Living Large on Campus

College presidents seem blissfully unaware that they are living large at someone else’s expense.

“Colleges are labor-intensive operations, often showing up to 60 percent of their expenses as labor,” Brian C. Mitchell claims in the academe blog maintained by the American Association of University Professors. Mitchell is the former president of Bucknell University. Paying over half of your budget to personnel does not make you “labor-intensive” Nevertheless, he goes on to outline the other expenditures college administrators mete out funds to which help to show exactly what they labor on.

“In addition, they maintain an extensive physical plant operating much like a small town with expensive residential facilities, student services, protection, consumer-and alumni–driven wellness and athletic components, and recurring technology investments.  There are also significant outlays for areas like alumni cultivation, development, and federal and state reporting mandates. Added into the mix is the financial discount, now approaching 50 percent of every tuition dollar at many independent colleges and universities.”

 

Malcolm A. Kline is the Executive Director of Accuracy in Academia.
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