Posted on 05/18/2016 10:20:43 AM PDT by MichCapCon
Amid an ongoing national debate about college affordability, one of the largest factors driving costs is the expansion of a spiderweb of academic support services.
Michigan’s 15 state universities incurred a nearly $123 million increase in their spending on academic support services over the past four years, according to a report from the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency. Spending went from $661.0 million in 2010-11 to $784.4 million in 2014-15, an increase of 18.7 percent in just four years.
Meanwhile, tuition and fees at the institutions rose 16 percent during the same period.
The report defines “academic support services” as activities “related to instruction, research, and public service” — but not those things themselves. In addition to administrative expenses, it includes people who work at university libraries, museums, and galleries; advisors; compensation costs for some deans and more.
The University of Michigan-Flint campus saw the largest percentage increase. Its spending for academic support went up by 48 percent, increasing from $10.6 million in 2010-11 to $15.7 million in 2014-15.
Central Michigan University also saw spending in this category jump 41 percent, increasing from $31.3 million in 2010-11 to $43.9 million in 2014-15. The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor spent the most on academic support in dollar terms in 2014-15, $234.2 million, a 16 percent increase from four years earlier.
Michigan State University also saw a 30 percent increase, going from $130.4 million in 2010-11 to $169.9 million four years later.
Wayne State University was the only state university that did not increase spending in this category over the four-year period covered.
“University costs are going to continue to increase until tuition costs scare away students from attending,” said James Hohman, the assistant director of fiscal policy for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. “Yet the universities are not spending much more on faculty — instead, they’ve beefed up administration and other costs that support the university and its students.”
This is hardly a new problem. A 2003 House Fiscal Agency report on 25 years of higher education costs documented a rising number of noninstructional personnel for each student. The report noted the “development of what is called an administrative ‘lattice.'" It concluded, “Cost efficiencies frequently require revision or dismantling of the ‘lattice.’”
Hahahahahaha....trick question.
Government is involved....THAT’S WHY!
They are making colleges into resorts. I can’t believe the dorm and campus is for my son starting in August. This is my first experience with colleges since August 1987 when I Started. The differences are incredible. The gym, cafateria, etc. are so much better. The price went from about 9,000 to 24,000 a year in almost 30 years. Is that really that terrible considering how high everything else is from 30 years ago?
Simple.
Supply and demand.
So long as it’s easy for demand to exceed supply, prices will rise until demand matches supply.
A thing is worth exactly what someone is willing to pay for it.
Something they teach in economics class.
This is an easy one. If you make funds available, someone will always gladly absorb them.
Gotta pay the exorbitant salaries for all those -—— Studies profs!
College costs have exceeded inflation by huge margins.
I guess. I remember my parents having a heart attach about 9 grand like we are with 24.
Not quite. Students will continue to find money as long as the US Government continues the massive student debt syringe injection, and our Federal Reserve keeps interest rates at zero. America is on a debt binge - government, education, housing, corporations.
Gubmint subsidies. Happens every time. Gubmint subsidizes education (health, housing, etc) and the cost skyrockets.
Demand is being artificially fueled by government assistance in the forms of subsidized loans, grants, other financial aid. If demand is already high, why does government need a role?
The government’s money is the taxpayer’s money. Some taxpayers did not go to college or even have children going to college, yet they pay for other young people to go.
Government’s role is laudable on the surface, but like everything else it touches, utterly corrupting.
plus another bottomless pit to throw our tax dollars down which means we need to give the govt more or our money to do it....
I have been wondering for some time just where the outrage is for BIG UNIVERSITY! There has been outrage at Big Oil, Wall Street ad infinitum but the trillions of debt for getting an education is just, what? No big deal?
UMD financial package had a line item for “Student Health Care” $575 per semester.
Didn’t matter that my son is covered by my plan. Mandatory.
We went elsewhere, for other reasons, but that’s over an extra grand a year for coverage we wouldn’t use. Guess we were expected to subsidize the other students without coverage.
A business would be insane not to increase prices to meet an unlimited supply, with an unlimited demand, with unlimited money.
Administrative Lattice is a funny term for Useless Bread Gobblers.
There hasn’t been any pressure to reduce tuition rates until recently, and even that is more akin to voting with your feet. They’re subsidized via government-backed low interest loans. I suspect the trend of the past several years, of going to the local community college for two years then transferring credits to finish out a four year degree at a university is starting to hit their bottom line. But, they’ll try to put a stop to being able to do that before they’ll ever cut spending and cap or reduce tuition, though.
That's a very big part of it. Before 1970 you didn't have entire full-time professional staffs devoted to Diversity, Inclusion, Affirmative Action, and the administration of the sundry rules involved with government grants, including research grants, academic scholarships, and the endless regulation associated with social programming. And further, you didn't have a demand for junk "Studies" departments that produce nothing but political discontent and agitation.
There are less inimical sources as well - no university in 1950 had the sort of demand for technology as a modern one does, for infrastructure surrounding student wealth such as the possession of motor vehicles, and certain even more inimical sources such as the need for full-time Counsel staffing to fend off the relentless assault of predatory legal action.
There's a lot of fat that could be easily cut to bring down the overall cost of a college education, but quite a bit of it is sacrosanct. Try, for example, to eliminate the African or Gender Studies Department and see what happens.
Even simpler - cultural marxism is very expensive. I have been a business school professor for the last 7 years and the only growth areas are those required to support and expand cultural marxism at the university.
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