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 at Pennsylvania State University
I am pleased to say that anyone who’d like to know more about the economics of higher education now has a resource that I recommend wholeheartedly. Andrew C. Comrie, a former University of Arizona Provost and a professor of Geography, Development & Environment, has written the most accessible, thorough, and fair-minded account of how colleges and universities have responded to cost pressures and resource limitations that I have read. […] In addition to the book’s balance, readability, and depth of research, its topical coverage is exceptionally broad. This volume will certainly become the one-stop reference and go-to resource for information about revenue and expenditures by institutional type, the revenue significance of out-of-state and international students, the economics of public-private partnerships and outsourcing, the costs of the research, the size of athletic subsidies, the viability of fossil fuel disinvestment and socially responsible investing, and the financial benefits of a degree.
— Steven Mintz, Columnist for Inside Higher Ed and Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin
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.
Like Nobody's Business: An Insider's Guide to How US University Finances Really Work
Andrew C. Comrie | February 2021
486 pp. | 217 colour illustrations | 7" x 10" (178 x 254 mm)
ISBN Paperback: 9781800641075
ISBN Hardback: 9781800641082
ISBN Digital (PDF): 9781800641099
ISBN Digital ebook (epub): 9781800641105
ISBN Digital ebook (mobi): 9781800641112
ISBN Digital (XML): 9781800641129
DOI: 10.11647/OBP.0240
BIC Subject Codes: JN (Education), JNK (Organization and management of education), 1KB (North America), K (Economics, finance, business and management); BISAC: EDU001030 (EDUCATION / Administration / Higher), EDU008000 (EDUCATION / Decision-Making & Problem Solving), EDU036000 (EDUCATION / Organizations & Institutions), BUS032000 (BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Infrastructure), BUS051000 (BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Public Finance). OCLC Number: 1240278626.
You may also be interested in:
Contents
1. Introduction Download
Andrew Comrie
2. Institutional Revenues Download
Andrew Comrie
3. Institutional Expenditures Download
Andrew Comrie
4. Public Funding: Grant Aid, Loans and Appropriations Download
Andrew Comrie
5. Human Resources Download
Andrew Comrie
6. Academic Affairs Download
Andrew Comrie
7. Student Affairs Download
Andrew Comrie
8. Research Download
Andrew Comrie
9. Public Service, Cooperative Extension, and Community Engagement Download
Andrew Comrie
10. Facilities & Finance Download
Andrew Comrie
11. Health Sciences, Hospitals & Medical Schools Download
Andrew Comrie
12. Athletics Download
Andrew Comrie
13. Fundraising Download
Andrew Comrie
14. Outcomes & Futures Download
Andrew Comrie
Epilogue Download
Andrew Comrie
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Appendices
References
Figures
Box Figures
Tables
Boxes
Index
Andrew C. Comrie is a professor and former provost with over two decades of administrative experience at the University of Arizona. In addition to ongoing academic appointments in geography and interdisciplinary climate science, he has served in successive administrative positions as a Degree Program Director, Department Head, Associate Vice President for Research, Dean of the Graduate College, and as Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. A graduate of the University of Cape Town and the Pennsylvania State University, he has served as a scientific journal editor and he is the author of over 100 professional publications.
© 2021 Andrew C. Comrie.
This text is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International license (CC BY 4.0). This license allows you to share,
copy, distribute and transmit the text; to adapt the text and to make
commercial use of the text providing attribution is made to the authors
(but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of
the work). Attribution should include the following information:
Andrew C. Comrie.
Like Nobody's Business: An Insider's Guide to How US University Finances Really Work. Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0240
Don't show me this again
My Basket
Andrew C. Comrie 
