Potential economies of scale at the University of Bradford

The paper applies output budgeting techniques to the “production” of graduates at a British University. The cost per student graduated in 18 different disciplines is first divided between: (1) capital and maintenance costs, (2) teaching costs, and (3) administrative and general expenditures. Techniques are devised so as to allocate expenditures under these heads to individual students. Examples are given to show that: (1) academic staff costs per student can be cut by ca. 30 per cent with a doubling of enrolment, and that (2) total costs per student in scientific disciplines can be reduced by up to 25 per cent through a more intensive use of laboratories with little or no deterioration in the quality of instruction or in staff workloads. By contrast, more efficient use of classroom hours and seats available shows much lower potential economies, as do changes in student contact hours, size of teaching group and range of optional subjects.The article is directed towards those concerned with planning university resource use.