Administrative Bloat Harms Teaching and Learning

James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal ^ | August 22, 2022 | Ashlynn Warta

[karpov]

Over the years, American universities and colleges have slowly drifted away from their central concerns, teaching and learning. This shift is perhaps best seen in the increased number of administrators in higher education and the exponential growth in the portion of institutions’ budgets dedicated to administrative salaries.

The educational data service IPEDS categorizes administrators as “management,” defined as “those staff whose job it is to plan, direct, or coordinate policies [and] programs, [tasks that] may include some supervision of other workers.” Though IPEDS further states that “Postsecondary Deans should be classified in this category as well,” the vast majority of administrators do no teaching or research. Their jobs are thus unrelated to the most crucial university functions.

Often referred to as administrative bloat, the growing number of non-instructional jobs at universities and colleges can be linked to the continuing rise in college tuition. As author Richard Vedder states, “When I started teaching in the 1960s, there were typically around two faculty for every non-faculty support person.” He continues, “Today, there are more administrators than faculty at most schools.”

Vedder’s experience is certainly reflected in the UNC System, where funding for institutional support (i.e., administration) saw a nearly 50 percent, inflation-adjusted increase in 11 short years, “from $2,217 per student in 2006 to $4,069 per student in 2017.”

[Gene Eric]

Similar problem with hospitals.

[Whatever Works]

It is everywhere. They don’t work. They impede it with their mandated meetings and useless training.