The prestige treadmill: connections between prestige and revenue in higher education.

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between prestige and institutional funding profiles. Specifically, it analyses the relationship between increases in institutional prestige and an institution's dependency on traditional revenue sources, defined as tuition, fees, and state appropriations. Research and theory suggest that increases in prestige can reduce an institution's dependence on traditional revenue streams and therefore increase its revenue diversification. This analysis uses linear mixed models to examine cross-sectional, time-structured and balanced data over a period of 21 years. The findings suggest that prestige has no statistically significant relationship to an institution's ability to increase the proportion of its revenue coming from non-traditional sources, compared to its peer institutions.