A policy report sponsored by the Goldwater Institute found that even though many American universities are expanding in size, money received by these institutions is not going toward enhancing instruction, research, or service, but rather toward hiring more administrative employees.
The report released Aug. 17 examined state public universities, as well as private institutions, between the years of 1993 and 2007.
The Goldwater Institute was founded in 1988 by Barry Goldwater, a Republican Senator of Ariz., and acts as “an independent government watchdog,” according to its website.
The author of the report Jay P. Greene is a Senior Fellow of the Goldwater Institute, a Bush Institute Fellow and head of the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas. Research associates Brian Kisida and Jonathan Mills, both from the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, were also involved.
The report showed that out of the 198 universities examined, many are experiencing “administrative bloat,” which accounts for the 61.2 percent increase in expenditures per student for administration across private and public post-secondary schools.
It is true that other increases in expenditures evolved—the closest being 39.3 percent per student for instruction—but what does this mean to SMU?
Although SMU is not included in the 198 institutions analyzed, the report said that in terms of growth, other private schools “increased their full-time staff involved in instruction, research and service by almost the same rate as they increased administration–a 39.8 percent increase compared with a 40.1 percent increase.”
Elizabeth White, senior sociology and psychology double major, feels blessed to be a part of the SMU family.
“I feel fortunate to be a part of a private university where spending seems to be evenly distributed through the appropriate outlets [both administration and instruction, research and service],” White said. “I love being a Mustang!”
Although spending among private universities seems to be even in terms of growth, today there are about six students at private universities for every full-time administrator, according to the report.
“I have no problem if SMU increases its spending on administrators as long as they maintain an emphasis on keeping the professor to student ratio low,” junior English and theater double major Janielle Kastner said.
However, not all students are fortunate enough to attend private institutions. According to the report, “It is striking that among universities with very high rates of growth in full-time administrators, some have had relatively little growth (or even declines) in their full-time instructors, researchers and service providers.”
Recent SMU graduate Sahil Arora believes this is reasonable.
“[Public institutions] are lacking in both areas—administrative and teaching staff—and need to get a good base of administration before they can handle new staff and students,” Arora said. “If that means spending more on administrative employees, then so be it.”
As stated in the report, conclusions were drawn from data collected by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, a system sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, which gathers information from every place of post-secondary education that currently participates, or could participate, in the federal student financial aid programs.
For more information, visit: georgewbushinstitute.com and follow the link: “Institute Fellow Jay P. Greene’s new report on administrative bloat in US higher ed.”
