Activity-based costing in the Naval Postgraduate School

Abstract

The Naval Postgraduate School is required to report activity costs and set tuition rates annually. The requirement to adequately identify and charge appropriate tuition rates for Naval Postgraduate School programs is critical for complete cost recovery. This thesis reviews the Naval Postgraduate School product lines and applies Activity-Based Costing Theory to provide management with a standard to gauge program and price growth. All Naval Postgraduate School costs are assigned into service and production department costs. Service department costs (indirect and overhead) are accumulated individually and allocated to the Naval Postgraduate School product lines based on cost drivers. The Naval Postgraduate School student load and product line totals are used to reach an average cost per student year.