A Probe Into The Running Costs Of The Higher Education

The operation cost of a college is one of the important indexes to evaluate the college operating efficiency and outcome. Thus, required by the market economy system, it is necessary for the reform of the high-education system to study and audit the college operation cost.It is meaningful in both theory and practice to study the college operation cost, do accurate statistics, and establish a reasonable cost sharing system. All this can enable the government to make an optimal distribution of high-education resources and appropriate financial policy, leading to a stable, healthy development of the high-education system. The present work studies the statistical and auditing theories for the college operation cost, solves the linking problem between the accounting auditing and statistical reporting, and proposes the strategies and policies accordingly to adjust the college operation cost, through the practical case analysis.This article consists of four parts.Part one is a brief introduction. Firstly there is a summary of corresponding literature, which accounts for three periods of the formation and development of the college operation cost theory, the trends of developed countries'college operation cost and the development of Chinese college operation cost. Secondly, it highlights the method and the significance of the research into college operation cost.Part two is the theoretical analysis of the college operation cost statistics. (Part two is to define the relevant concept of college operation cost). We first study the definition and categories of the costs of education, training, and operation, and then clarify the meaning of college operation cost research. The statistical and calculation indexes are delineated, and the target, duration, period and other specific items associated with the college operation cost are determined.Part three is the practical case analysis of Jiangxi college operation cost. According to the proposed method, we select three large and typical universities in the middle area as the cost analysis sample. On the basis of their annual budget reports from 2000 to 2002 (2006 to 2008), we analyze the colleges' earnings, expenses, quantity of students and teachers, fixed assets and so on, and calculate three years'college operation cost, actual expenses, cost and expense per student. In the current college accounting system (According to the current college accounting system), we believe that the actual cost per student is much lower than the theoretical cost. This may result from the following reasons.Part four is the conclusion and recommendations. We make several suggestions to perfect the sharing mechanism of the college operation cost, complete the cost calculation system, reinforce the college cost management, decrease the cost, and adjust the current charging standards and so on.