The 2020 Census in Russia: Institutional and financial considerations

Subject. The article discusses the finance of the census as a budgetary project, and respective issues. We focus on the specifics of expenditures for the 2020 census in Russia. Objectives. The study unveils and analyzes institutional expenditures for the 2020 census in Russia, identifies direct and indirect spending on the census. We substantiate approaches and suggestions concerning the improvement of the Russian census management and finance. Methods. The article is based on evidential, statistical and digital materials from Russia and other countries. We applied empirical, systems, analytical, economic, historical and other methods of epistemology. The practice is viewed as a measure of the truth of theoretical provisions. Results. The study unveils institutional sources and mechanisms for the finance of the Russian census, identifies specific features of the 2020 census expenditures in Russia. We suggest how the census should be improved in terms of the process management and finance. As a conclusion, we make our suggestions on the improvement of the financial management and balance of the census. The article proves it is possible to considerably cut the census spending during the digitalization of the public and municipal management. Conclusions and Relevance. The growing budget deficit makes the State analyze and reduce its expenditures. We suggest amending the census rules and considerably cut its costs. So, institutions should refuse to charge millions of local fees and hire census takers, but rather choose to use national data registers. The findings can be used to formulate and implement budgetary investment policy of governmental bodies, and by higher educational institutions.

Spending More or Spending Less? Institutional Expenditures and Staffing in the Free-College Era

While research has documented outcomes for students served by promise programs, few studies have considered the behavior of institutions themselves in the promise era. A new source of revenue combined with larger and more diverse cohorts is likely to motivate changes in spending and staffing—decisions instrumental to student access and success. We employ complementary difference-in-differences and synthetic control strategies to estimate impacts of the first statewide promise program on these two outcomes. Findings suggest institutions diverted expenditures away from instruction, academic support, and institutional support toward greater institutional grant awards. We find no meaningful impact on staffing levels. While some institutional actions may further support the access and success goals of promise programs, the diversity of programs across the nation suggests not all may follow suit. This study should inform policy makers considering the full extent of outcomes of free-college programs and invigorate further research on institutional responses.

The Impact of Expenditures and Financial Aid on Racial Gaps in Institutional Graduation Rates in the U.S.

There is a persistent gap in institutional-level graduation rates between U.S. Whites and underrepresented minorities (URM). This gap remains as graduation rates have increased for both Whites and URM. We tested whether these six-year graduation rate gaps among incoming undergraduate freshman cohorts were a function of institutional expenditures and financial aid. Our results were mixed. The gaps were much wider at institutions that spent more on academic and student services and who enrolled cohorts with higher average student loan amounts. Yet, these gaps between Whites and URM narrowed at institutions where students had larger average institutional and state/local grants. Our discussion centered on the changing financial context of higher education and the contributing roles of capital and institutional racial climate.

Are International Students Getting a Bang for their Buck?

An increasing number of US universities are recognizing the importance of international students. As state subsidies for public higher education institutions remain low, the reliance on out-of-state tuition from international students underscore their importance. Because international students often pay such high tuition fees, it is worth studying how such fees impact their education. This study investigated to what extent institutional expenditures affect undergraduate international student graduation rates. Using OLS regression with robust standard errors, the results indicated that academic support expenditures are significantly related to international student graduation rates, but may have a minimal effect. In addition, out-of-state tuition was also found to be significant, suggesting tuition affects students in ways not captured by expenditure data.

American Higher Education in Transition

American higher education is in transition along many dimensions: tuition levels, faculty composition, expenditure allocation, pedagogy, technology, and more. During the last three decades, at private four-year academic institutions, undergraduate tuition levels increased each year on average by 3.5 percent more than the rate of inflation; the comparable increases for public four-year and public two-year institutions were 5.1 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively. Academic institutions have also changed how they allocate their resources. The percentage of faculty nationwide that is full-time has declined, and the vast majority of part-time faculty members do not have Ph.D.s. The share of institutional expenditures going to faculty salaries and benefits in both public and private institutions has fallen relative to the share going to nonfaculty uses like student services, academic support, and institutional support. There are changing modes of instruction, together with different uses of technology, as institutions reexamine the prevailing “lecture/discussion” format. A number of schools are charging differential tuition across students. This paper discusses these various changes, how they are distributed across higher education sectors, and their implications. I conclude with some speculations about the future of American education.