Resource Planning in University Management by Goal Programming

Abstract

Resource-planning methods for university and college management have received increasing attention by management scientists in recent years. One widely known approach yields cost-simulation models such as RRPM and CAMPUS. However, these models have two serious limitations in representing resource-management problems: (1) budget levels are outputs of the models, not inputs, and (2) faculty levels are a fixed function of enrollment. This paper proposes a goal-programming model that relieves these limitations and offers other features as well; in it the goals are faculty instruction loads, staff-to-faculty ratios, faculty distribution by rank, and teaching-assistant-to-faculty ratios. These specified goals are achieved as closely as possible, subject to constraints on the projected budget available in each year of the planning horizon and to faculty-flow constraints. The decision variables are the faculty, staff, and teaching-assistant levels in each of several academic units over the planning horizon. The model provides a vehicle for long-range budget planning and resource allocation.