COST of CHEMICAL INSTRUCTION ODEN E. SHEPPARD Montana State College, Borneman, Montana
Data from two state colleges, two state universities (landgrant) and one state university (not land-grant) have been used to determine the student quarter credit-hour cost of instruction in chemistry. General physical plant expense items such as heat, light, janitor senrice, etc., are not included. The high i s $6.319 and the low $3.125. This total i s divided into instruction (teachers' wages), clerical, stockroom wages, laboratory supplies, capital, re@irs and replacements, and miscellaneous. Provisional standards are suggested for each under present conditions and a total cost per student quurter credit-hour of $4.825 i s suggested as a prowsional standard.
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ITH the necessity for drastic economy in educational institutions it becomes a matter of importance to know and analyze the costs as well as the effectiveness of the work. During the past winter the author attempted to find published studies on present-day costs of chemical instruction but was not able to locate such studies. A preliminary attempt to assemble some data on costs was then undertaken. If more economical operation of stockroom, office,etc., was being attained a t any other institution it 'was desirable to discover the fact and inquire into the method so that it might be used. If the unit cost of instruction was definitely lower in some institution it would seem desirable to inquire into the peth hods and organization used to attain this lower cost. In order to determine the minimum data to &quest from other institutions the costs of operation of our department were studied over a period of two years and tabulated as in Table 1. The cost of each item per student quarter credit was then calculated and the final total cost per credit-hour was found as shown. The total cost of instruction (salaries and wages paid all full-time members of the department and assistants) was divided by the total number of student quarter credit-hours and this gave the cost of instruction per student quarter credit-hour. The sum of all these items gives the total cost per student quarter credithour. Two of the schools operated on the semester
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plan. Their semester credit-hours were reduced to and quiz with very little more work than a class of 20. quarter credit-hours by multiplying by ll/%.A class A way to economy, then, is to offer fewer courses each of 60 students in a 5-credit course means 300 student quarter or semester and have larger numbers in each credit-hours of teaching. course. This can frequently be accomplished by alterBlank forms requesting this information were sent nating some junior, senior, and graduate courses where to the heads of the departments of chemistry in six the numbers are most likely to be smallest. institutions and five responded with the desired data The lowest cost for teachers' salaries alone per stumore or less comparahle. Schools A and B are state dent quarter credit-hour was attained by school A in colleges, schools C and D are land-grant state nniversi- 1931-32 and was $2.199 and the highest cost was a t ties, and school E is a state university with state school D in 1932-33 and was $4.728. The lowest total college work taught a t a separate institution. cost was $3.125 a t school A in 1931-32 and the highest Due to differencesin accounting a t the various insti- $6.319 a t school D in 1930-31. It is very noticeable tutions the tabulations are not entirely comparahle. that capital expenditures had about disappeared from For example a t school A freight on laboratory supplies all budgets by 1932-33. From a study of these data is not included with the cost of the laboratory supplies as provisional standards for the various items for present a t school B. In some of the schools student hreak- conditions should probably he about as follows: age funds form a revolving fund used over and over by Innmaion (teachers' nagea) $4.750 the department. At school A where this breakaae fund C I ~ ~ ~ ~ S I .OTS is n o t a revolving one data is available to show the difference this makes. In all the schools but D light, .--.--, Laboratory suppiien (if n revolving breakape system is in gas, water, and telephone are not charged to the use) Capita1 department budgets hut are general physical plant Repairs and replacements budget items like heat and janitor service. This partly Mircellaneous explains why costs a t school D are higher than a t any Total cost per student quarter credit-hour of the other institutions. School D is the largest of the 5 schools and carries on more investigational work Obviously several of these items will vary greatly by the faculty memhers and also more graduate work from year to year and from school to school. In our than any of the other schools. School D is a middle- location freight is a very large item in the cost of some western institution where more consistent support is chemicals especially. Here commercial sulfuric acid to be expected compared to the other schools located in costs over five times as much as in Chicago or New York. The miscellaneous item which includes freight charges less wealthy states. A study of the catalogs of schools A and E indicates is too low for our location. Laboratory supply prices that the probable chief reason for their costs being are low. They will probably be much higher for the lowest is the heavier teaching loads of their staffs. It school year 1933-34; this item should, therefore, probis further indicated that this teaching load is too heavy ably be increased. Capital expenditure is listed a t an to permit staff members even to keep up with current absolute minimum for a department doing any investiperiodical literature and books and do any investiga- gational work a t all. This item should be a t least tional work themselves. Obviously an undermanned $0.250 in normal times. Wages involved in several items department will have lower teaching costs hut it is are minima and these items should certainly advance equally obvious that such a department is bound to with the rapidly increasing cost of liying. suffer for the economy. It is hoped that additional studies may be made along In the cases of schools A and D where figures for 3 this line and published. I believe such studies should full years are available it is obvious that the way to be published for all departments. No doubt executives keep teaching costs down is to increase class size. In in various colleges have more or less comprehensive each of these schools the budget drop was very decided data of this sort available. There has been no attempt from 1931-32 to 1932-33 but the student quarter hours to include in this study general items of expense comtaught by the department in all courses was down and monly carried on the physical plant budget, as heat, actual student quarter credit-hour co$ts went up. light, power, janitor service, cost of maintaining buildIt is fairly obvious that the hours of work a t the stock- ings, etc. Only those items commonly appearing in room and in the ofice are going to he about the same chemistry department budgets are used. It was hoped whether there are 400 students in 12 courses or whether that the data showing cost of assistants and regular there are 500 students in the same 12 courses. Simi- staE memhers could be shown separately but in most larly an instructor can handle a class of 30 in lecture cases these items were not separited.
The attention of correspondents is directed to the change of address of the editorial office, which is now located at Kent Chemical Laboratory, The University of Chicego. The business and publication ofices remain at the plant of the Mack Printing Company at Easton, Pennsylvania.
