Application of DEA method in efficiency evaluation of public higher education institutions

Abstract

Public higher education sector is under a growing pressure worldwide to increase efficiency and improve the quality of its activities. Limited financial resources as well as detailed regulations and supervision of their spending are the important features of the public higher education sector. Another important and debated issue is the division of public money among higher education institutions (HEI). It is therefore crucial to create stimuli for the rational management of public funds by HEI and for the quality improvement of HEI services. One of the proposed ways to achieve the desired result is the comparative efficiency assessment of HEI activities. Setting clear reference points for HEI, such assessment may be treated as a substitute for market competition.

This paper describes a comparative efficiency study of 19 Polish universities of technology. Detailed analysis of potential input, output and environmental variables describing the HEI efficiency model was carried out. The study used the CCR-CRS output-oriented DEA model. It was assumed that HEI had more influence on achieved results than on the amount of their resources. The economies of scale were also studied in relation to the efficiency achieved. Sensitivity of the model to data errors was tested.

Keywords:

• Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)
• higher education
• efficiency

JEL Classification:

• M21
• H52
• I21

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joanicjusz Nazarko

Joanicjusz NAZARKO is a Professor at the Bialystok University of Technology in Poland. He serves as Dean of the Faculty of Management and Head of the Department of Business Informatics and Logistics. He is the author of more than 200 publications and a number of expert assessments, projects and technical and economic elaborations and a recognised expert in the field of forecasting, foresight, benchmarking and productivity analysis in corporate and public sectors. Nazarko is a member of the Production Engineering Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He served as an expert of the EU 7th Framework Program and is a senior member of IEEE.

Jonas Šaparauskas

Jonas ŠAPARAUSKAS. Doctor, Associated Professor at the Department of Construction Technology and Management, and Vice-Dean of Undergraduate Studies at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. He is a member of EURO Working Group OR in Sustainable Development and Civil Engineering (EWG-ORSDCE). He is is author and co-author of more than 20 scientific articles and 1 book. Research interests: construction technology and organisation, construction investments management, multiple criteria decision making, sustainable development.