Size and efficiency

It has been long assumed that it takes some optimum size in order to obtain a sufficient critical mass to have an economy of scale operation, but there has been little substantive study of the topic. This paper looks at the relationship between enrollment and costs at colleges and universities. The question under study is whether large size provides economy of scale for operating. The question, unfortunately, is masked by the complexity of an institution. The manner in which complexity, size, costs, and enrollment interrelate is the substance of this paper. The findings suggest that curricula and complexity have an exceedingly important bearing on per-student costs.Paper presented at the Nineteenth Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, San Diego, California, May 1979.