In recent years, Yale has achieved the unfortunate distinction of having more administrators and managers than undergraduate students. For its fewer than five thousand undergraduate students, Yale proudly employs an army of over 5,460 administrators. Like many of its peer institutions, Yale faces an epidemic of administrative bloat: a self-perpetuating ecosystem of expensive career administrators who are far removed from the classroom. In the last three decades, the number of administrators and managers employed by American colleges and universities has ballooned, dwarfing the growth of student and faculty populations. From 1987 to 2012, 517,636 administrators and professional employees were hired at colleges and universities across the country—an average of 87 hires for every working day. After disproportionate growth, these oversized administrative states needlessly increase costs and encumber the operation of institutions.
As Johns Hopkins political scientist Benjamin Ginsberg describes in his book, The Fall of Faculty, the American university has undergone many evolutions in its lifetime. As recently as the 1970s, schools were heavily influenced by faculty ideas and concerns. Top administrators were typically drawn from teaching staff and many mid level managerial tasks went to faculty members. These academics typically participated on a temporary basis and cycled in and out of teaching roles. Because professors were so involved in university management, presidents and deans could do little without faculty support. The college’s core educational mission was hard to ignore with administration composed primarily of semi-retired academics. Administrative tasks were a means to an academic end. As demand for services and the complexities of modern administrative requirements grew, however, a professional management class rapidly emerged.
Compared to academic leadership of the past, today’s professional administrators view management as an end in and of itself. Most have no faculty experience and come directly from management degree programs or other non-teaching roles in higher education. The Department of Education Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Survey (IPEDS) defines administrators as “staff whose job it is to plan, direct, or coordinate policies [and] programs, [tasks that] may include some supervision of other workers.” The IPEDS further states that although “Postsecondary Deans should be classified in this category as well,” the vast majority of administrators do no teaching or research. In many cases, their jobs are unrelated to the most crucial university functions. These career managers serve a bureaucracy that is fundamentally disconnected from the classroom experience.
The first problem with this self-reproducing professional class is its overwhelming cost. Administrative costs account for nearly a quarter of total spending by American universities, according to Department of Education data. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) found that, across the entire higher education landscape, spending on administration per student increased by 61% between 1993 and 2007. This growth extends even to public universities, like the UNC System, which “saw a nearly 50 percent, inflation-adjusted increase” in 11 short years. This growth is unsurprising given administrators are exceedingly well compensated compared to faculty. Presidents at both public and private universities often make comparable salaries to business executives of similar size institutions, and receive extensive perks typically associated with corporate executives. Within middle management, armies of deans and provosts typically make salaries comfortably in the six-figures.
In a letter written to University President Maurie McInnis and Provost Scott Strobel, signatories addressed the “collision of two opposing forces: extraordinary financial strength and runaway bureaucratic expansion.”
The request comes after Yale announced a broad hiring and salary slowdown as it braces for funding cuts from the Trump administration. Letter signees told the News they hope the adoption of their suggestions will place faculty at the center of University governance.
“With the second-largest per-student endowment in the world, Yale can navigate economic uncertainty without compromising its academic essence,” the letter reads.
Professor Juan de la Mora, a letter’s signee, said that a significant number of Yale professors believe that the institution is using funding for “improper” purposes and neglecting the school’s founding principles of emphasizing faculty and students.
He said that the Yale administration is turning into a bureaucracy lacking intellectual focus and noted that faculty do not have access to information on the administration’s growth and purpose.
Compared to academic leadership of the past, today’s professional administrators view management as an end in and of itself. Most have no faculty experience and come directly from management degree programs or other non-teaching roles in higher education. The Department of Education Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Survey (IPEDS) defines administrators as “staff whose job it is to plan, direct, or coordinate policies [and] programs, [tasks that] may include some supervision of other workers.” The IPEDS further states that although “Postsecondary Deans should be classified in this category as well,” the vast majority of administrators do no teaching or research. In many cases, their jobs are unrelated to the most crucial university functions. These career managers serve a bureaucracy that is fundamentally disconnected from the classroom experience.
The first problem with this self-reproducing professional class is its overwhelming cost. Administrative costs account for nearly a quarter of total spending by American universities, according to Department of Education data. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) found that, across the entire higher education landscape, spending on administration per student increased by 61% between 1993 and 2007. This growth extends even to public universities, like the UNC System, which “saw a nearly 50 percent, inflation-adjusted increase” in 11 short years. This growth is unsurprising given administrators are exceedingly well compensated compared to faculty. Presidents at both public and private universities often make comparable salaries to business executives of similar size institutions, and receive extensive perks typically associated with corporate executives. Within middle management, armies of deans and provosts typically make salaries comfortably in the six-figures.
by Lance Dinino, The Bowdoin Review | Read more:
Image: YuLin Zhen
[ed. So when this system gets threatened, who'll win? See: Yale faculty call for admin hiring freeze, independent audit amid concerns over bureaucratic expansion (Yale Daily News):]
[ed. So when this system gets threatened, who'll win? See: Yale faculty call for admin hiring freeze, independent audit amid concerns over bureaucratic expansion (Yale Daily News):]
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Over 100 Yale professors are calling for the University administration to freeze new administrative hires and commission an independent faculty-led audit to ensure that the University prioritizes academics.In a letter written to University President Maurie McInnis and Provost Scott Strobel, signatories addressed the “collision of two opposing forces: extraordinary financial strength and runaway bureaucratic expansion.”
The request comes after Yale announced a broad hiring and salary slowdown as it braces for funding cuts from the Trump administration. Letter signees told the News they hope the adoption of their suggestions will place faculty at the center of University governance.
“With the second-largest per-student endowment in the world, Yale can navigate economic uncertainty without compromising its academic essence,” the letter reads.
Professor Juan de la Mora, a letter’s signee, said that a significant number of Yale professors believe that the institution is using funding for “improper” purposes and neglecting the school’s founding principles of emphasizing faculty and students.
He said that the Yale administration is turning into a bureaucracy lacking intellectual focus and noted that faculty do not have access to information on the administration’s growth and purpose.
