Responsibility Center Management (RCM) and Enrollment, Graduation, Financial Aid, and Retention: Examining Trends at Four Public Institutions
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Abstract
Responsibility center management (RCM) is a market-based budget model that may benefit certain academic institutions. While there are supporters and opponents of the model, there is a lack of hard evidence about the potential impact of RCM on a variety of institutional variables, hence the need for this study. This study brought together the variables, “fall enrollment,” “graduation rate,” “retention,” and “financial aid,” informed by IPEDS data, to examine quantitatively changes relating to RCM implementation. Data indicates that the implementation of RCM had a positive relationship with these variables. While these outcomes may encourage the implementation of RCM, the individual goals of an institution need to be considered before the decision to use RCM is made.