Sunday’s New York Times education supplement had an interesting story about the rise of college administrators. In 1976 there were, on average, 42 full-time administrators for every 1,000 college students. In 2008, that number had risen to 84 administrators. At the same time, the number of full-time faculty members dropped from 65 per 1,000 students to 55.
As college tuition rises across the country, you might well ask where that money is going. The answer is not faculty salaries. I’m all in favor of educating the whole student with the goal of producing well-rounded individuals. But do colleges really need more full-time administrators than full-time faculty members?