高等教育有助於個人與社會的發展，對於個人而言，接受高等教育將有助於未來收入的提升；根據經濟合作暨發展組織（Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD）統計資料指出，提升教育水平的確有助於個人財富的增加。高等教育的發展需要國家投注極大的資源，以美國為例，其為了協助學生完成高等教育，除了提出許多助學方案以利學生申請外，也投注龐大的經費在高等教育經營範疇之中。統計數據指出：2005～2010年，美國進入高等教育的學生人數大幅提升，但每位學生所能分配到的經費卻未見增加；由於政府在高等教育經費投注上並沒有跟上學生人數的成長，造成了高等教育機構經營的困難。為此，研究者以美國高等教育為研究對象，探究其高等教育經費支出、收入與競爭績效型經費改革等內涵，以進一步瞭解美國高等教育運作的狀況。

Higher educational achievement benefits both society and individuals, and it is associated with higher earnings for individuals during their working life. On average, across member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), earnings increase with the level of educational attainment. However, such countries have considerably high public expenditures on higher education industries. The United States (U.S.) government provides loans to students to help them enroll in higher education institutions and allocates considerable finances to support schools. The U.S. registered major increases in student enrollment from 2005 to 2010, and expenditure per student decreased. The government did not increase spending at the same pace as enrollment increased, and this posed a major problem in higher education. In this study, the author explored higher-education-related financial affairs in the U.S., including expenditure, revenue, and performance-based funding for higher education.