Allocation of funds at the service academies: Trends in the ratios of instructional to administrative expenditures from 1976 through 1995

The cost to individuals and society of obtaining a baccalaureate degree rose significantly in the last quarter of the twentieth century with tuition and fees rising more than twice the rate of inflation. At issue is whether public colleges use their increased funds to support mission (instructional) or support (administrative) functions. Studies concerning cost growth and uses of funds at public colleges and universities have been conducted; however, one small, publicly funded group of colleges, the service academies, was omitted.; This study investigated funds usage at the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy and the United States Air Force Academy and discovered how their ratios of instructional to administrative costs changed from 1976 through 1995. This study was designed to answer the question "Where does the money go?" at the service academies.; Expenditure data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Survey (IPEDS) was collected by academy, categorized as instructional or administrative, adjusted for inflation through use of the Higher Education Price Index, and divided by the number of student units at each academy to determine both the instructional and administrative cost per student unit. Bi-variate linear regression analysis was used to determine whether these costs per student unit, and the ratios between them, remained constant at the 95% confidence level from 1976 through 1995.; The resulting statistics showed the ratio of instructional to administrative costs per student unit increased at all three academies: the desirable outcome. However, the seemingly favorable spending patterns at the academies may well be the result of inconsistent accounting practices called into question by the General Accounting Office (GAO) as early as 1975. Unless the academies are held accountable for their cost reporting system by a more diverse Board of Visitors as recommended by the GAO, the validity of their favorable practices for spending nearly {dollar}1 billion per year in public funds cannot be fully substantiated.