Like Nobody's Business: An Insider's Guide to How US University Finances Really Work - cover image

Copyright

Andrew C. Comrie

Published On

2021-02-23

ISBN

Paperback978-1-80064-107-5
Hardback978-1-80064-108-2
PDF978-1-80064-109-9
HTML978-1-80064-641-4
XML978-1-80064-112-9
EPUB978-1-80064-110-5
MOBI978-1-80064-111-2

Language

  • English

Print Length

486 pages (xii+474)

Dimensions

Paperback178 x 34 x 254 mm(7" x 1.33" x 10")
Hardback178 x 37 x 254 mm(7" x 1.44" x 10")

Weight

Paperback2495g (88.01oz)
Hardback2990g (105.47oz)

Media

Illustrations217
Tables10

OCLC Number

1240278626

LCCN

2020447276

BIC

  • JN
  • JNK
  • 1KB
  • K

BISAC

  • EDU001030
  • EDU008000
  • EDU036000
  • BUS032000
  • BUS051000

LCC

  • LB2342

Keywords

  • university finances
  • tuition fees
  • research
  • donations

Like Nobody's Business

An Insider's Guide to How US University Finances Really Work

Winner of the 2022 Choice Review's Outstanding Academic Title.
How do university finances really work?

From flagship public research universities to small, private liberal arts colleges, there are few aspects of these institutions associated with more confusion, myths or lack of understanding than how they fund themselves and function in the business of higher education. Using simple, approachable explanations supported by clear illustrations, this book takes the reader on an engaging and enlightening tour of how the money flows. How does the university really pay for itself? Why do tuition and fees rise so fast? Why do universities lose money on research? Do most donations go to athletics?

Grounded in hard data, original analyses, and the practical experience of a seasoned administrator, this book provides refreshingly clear answers and comprehensive insights for anyone on or off campus who is interested in the business of the university: how it earns its money, how it spends it, and how it all works.

Endorsements

Like Nobody’s Business is a remarkable piece of work. The book describe all aspects of the enormously complicated business of higher education in terms of the flow and utilization of resources—human but predominantly financial. In doing so, the author addresses all the issues that are perennially discussed and contested in the popular media, in both governmental and nongovernmental policy forums, and in academic studies. This book simply provides a wealth of information on topics large and small, but especially on the chief foci of policy and controversy in American higher education.

Roger Lewis Geiger

Distinguished professor of education, Pennsylvania State University

Reviews

Comrie […] achieves something readers might not believe possible: making university finances comprehensible and even interesting for both laypeople and professionals. […] This is not a mechanical practitioner's bottom-up view, and therein lies the strength of this text for readers who may be university professionals.

S. A. Schulman

CHOICE Connect, vol. 59, no. 7, 2022.

Contents

1. Introduction

(pp. 1–12)
  • Andrew Comrie

2. Institutional Revenues

(pp. 13–38)
  • Andrew Comrie

3. Institutional Expenditures

(pp. 39–58)
  • Andrew Comrie

4. Public Funding: Grant Aid, Loans and Appropriations

(pp. 59–92)
  • Andrew Comrie

5. Human Resources

(pp. 93–118)
  • Andrew Comrie

6. Academic Affairs

(pp. 119–164)
  • Andrew Comrie

7. Student Affairs

(pp. 165–200)
  • Andrew Comrie

8. Research

(pp. 201–222)
  • Andrew Comrie

9. Public Service, Cooperative Extension, and Community Engagement

(pp. 223–240)
  • Andrew Comrie

10. Facilities & Finance

(pp. 241–156)
  • Andrew Comrie

11. Health Sciences, Hospitals & Medical Schools

(pp. 257–268)
  • Andrew Comrie

12. Athletics

(pp. 269–286)
  • Andrew Comrie

13. Fundraising

(pp. 287–316)
  • Andrew Comrie

14. Outcomes & Futures

(pp. 317–348)
  • Andrew Comrie

Epilogue

(pp. 349–350)
  • Andrew Comrie

Contributors

Andrew C. Comrie

(author)
Professor and Former Provost at University of Arizona
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3566-0004