Technology Costing Methodology

WCET’s Technology Costing Methodology (TCM) is a set of step-by-step procedures that enable institutional leaders to analyze the costs of using technology for both on-and off-campus instruction. TCM was developed in partnership with the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS). The free, step-by-step TCM procedures enable institutional leaders to:

Examine the costs of different modes of instruction.
Analyze distance, hybrid, and face-to-face instruction.
Analyze both on -and off-campus instruction.

TCM TOOLS

TCM offers a series of tools to assist you in making comparable and reliable estimates of the costs of alternative modes of instruction. The tools include the following:

TCM Handbook – step-by-step procedures for applying the costing methodology.
TCM Tabulator – a series of Microsoft Excel® spreadsheets that assist in applying the TCM procedures.
TCM Casebook – write-ups on the experiences of 16 pilot sites that implemented TCM.

TCM White Papers

TCM related resources include four white papers to help faculty and administrators think about technology costing in a broader organizational and policy context. The papers are freely available and include the following:

“The Transformation of Instruction by Information Technology: Implications for State Policy” by Dewayne Matthews & Dennis Jones – May 2002.
“Funding and Cost Containment of Educational Technology: Shifting Policy and Practices” by John Opper & J.B. Mathews – September 2002.
“Evaluating (and Improving) Benefits of Educational Uses of Technology” by Stephen C. Ehrmann, Ph.D., The TLT Group – December 2002.
“Assigning Expenditures to Activities and Courses” by Robert Wallhaus – July 2004.

TCM is an authoritative tool for analyzing costs using standard definitions and cost categories that is sought after by many in the field of education. Funding to develop the Technology Costing Methodology was provided by the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education.