A blog posted on the Knight Foundation Website highlights key aspects of the database and how the tool can be used.
One of the examples provided is below:
“… to understand the differences in the growth in academic spending and football spending at institutions whose football programs compete in the NCAA’s top division, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), a user can generate a custom report by clicking comparison metrics, the years to include in the trend analysis and the inflation adjustment tool. A report will quickly display the dollar amounts and percentage growth, along with a graph. (Click the following link to see the graph and report generated: http://spendingdatabase.knightcommission.org/reports/68f2b5bf)
Among the trends that can be spotted from this analysis:
From 2005-2011, academic spending per student at institutions in the FBS grew just 3 percent after adjusting for inflation. However, football spending per football player grew 52 percent even without considering spending on athletic scholarships.”
Read more at “New database reveals academic and athletic spending trends at public universities“