Using Data Envelopment Analysis to Analyze Academic Programs in a Business College.

Business colleges must efficiently manage academic programs which lead to degrees in various majors. In this paper we illustrate how data envelopment analysis (DEA) can be applied to analyze the relative efficiency of how different academic programs transform students into graduates. Assuming a set of common inputs and outputs, we use this optimization technique to compare the programs, and identify those which assume a maximum level of relative efficiency. Our DEA analysis also enables the analyses of why some programs are relatively inefficient and provide specific, quantitative guidance on how to make them more efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]