NCHEMS Costing and Data Management System and the Purdue University Cost Study: A Comparison of Narrowly Defined Direct Costs.

One critical aspect of costing system methodologies is examined: the effects of average costing by course level on program unit cost. The direct costing methodologies used in two costing systems are compared. One is the internally developed Purdue University Cost Study; the other, the NCHEMS Costing and Data Management System. The comparison concerns the direct instructional program unit costs produced by the two systems and does not attempt to compare the two systems generally. The specific issue addressed is the effect that different levels of direct cost aggregation have on student program direct unit costs. The summarized NCHEMS/Purdue cost ratios reflect overall similarities in program direct costs per full-time-equivalent student whether costing on an average cost-per-credit-hour basis by course level (NCHEMS System) or attaching costs to each course and flowing those costs to the programs based upon the program course enrollment (Purdue System). (LBH)