Revenue Diversification and Financial Independence in Higher Education through an Analysis of the Australian National University’s Funding Structure

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.64990/jarsem.v2i1.49

Keywords:

Revenue diversification; Common size analysis; Financial independence; Higher education finance

Abstract

A sustainable and diversified revenue structure is essential for higher education institutions to maintain financial stability amid changing funding environments. However, many universities, including the Australian National University (ANU), still face challenges related to dependence on government funding. This study aims to analyze the revenue structure of ANU during the 2022–2023 fiscal years and examine its shift toward financial diversification. This research employs a descriptive quantitative design using common size analysis to evaluate the proportion of each revenue component based on ANU’s official financial reports. The data were analyzed to identify changes in revenue composition and trends across the two fiscal years. The findings indicate that although government funding remains the dominant source of revenue, its proportional contribution has declined, while non-government income particularly from other income sources has increased significantly. This shift reflects a gradual movement toward a more diversified revenue structure. The study contributes to the literature on higher education financial management by providing empirical evidence of revenue diversification in a world-class university context and offers practical insights for developing sustainable and balanced funding strategies

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ahmad, N., Ismail, S., & Siraj, S. (2019). Financial sustainability of Malaysian public universities: officers’ perceptions. International Journal of Educational Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijem-06-2017-0140.

Anyachebelu, A., & Mirian, U. (2024). 914-Article Text-3739-1-10-20240726. International Journal of Educational Research, 7(7), 1–27.

Aslami, H. (2021). Financing Public Higher Education in Afghanistan: Alternative Sources and Options. . https://doi.org/10.7275/24569000.

Büchter, R., Weise, A., & Pieper, D. (2020). Development, testing and use of data extraction forms in systematic reviews: a review of methodological guidance. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-020-01143-3.

Biliavska, O. (2020). Diversification of Sources of Income as A Condition of Financial Autonomy By Universities. Scientific bulletin of Polissia. https://doi.org/10.25140/2410-9576-2020-2(21)-57-66.

Chi, F., Hwang, B., & Zheng, Y. (2024). The Use and Usefulness of Big Data in Finance: Evidence from Financial Analysts. Manag. Sci., 71, 4599-4621. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.02659.

Chirica, O., & Pușcaș, B. (2018). The diversification of income sources in the higher education public institutions budgets. , 16, 148-148. https://doi.org/10.20869/auditf/2018/149/148.

De Pilli, T., Alessandrino, O., & Baiano, A. (2024). Quantitative descriptive analysis as a strategic tool in research activities relating to innovative meat tenderisation technologies. Heliyon, 10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32618.

Dhanani, A., & Baylis, R. (2023). Elite UK Business Schools: from cathedrals of learning to cathedrals of earning?. Studies in Higher Education, 49, 505 - 517. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2023.2240840.

Flores, H. (2025). Strengthening the Financing of State Universities and Colleges: Challenges and Opportunities. . https://doi.org/10.62986/dp2025.15.

Garland, M. (2020). How vulnerable are you? Assessing the financial health of England’s universities. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 24, 43 - 52. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603108.2019.1689374.

Guthrie, J., Linnenluecke, M., Martin‐Sardesai, A., Shen, Y., & Smith, T. (2021). On the resilience of Australian public universities: why our institutions may fail unless vice‐chancellors rethink broken commercial business models. Accounting & Finance. https://doi.org/10.1111/acfi.12858.

Hung, C., & Hager, M. (2018). The Impact of Revenue Diversification on Nonprofit Financial Health: A Meta-analysis. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 48, 27 - 5. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764018807080.

Hickey, R. (2023). Financial sustainability in a marketised and partially autonomous environment: the case of small new public universities in England. Oxford Review of Education, 50, 332 - 348. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2023.2229246.

Holmén, J. (2024). Revenues, ultimate sovereigns and resource allocation at Finnish, Swedish, UK and US universities. Higher Education Governance and Policy. https://doi.org/10.55993/hegp.1425682.

Irvine, H., & Ryan, C. (2019). The financial health of Australian universities: policy implications in a changing environment. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal. https://doi.org/10.1108/aaaj-03-2018-3391.

Jaafar, J., Latiff, A., Daud, Z., & Osman, M. (2021). Does Revenue Diversification Strategy Affect the Financial Sustainability of Malaysian Public Universities? A Panel Data Analysis. Higher Education Policy, 36, 116-143. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-021-00247-9.

Kimathi, B. K., & Irungu, A. M. (2024). Revenue Diversification on Financial Sustainability of Public Universities in Kenya. EdinBurg Peer Reviewed Journals and Books Publishers Journal of Finance and Accounting, 4(3), 31–41. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.70619/vol4iss3pp31-41

Lukács, E., Filep, B., Kohus, Z., & Szabó, S. (2025). The revenue diversification of top-tier higher education institutions. JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES. https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-8330.2025/18-4/5.

Lestari, R., Putri, Y., Vasudevan, A., Zulham, A., & Endayani, F. (2026). Qualitative analysis of integrated financial sustainability models in Indonesian top universities. Discover Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-026-02746-4.

Li, B., & Kang, C. (2025). How Does the Scale and Structure of Funding Affect the Academic Output of Elite Universities? Evidence from Russell Group Universities in the United Kingdom (2013–2022). European Journal of Education. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.70105.

Lin, L., Mekonnen, G., Zecevic, M., Motsi-Omoijiade, I., Aslett, D., & Allan, D. (2025). Reducing AI-Generated Misinformation in Australian Higher Education: A Qualitative Analysis of Institutional Responses to AI-Generated Misinformation and Implications for Cybercrime Prevention. Informatics. https://doi.org/10.3390/informatics12040132.

Mahat, D., Neupane, D., & Shrestha, S. (2024). Quantitative Research Design and Sample Trends: A Systematic Examination of Emerging Paradigms and Best Practices. Cognizance Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies. https://doi.org/10.47760/cognizance.2024.v04i02.002.

Mathieson, P. (2021). The Constant Search for New Sustainable Funding Sources for Public Universities. International Experience in Developing the Financial Resources of Universities. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78893-3_4.

Maulida, M., Nabil, M., Sulaeman, S., & Gunawan, M. A. (2024). Diversifikasi Sumber Keuangan Perguruan Tinggi Melalui Pendirian Koperasi Syariah. JIOSE: Journal of Indonesian Sharia Economics, 3(2), 147–166. https://doi.org/10.35878/jiose.v3i2.948

Mutiara, A. L. (2022). Kemandirian Finansial Perguruan Tinggi Negeri Badan Hukum melalui Diversifikasi Sumber Pendapatan. Universitas Gadjah Mada.

Mustajib; Masrokan, P., & Sujianto, A. E. (2023). Manajemen pemasaran jasa pendidikan berbasis mutu. Buana Ilmu, 8(1), 130–145.

Mukhibad, H., Anisykurlillah, I., Sugiyat, J., Firmansyah, R., & Fauziah, R. (2025). Revenue diversification and financial sustainability – focus on higher education in Indonesia. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1108/jarhe-11-2024-0678.

Mao, J., Chen, W., & Wang, Z. (2024). Relationship among the scale of university funding, structure of revenue and expenditure, and academic output: evidence from China’s 36 World-Class universities under construction, 2013–2022. Studies in Higher Education, 49, 2668 - 2692. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2024.2321225.

Nik Ahmad, N. N., Siraj, S. A., & Ismail, S. (2019). Revenue diversification in public higher learning institutions: an exploratory Malaysian study. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 11(3), 379–397. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-04-2018-0057

Ngcobo, X., Marimuthu, F., & Stainbank, L. (2024). Revenue sourcing for the financial sustainability of a university of technology: an exploratory study. Cogent Education, 11. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186x.2023.2295173.

Nugroho, F., & Winata, H. (2025). Membangun Kemandirian Finansial melalui Investasi. Prosiding Seminar Nasional Manajemen, 4(1), 632–637. http://openjournal.unpam.ac.id/index.php/PSM/index

Oktaviani, S., Saputri, N., Mulsida, M., Bilqis, A., & Utami, A. (2025). Analysis of Banking Sector Financial Reports Using the Common Size Method. Acman: Accounting and Management Journal. https://doi.org/10.55208/bq0afn22.

Parker, L., Martin‐Sardesai, A., & Guthrie, J. (2021). The commercialized Australian public university: An accountingized transition. Financial Accountability & Management. https://doi.org/10.1111/faam.12310.

Raharjo, N. D., Putra, H. R., Munadi, M., & Suhardi, M. (2024). Analisis Sumber Pendapatan Pendidikan di Sekolah Islam Victoria, Australia (2015-2023). Academia : Jurnal Inovasi Riset Akademik, 4(4), 151–155. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.51878/academia.v4i4.3776

Sangwa, S., & Mutabazi, P. (2025). Entrepreneurial University Finance: Evaluating ALU’s Hybrid Funding Model for Fiscal Resilience in African Higher Education. International Journal of Human Research and Social Science Studies. https://doi.org/10.55677/ijhrsss/09-2025-vol02i6.

Sari, A., Indrawan, D., Abdullah, A., & Zuna, M. (2025). Diversifying University Income Models Beyond Academic Revenue: Governance, Risk Perception and Comparative Insights. Business Review and Case Studies. https://doi.org/10.17358/brcs.6.2.230.

Trinh, T., Nguyen, T., Pham, O., & Pham, H. (2025). The financial sustainability of Vietnamese higher education institutions: unveiling the hidden factors. Asian Education and Development Studies. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeds-07-2024-0136.

Uşak, M., Hsieh, M., & Chan, Y. (2021). A Concretizing Research on Making Higher-Education Sustainability Count. Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052724.

Usman, M., & Rahman, A. (2022). Funding higher education through waqf: a lesson from Malaysia. International Journal of Ethics and Systems. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijoes-12-2021-0217.

Webb, J. (2015). A Path To Sustainability: How Revenue Diversification Helps Colleges And Universities Survive Tough Economic Conditions. Journal of International and Interdisciplinary Business Research. https://doi.org/10.58809/iooe8950.

Yoro, M. (2024). Impact of Financial Reporting Transparency on Investor Decision-Making. American Journal of Accounting. https://doi.org/10.47672/ajacc.1785.

Yoo, J., Mahowald, C., Li, M., & Ai, W. (2025). Extracting Research Instruments from Educational Literature Using LLMs. ArXiv, abs/2505.21855. https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2505.21855.

Yuyan, H., Halim, H., & Basri, M. (2025). The impact of revenue structure on the financial performance of general colleges and universities in China. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE). https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v14i2.30543.

Zilwa, D. (2005). Using Entrepreneurial Activities as a Means of Survival: Investigating the Processes used by Australian Universities to Diversify their Revenue Streams. Higher Education, 50, 387-411. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-004-6359-8.

Downloads

Published

2026-04-01

How to Cite

Revenue Diversification and Financial Independence in Higher Education through an Analysis of the Australian National University’s Funding Structure. (2026). Journal of Advanced Research and Studies in Educational Management (JARSEM), 2(1), 59-70. https://doi.org/10.64990/jarsem.v2i1.49

Similar Articles

1-10 of 18

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.