Administrative Growth At The University: A Case Study

Abstract

During the past two decades, the cost of higher education has increased at a higher rate than inflation.  Although this increase is small each year, the cumulative effect is great.  These increased costs are funded mainly through increased tuition and increased government support, either through subsidies to state funded universities or through government supported student loans, grants, work-study programs, and tax credits.  These subsidies are straining governmental budgets.  Many students are graduating with large debt burdens.  There is a rising fear among the working class that providing a college education for their children will be beyond their financial means. 

Thus, it is generally understood that the cost of a college education is rising faster than inflation and that these rising costs are creating a financial burden for both governments and individuals.  What is not generally understood is the source of these rising costs.  This study examined the financial records of a state supported, mid-western university with enrollment between 15,000 and 20,000 students, hereafter referred to as the University, over an eighteen-year period.  The study found that the rising cost of the University’s administration was the major source of the university’s cost increases.  This paper documents this finding and offers five possible explanations for these rising administrative costs.  The paper neither condemns nor justifies the rises in costs and it offers no suggestions for effectively decreasing administrative costs.  Diagnosis of the problem is the current topic of discussion, while possible solutions remain to be devised at a later date