the recursive hierarchy of university performance budget is established by using hierarchical analysis method, and the hierarchy is solved by using recursive hierarchy matrix. A combination of balanced scorecard and key performance indicators is used. The performance budget evaluation index system for colleges and universities is constructed from the four levels of financial performance, business performance, budget performance and social performance. The equity realization method is used to study the financial fund performance of universities in the current period in the form of dividends, emptying behavior and selling shares. Based on the budget model, the impact of various factors on the shareholders’ dividend decision-making behavior is calculated according to the paradigm of “decision analysis framework - parameter change - decision change”. After the effective implementation of the performance project, the income of university A increased by 28.6% compared to the previous year, which laid a solid foundation for the development of the university.

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Labor Market Perspectives for Management Undergraduates: New Models of Employability Capital Development

Introduction. COVID-19 is a worldwide epidemic that impacts all aspects of human life. Social distancing was an essential action to prevent from COVID-19 virus. For this reason, collective activities were prohibited in many countries including Sri Lanka. Education is one of the main collective activities in the world. As such, it is relevant to test the influence of COVID-19 on graduate employability skills. However, it is difficult to find COVID 19 impact on graduate employability skills in the Sri Lankan context.
 Aim and tasks. The main objective of this paper was to identify the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the graduate employability capital of state universities’ management undergraduates in Sri Lanka and the significant level of that factor.
 Results. Based on the literature review, the COVID-19 pandemic affected five factors human capital, identity capital, cultural capital, social capital, and psychological capital identified as graduate employability capital factors or not. The methods of the study were to use the analysis of quantitative data. To achieve this goal, an online survey of 377 university students was conducted. The obtained selective results in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic showed significant positive shifts in the employment processes of university graduates. This positive impact, according to the results of the regression analysis, was provided by the following types of capital: social, human, psychological, cultural, and identity, the values of which ranged from 91.4 percent to 95.8 percent. Among all types of capital, human and psychological capital had the most significant impact on student mobility.
 Conclusions. The conducted studies show the importance of the online educational system in the universities of Sri Lanka. The use of available resources can significantly improve the existing infrastructure of online education and help increase the level of competence and professionalism of the teaching staff and university students. The introduction of the proposed online educational programs and courses will not only improve the quality of services provided but will also increase the revenue side of the university budget.

대학의 위기 극복을 위한 대학재정 확충 방안

Two major issues can be pointed out in the direction of education finance policy in the new government. First, the current scale of education finance is sufficient enough that the decrease in the school-age population is the determining factor for reducing education finance? Second, the government's strategy to invest higher education is sufficient to secure an appropriate level of funding for higher education?. The purpose of this study was to analyze two issues based on empirical data and to propose policy suggestions to expand higher education finances to overcome the structural crisis of it. As a result of the analysis, 10 reasons for not reducing education finance even if the number of students decrease; 3 reasons related to the country's educational outlook and philosophy, 5 reasons for structural problems of weak education finance, and 2 reasons for the additional budge for the future education were identified. And the structural crisis in higher education system related to university finance were analyzed as followings: First, phenomenon of hollowing out local universities due to the mismatch between supply and demand for university education, the crisis situation that emerged from the weak university financial structure, the crisis of polarization in university education due to the increase in the burden of college tuition, and the size of the university budget, which is far short of economies of scale, was presented; Second, as a result of estimating the minimum university financial demand based on the national economic size and the OECD average, the additional support for higher education currently planned by the new government was very insufficient. Finally, this study suggested several policy alternatives based on the empirical evidences; enactment of Higher Education Finance Grant Law for securing it by 1% of GDP, Special Accounting Act for Balanced University Development, Special Act on Support for Higher and Vocational Lifelong Education, the Education Finance Grant Law to secure finances in line with GDP growth rate, and enactment of the High Education Tax.

Critical Analysis of the GreenMetric World University Ranking System: The Issue of Comparability

The Universitas Indonesia GreenMetric World Ranking is the most widely adopted system nowadays to rank worldwide universities’ sustainability. The number of participating universities has consistently increased throughout the last decade. An in-depth analysis of this ranking system is made to assess how sustainability in universities is measured through specific indicators. Specifically, based on expert knowledge, common logic and the scientific literature, these indicators are assessed with respect to whether they can be used to fairly quantify and rank worldwide universities’ sustainability development. Some indicators proposed by the ranking system, such as the number of renewable energy sources on campus and the number of various types of programs for sustainable development, were found to be unable to measure any sustainability development effectively and fairly. Many others, such as the opted sewage disposal modality, the percentage of university budget for sustainability efforts and the ratio of sustainability research funding to total research funding, were found to need adjustment to account for context-specific factors such as availability of renewable energy sources, weather, landscape, original construction and the cultural habits of the enrolled people. Taking into account these considerations, a fairer evaluation and comparison of universities’ sustainability could be achieved which provides universities with information on how to effectively improve their sustainability.

ВПЛИВ ПОКАЗНИКІВ МАСШТАБУ НА ФІНАНСОВУ СТІЙКІСТЬ УНІВЕРСИТЕТУ: МЕТОДИЧНИЙ ТА ПРАКТИЧНИЙ АСПЕКТ

The uncertainty of the functioning of higher education institutions in Ukraine in the conditions of Russian aggression, the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, actualized the problems of financial stability violations in higher education institutions, which is caused by the following factors: fluctuations in the number of students, their concentration in central universities, outflow from regional universities, changes in their structure , loss of income from foreign students, prioritization of defense expenditures, delay and reduction of budget funding, decrease in the solvency of the population, price competition between higher education institutions, destruction of the material and technical base, migration of applicants and teachers abroad, etc.
 The purpose of the article is the methodological substantiation and practical approbation of the assessment of the impact of the change in the contingent on the financial stability of the university, proving the hypothesis that the stability and balance of the contingent has a positive effect on the university's income.
 It is substantiated that the change in the contingent of students, their structure by degrees of education, forms of education and sources of funding is one of the indicators of the financial stability of the university. A group of scale indicators is proposed, which includes indicators of the growth of the contingent, in terms of budget and private financing, the average level of university income per student, the average level of university budget allocations per 1st budget student / contract student. The method of calculating scale indicators is defined and their recommended values are proposed to determine the level of their influence on the financial stability of the university.
 Based on a sample of thirty-five higher education institutions of Ukraine, which include classical, technical, pedagogical, economic, and other universities, a practical test of the proposed approach was carried out, the obtained results were graphically presented, the main patterns and factors of violation of the financial stability of higher educational institutions were identified.