Study Links Higher Admin Costs to Private Colleges' Financial Agitas

(from The Chronicle of Higher Education) Median spending on administrative staff at small liberal-arts colleges is about 64 cents for every dollar spent on instructional staff, finds a new study by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. This compares to 17 cents for every dollar at large, public, doctoral-granting research universities. Michael Poliakoff, president of the council, said the findings raise questions about private colleges' long-range fiscal health and heighten the urgency for them to explore efficiencies such as shared administrative services and purchasing consortia. 

Groups representing private colleges raise objections to the findings, arguing that the research too broadly defines instructional costs (by including things like academic administrators, libraries and museums) and too narrowly defines administrative spending (by excluding factors like financial-aid staff and student activities). Critics also point out that large universities benefit from administrative economies of scale.

Read the full article at The Chronicle of Higher Education.

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