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Financial Management 15Figure 2.1 UT’s financial reporting mechanismSource: Author.ODL institutions where teaching and learning is via the use ofinstructional media, funding is less sensitive to student numbersand more influenced by the types of media used. The selection ofmedia determines the initial funding needed for course development.ODL funding is also influenced by the methods of learningsupport with which the students are provided. The use of realtime(synchronous) support technologies such as audio/videoconferencingrequires higher funding than asynchronous methods(for example, the post). Synchronous learning support such astutorials require a carefully designed tutor/student ratio; and inthe case of f2f tutorials, a sufficient number of classrooms.United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation(UNESCO, 1977) defined the costs of education as technical,economic, accountability and financial. Technical costs relate tothe technical operation; economic costs consist of fixed and variableitems; accountability costs include capital and operationalcharges; and financial classification refers to direct and indirectcosts. Tsang (1988) grouped the costs of education more globallyinto household and institutional costs. Household costs are directand indirect charges, labelled by Tsang as opportunity costs orforegone earnings, and also referred to as private costs, paid bystudents. Students’ opportunity costs refer to the estimated income