According to the present plan, the enrollment of the University of the Air of Japan will approximate 30, 000 students when it reaches its steady state. Its current expenditure is estimated to be ¥4.1 billion at 1979 prices; adding the annual cost of facilities and equipments and the service that the National Center for Development of Broadcast Education performs for the university, the total amounts to be ¥5.0 billion to ¥7.1 billion. Summing up this and the study expenses that students spend, ¥6.7 billion to ¥8. 7 billion would be required to operate the university. About 50% to 60% of the cost will be borne by the national treasury. The current expenditure of the university is estimated, to be ¥171 thousand to ¥237 thousand per equivalent undergraduate.
As compared with the current expenditure in humanities and social sciences programs of a conventional university, whose academic structures aresimilar to that of the University of the Air of Japan, the current expenditure per equivalent undergraduate is estimated to be one fourth of that of national universities, one third of public universities, two thirds of day programs of private universities, and equal to that of evening programs of private universities. Taking study expenses and opportunity cost of a student into account, the University of the Air is much more efficient than conventional universities.
From the viewpoint of cost per graduate, it is equal to that of evening pro grams of private universities, those day programs, public universities, national universities, when the graduation rate is 60%, 50%, 25%, 20% respectively.
In general at distance education in any country fixed costs of universityoperation and the initial facility and equipment investment are high, but the marginal cost which is directly proportional to the number of students is low. Therefore, the more students a university of the air has, the more it is efficient comparative with conventional universities.
Yet because of low graduation rate compared with that of conventional universities, the cost per graduate is higher than that of conventionuniversities except in a few countries. In Japan also raising the graduation rate will be one of the most important subjects.
