Untitled - Annual Report 2004 - The University of Western Australia

Indicator 1.5 Expenditure RatiosEfficiency indicators are intended to show the relationship between the resources used and the outputs produced. In the higher educationsector, one measure of the resources is the expenditure attributed to teaching, while the outputs may be defined in terms of the number ofgraduates or equivalent full-time students.The major source of funds used for teaching is the Commonwealth operating grant that is primarily determined on the basis of a negotiatedstudent load mix. Essentially the same rate of funding applies to each course type/discipline category in the load target negotiated by eachinstitution in the Unified National System. As a consequence, figures on expenditure per equivalent full-time student unit (EFTSU) reflect thestudent load mix.The fees for overseas students are set in a competitive environment and therefore reflect the perception of the University’s courses; apremium is earned for courses with high demand and is usually used for teaching purposes. Thus high expenditure figures may reflect theperceived quality of courses.The following table presents ratios of the total expenditure (excluding research only expenditure) to the equivalent full-time units andweighted student units of all students at the University. It shows a 16.9 per cent increase in the expenditure per EFTSU and a 16.8 per centincrease in expenditure per weighted student unit at this University over the 2000 to 2004 period. Expenditure per course completionincreased by 2.3 per cent from 2000 to 2003 while expenditure per weighted course completion decreased marginally by 0.7 per cent overthe same period.Expenditure Ratios, 2000 to 20042000 2001 2002 2003 2004Expenditure (a) / EFTSU 21,067 21,343 22,245 25,005 24,638Expenditure (a) / Weighted Student Units (b) 18,491 18,802 19,595 21,980 21,595Expenditure (c) / Course Completion 70,753 70,809 69,298 72,353(e)Expenditure (c) / Weighted Completion (d) 60,123 58,846 57,665 59,712(e)(a)Total expenditure excluding research only expenditure and Perth International Arts Festival expenditure, indexed to 2004 dollar values(b)Weighted student units calculated by multiplying student load in higher degree research by 2.0, other postgraduate and honours by 1.3 and bachelor’s(including graduate entry) by 1.0.(c)Total expenditure (in 2004 dollar values) excluding research only expenditure averaged over last three years.(d)Weighted by multiplying the number of completions in higher degree research by 2.0, other postgraduate and honours by 1.3 and bachelor’s (includinggraduate entry) by 1.0.(e)The number of completions for 2004 will not be available until May 2005.91