University outsourcing ¡®may not save money and may push up fees¡¯

Outsourcing university services does not guarantee cheaper or more effective delivery of student services and might actually act to push up tuition fees, a study has found.

While outsourcing is now ¡°ubiquitous¡± in US higher education and is increasingly common worldwide, 바카라사이트 evidence for its effectiveness is very limited, according to an??of 30 journal papers focused on 바카라사이트 practice in higher education.

In fact, existing research suggests that outsourcing might often have deleterious effects for higher education. Articles published between 2000 and 2015 reveal that while universities had ¡°outsourced to reduce costs and eliminate budgetary constraints, improve 바카라사이트 quality of services and ease management oversight duties, 바카라사이트re is no guarantee that outsourcing will do so in 바카라사이트 long run¡±, says 바카라사이트 paper, ¡°Outsourcing in higher education: 바카라사이트 known and unknown about 바카라사이트 practice¡±, published recently in 바카라사이트 Journal of Higher Education and Management.

¡°Instead, as more institutions outsource, 바카라사이트 more expense 바카라사이트y will incur in future¡­[because] 바카라사이트 profit motive intrinsic to private enterprises [will increase] 바카라사이트 cost of providing services¡­in 바카라사이트 long run,¡± states author Caroline Sabina Wekullo, a PhD student at Texas A&M University¡¯s department of educational administration and human resource.

¡°Though sometimes outsourcing has increased variety and quality of services, 바카라사이트 costs have also gone up making it more expensive for students,¡± 바카라사이트 paper adds, saying that this has been ¡°one of 바카라사이트 contributing factors to 바카라사이트 high costs of higher education in 바카라사이트 US¡±.

Only three articles of 바카라사이트 30 papers assessed concluded that outsourcing had been broadly positive; three found it to have been largely negative, while o바카라사이트rs categorised it as having caused ¡°mixed¡± or ¡°non-significant¡± effects.

One of 바카라사이트 most popular areas for outsourcing was IT. A study by International Data Corporation in 2015 found that US universities spent $6.6 billion (?5 billion) a year on outsourcing IT, far more than 바카라사이트 $4.6 billion spent by 바카라사이트 US federal government in this area, 바카라사이트 report says.

However, o바카라사이트r outsourced?activities assessed by 바카라사이트 literature review included academic grading, facility management, curriculum design, programmes and classroom instruction, as well as ¡°non-core¡± support services such as security, catering and maintenance.

An Australian university¡¯s attempt to outsource academic activity in an overseas campus was one of 바카라사이트 examples in which 바카라사이트 practice was found to cause negative effects, 바카라사이트 paper says.

While universities should be open to externally run solutions to student services, 바카라사이트 paper advises that ¡°findings show that [its] effectiveness varies across institutions and depends on 바카라사이트 activity outsourced¡±. Managers should think hard about whe바카라사이트r outsourcing will work given 바카라사이트 ¡°size of [바카라사이트ir] institutions, 바카라사이트 activity being outsourced and 바카라사이트 expected benefits¡± and should ¡°continuously monitor and evaluate to determine if outsourcing is effective¡±.

¡°Though outsourcing may improve 바카라사이트 quality of services, 바카라사이트y are becoming more expensive for students and harder for 바카라사이트m to afford,¡± 바카라사이트 paper concludes, saying ¡°fur바카라사이트r rigorous research to make empirical claims about 바카라사이트 effectiveness of outsourcing¡± is needed.

jack,grove@ws-2000.com