The increase in higher education administrators

[Anonymous]

https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2017/06/administrative-bloat-campus-academia-shrinks-students-suffer/

I know this is a bit of an old article, but it's interesting nevertheless. My daughter graduated today and I was struck by two things. One, how many "deans" there are. You have the dean of academic affairs, dean of student affairs, dean of the college of liberal arts and sciences, dean of college of business, and so on and so forth...I think those always existed....but now you've also got "Assistant Dean of Retention and Student Success" "Assistant Dean of Diversity Affairs" "Associate Dean of The College of Arts and Sciences" (x2) "Assistant Dean of Student Affairs - College of Arts and Sciences", "Director of Student Affairs - College of Arts and Sciences" and then repeat for every other college in the university (college of engineering, business, health sciences, etc). It is a LOT and I can very much understand the data that it is this administrative bloat that is at least partly to blame for the rise in tuition costs. Are these administrators really necessary?

I also found out that many of her classmates are planning to enter M.Ed programs for things like "higher education administration" "Student Affairs Administration" and so on and so forth. I'm an old fogey, but I have no recollection of these programs existing (at least not with such popularity) when I was graduating.

[Anonymous]

It's the same situation in K-12 schools. Too many admins and higher ups who are too far removed from classroom teaching pretending to be experts.

[Anonymous]

Not to mention they have access to educational sabbaticals. I don't know if those are paid, but if not, I would bet they still keep their benefits during that time.

[Anonymous]

My favorite is everyone needs to be called "Dr." despite most oslf the degrees not being PhD. And the most vocal all seem to be one step up from correspondence schools.

DC is the worst offender but it's all over.

[Anonymous]

The increase in administrators is the biggest issue in higher ed costs. But if families want (and they do) to be able to call about an issue and get an immediate response, for their kid to have access to a dean on call, to have access to a wealth of services including travel abroad, internships, prestigious fellowships-all of that requires staffing and those staff require a professional salary. Every campus also has administrators who make sure they are in compliance with federal regs and accreditation requirements.

A school like Berea College shows what the alternative looks like. They have a big endowment and use it to make the college tuition free. They offer a high quality education, but it's pretty bare bones. All students are required to work 10-15 hours. They spend roughly half the money per student of other LACs. But many families on this board, and their students, would not think Berea offers enough opportunities and amenities. Until a critical mass of families say "I want a good education at a reasonable price" colleges have no incentive to dial back costs-and the opposite is true, the more lavish the college, the more families are willing to pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My favorite is everyone needs to be called "Dr." despite most oslf the degrees not being PhD. And the most vocal all seem to be one step up from correspondence schools.

DC is the worst offender but it's all over.

A PhD is a doctorate. In the rest of the world people refer to people with PhDs as doctors. The US is is peculiar in that it generally only refers to medical doctors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The increase in administrators is the biggest issue in higher ed costs. But if families want (and they do) to be able to call about an issue and get an immediate response, for their kid to have access to a dean on call, to have access to a wealth of services including travel abroad, internships, prestigious fellowships-all of that requires staffing and those staff require a professional salary. Every campus also has administrators who make sure they are in compliance with federal regs and accreditation requirements.

A school like Berea College shows what the alternative looks like. They have a big endowment and use it to make the college tuition free. They offer a high quality education, but it's pretty bare bones. All students are required to work 10-15 hours. They spend roughly half the money per student of other LACs. But many families on this board, and their students, would not think Berea offers enough opportunities and amenities. Until a critical mass of families say "I want a good education at a reasonable price" colleges have no incentive to dial back costs-and the opposite is true, the more lavish the college, the more families are willing to pay.

Totally agree. The consumer wants a "high-touch" experience. Personnel are needed to make that happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2017/06/administrative-bloat-campus-academia-shrinks-students-suffer/

I know this is a bit of an old article, but it's interesting nevertheless. My daughter graduated today and I was struck by two things. One, how many "deans" there are. You have the dean of academic affairs, dean of student affairs, dean of the college of liberal arts and sciences, dean of college of business, and so on and so forth...I think those always existed....but now you've also got "Assistant Dean of Retention and Student Success" "Assistant Dean of Diversity Affairs" "Associate Dean of The College of Arts and Sciences" (x2) "Assistant Dean of Student Affairs - College of Arts and Sciences", "Director of Student Affairs - College of Arts and Sciences" and then repeat for every other college in the university (college of engineering, business, health sciences, etc). It is a LOT and I can very much understand the data that it is this administrative bloat that is at least partly to blame for the rise in tuition costs. Are these administrators really necessary?

I also found out that many of her classmates are planning to enter M.Ed programs for things like "higher education administration" "Student Affairs Administration" and so on and so forth. I'm an old fogey, but I have no recollection of these programs existing (at least not with such popularity) when I was graduating.

They've been around for quite some time. They are basically multi-disciplinary degrees that blend psych, education (and a little ed law in most cases), management, policy, stats/research, and some other areas.

Right here in our backyard, Maryland has had top programs in higher ed, student affairs, and educational leadership for decades.