Allocation: School Accounting: *State Colleges: Statistical Analysis

A guide to cost studies in higher education is Presented, with emphasis,directed.to the response of a tou±-year public irstituticn to an externally mandated cost study. Cost studies are usually requested to guide budget allocations, either from an internal campus teed or from outside pressures. Although much effort has teen expe4ded.by various group=,-and although accounting guidelines have been developed, Teo standard cost procedures or national norms exist. BaSic considerations involved in cost studies include; direct ard indirect costs, breaking costs down by field, allocating costs by level ' of instruction, relating costs per student credit hours to.Gosts'per student, per quarter, and relating costs per student, credit hours to the cost.of degrees. Other items, such as whether to include vocational or continuing educati-on courses and costs, will arise depending on.the type of institution being studied and the putpOse of the Study. Variations in local accounting methodS