Responsible Efficiency Analysis for Universities: Method Challenges for the Data Envelopment Analysis Example

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) as efficiency measurement technique is applied in higher education research. This is important for efficiency analysis of universities as they are characterized by a multitude objectives for output evaluation, using several input types. The specific problem of determining an adequate number of output types is mainly neglected, in line with sparse recommendations for the general DEA literature. Another important problem with DEA is the question of time lags between input volumes and output volumes. Again, DEA method discourse as well as specialized higher education application track record does not provide adequate means for this problem. This paper provides a literature review and a solution approach regarding both problems. Furthermore, a proof of concept is calculated for the timeframe 2011 to 2013 with 70 European universities and two input types data (budget, academic staff) as well as up to 41 output type datasets from international university rankings.