Following up on A Note to the Community, one problem that SIUC had, along with almost every other institution of higher education in the country is administrative creep.
Found this article on the Washington Monthly website, which summarizes the problem. The total spending by colleges and universities tripled between 1975 and 2005 to around $325 billion per year. However, faculty/student ratios remained fairly constant at about 15 or 16 to 1, one faculty member for every 15 students.
In 1975, the administrator/student ratio was 84 to 1, while the professional staffer (admissions officers, information technology specialists, etc.) to student ratio ran about 50 to 1. Jump forward to 2005 and the administrator/student ratio has dropped to 68 to 1 and the professional staff ratio has fallen to 21 to one. Granted, a lot of money has gone into improving and replacing college infrastructure, but twice as much money has gone into expanding administration as has gone into research and faculty.
Found this article on the Washington Monthly website, which summarizes the problem. The total spending by colleges and universities tripled between 1975 and 2005 to around $325 billion per year. However, faculty/student ratios remained fairly constant at about 15 or 16 to 1, one faculty member for every 15 students.
In 1975, the administrator/student ratio was 84 to 1, while the professional staffer (admissions officers, information technology specialists, etc.) to student ratio ran about 50 to 1. Jump forward to 2005 and the administrator/student ratio has dropped to 68 to 1 and the professional staff ratio has fallen to 21 to one. Granted, a lot of money has gone into improving and replacing college infrastructure, but twice as much money has gone into expanding administration as has gone into research and faculty.
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