The Costs of Networked Learning

Abstract

Many people doubt whether costing should appear on the educational agenda, and we expect that many readers of this book will skip this chapter in favour of the more academic, pedagogic ones. Unfortunately for these readers, costing is playing an increasingly important role in education, at all levels. In higher education, the need to meet the increasing demand for places from students on ever-reducing, and already over-allocated, budgets, whilst maintaining quality, is stretching institutions sometimes beyond the limit. While the majority of top and middle managers are keen to assess the costs of providing different courses, most academics see the subject as an unnecessary intrusion on their ‘turf’.