A model of cost analysis in undergraduate dental health education /

Abstract

The conclusions can be summarized as: (1) in general models of cost analysis can be developed within a college of dentistry to assess current and future expenditures. (2) there are relationships between direct and indirect costs in formal cost determinations. (3) reliable factors do exist, which can assist in the validity of the final cost outcomes. (4) cost analysis models developed within a college of dentistry may have limited applications in other colleges of dentistry.

A model was constructed using longitudinal data from the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry. Direct and indirect costs, plus income for the college and individual departments, were used to determine costs per student and cost per hour. Using this qualitative information, a computer model was completed which determined various costs. Since several methods were used to assign various indirect costs and incomes, a linear regression method was used to evaluate their influences on costs per student and costs per hour. To test the model's application to other colleges of dentistry, samples of cost data were collected from several institutions.