Do Responsibility Center Management Budget Models Encourage Entrepreneurship? Evidence from Master’s Programs at Public Universities

More than 50 public research universities have adopted responsibility center management (RCM) budget models that are designed to encourage units within universities to become more entrepreneurial and efficient. I compiled a longitudinal dataset of RCM announcements and implementations to examine whether universities that adopted RCM changed their portfolio of master’s degree programs. There was no evidence of changes in the number or types of programs or total degrees awarded following the adoption of RCM, suggesting limits to the incentives that these budget models provide to unit leaders.