The Relationships Between Needs Assessment Measures, Productivity Measures, and Ethics in Developing a Budget Allocation Model for Higher Education

Abstract

To maintain credibility, leaders entrusted with public funds need to ensure their decisions regarding those funds are ethical and moral. The research investigating the relationships between needs assessment measures, productivity measures, and ethics in developing budget allocation models is lacking in academic institutions. The purpose of this study was to assess the importance of needs assessment measures, productivity measures, and ethics in developing a budget allocation model for Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) institutions. This study also focused on developing a budget allocation model to assist administrators in making ethical and moral funding decisions. The items included in the survey for this study were developed using four categories: budget allocation preference items, needs assessment measures, productivity measures, and demographic items. This study was specifically designed to find the difference in the level of agreement in needs assessment measures, productivity measures, and between needs assessment measures and productivity measures. The repeated measure results yielded a statistical significance, indicating the agreement level toward the needs assessment measures in a budget allocation model were different. The Summer Budget Distribution is not as important as all the other needs assessment items. Funds Requested are for Continuing Funds is more important than Funds Requested are for One Time Funds and Summer Budget Distribution. The repeated measure results yielded a statistical significance, indicating the agreement level toward the productivity measures in a budget allocation model were different. The results indicated that Number of Degrees Granted is not as important as Full Time Equivalent Student Units or Student Credit Hours. The repeated measure results yielded a statistical significance, indicating the agreement level toward the needs assessment measures and productivity measures in a budget allocation model were different. The results indicated that needs assessment measures are not as important as productivity measures.