Michigan
universities increased their spending on administrative positions by
nearly 30% on average in the last five years, even as university
leaders say they've slashed expenses to keep college affordable for
families.
The
number of administrative jobs grew 19% over that period at the state's
public universities, according to data submitted by the schools to the
state budget office.
Meanwhile, faculty compensation went up 22%.
The
increases took place from the 2005-06 school year through 2009-10 -- a
period in which both student enrollment and state funding of
universities remained about the same, state data show. The higher
administrative costs were slightly exceeded by tuition hikes over this
period.
The
schools say the additional $260 million spent on administrators
statewide doesn't provide a full picture, and is in many instances
justified to recruit and keep top personnel to stay competitive. They
add that credit hours are up even if enrollment isn't, meaning more
employees are needed.
"It's
still a small number," Michael Boulus, chief lobbyist for the schools,
said of the spending, especially when spread over 15 universities.
But
critics say the universities are out of step with the sacrifices made
in the public and private sector in Michigan during a punishing economy.
The
numbers, published in February by the state House's Fiscal Agency, come
as university presidents are lobbying lawmakers to limit proposed
budget cuts and warning that a drop in aid will mean higher tuition
bills for students.
"It's
very frustrating from a legislative point of view," said state Rep. Bob
Genetski, R-Saugatuck, chairman of the House subcommittee on higher
education. "Some of the universities seem to be doing a good job
managing their money, others not so good."
Universities defend spending more on compensation
After
spending 15 minutes earlier this month trying to convince state
legislators that the University of Michigan was pinching pennies
everywhere -- including on how many flowers it plants on campus --
President Mary Sue Coleman sounded a different tone when talking about
employees' salaries.
"I
am not going to punish people for doing a good job," she testified at a
committee hearing. "We want the best and work hard to keep them."
Recruiting
and rewarding U-M employees led to spending increases, especially among
administrators, though officials say some of those costs were
reimbursed by research grants. Still, data submitted by U-M show
university spending on administrative positions -- including raises and
new hires -- grew 27% over the past five years.
(Coleman's
own salary rose roughly 14% over this period, to $570,000 -- though she
took a pay freeze one year and donated another year's raise back to the
school.)
That 27% was less than the average increase at Michigan's 15 public universities.
On
average, state universities increased their spending on administrative
positions by 29.5% in the past five years, with much of it funding a
19% increase in administrative positions, state records show. Faculty
compensation rose 22%.
The increases come as Michigan tries to weather its worst economic storm in decades.
The
universities say they need to pay to attract top talent and have added
administrators to improve their academic offerings and to assist
students. They say they must also hire fundraisers in some cases to
seek donations to replace lost state aid.
New programs also bring higher costs.
"When
you add a rare-isotope machine" at Michigan State University, "you're
going to be hiring" professionals to run it, said Michael Boulus,
executive director of the Presidents Council, State Universities of
Michigan, which represents the schools in lobbying and other matters.
But
accounting professor Howard Bunsis, treasurer for the faculty union at
Eastern Michigan University, views the spending as excessive.
"There are too many administrators making too much money," he said.
The numbers
Last
Wednesday, Michigan State President Lou Anna Simon sat in the House
Appropriations Committee room and sounded nearly the same notes about
cost-cutting as Coleman had given three weeks earlier.
Afterward, Simon defended pay for MSU's staff, saying, "You've got to recruit good people."
She
said the university needed to offer competitive compensation packages.
She noted that she hasn't received a salary increase in the last three
years, though her pay the two years previous rose 22% to $520,000 a
year.
Overall, the amount MSU paid for its administrative staff jumped 41% over five years.
In
a written explanation to lawmakers, MSU said that, when compared with
other major research universities, MSU has about half as many
administrators as its peers.
But critics dispute the universities' assertions that they are lean.
"Universities
are enlarging their payroll" while "at the same time consistently
beating the drum that the state has to appropriate more money to them,"
said Michael Van Beek, education policy director for the conservative
Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
"There's a lesson here in bureaucratic bloat."
Van
Beek said one reason for the increase in administrative positions is
that as schools increase research, they need more administrators to
manage those projects. He complains universities are getting away from
teaching students.
Bunsis
of EMU agrees: "Administrators at our Michigan public institutions are
not committed to the core academic mission of educating our students."
Mike
Washington, a Livonia parent who is paying for his son to attend MSU
and for his daughter to attend Grand Valley State University, had
similar concerns.
"I
don't mind good teachers getting raises," he said. "They're helping my
kids learn. I'm not happy about big raises for administrators. I don't
think they make as much of a difference in what my kids learn. I think
the universities could probably spend less on administrators and be OK."
Grand Valley had the highest jump in spending on administrators, climbing 48%.
That
increase is tied to an 8% growth in enrollment -- while the school has
also hired more counselors and advisers to work with students,
spokeswoman Mary Ellen Lyon said. Lyon said a decrease in state aid
earmarked for capital projects has prompted the university to hire more
fund-raisers to bring in private money to replace that state aid.
Wayne
State University had the lowest percentage increase in spending on
administrators' positions, growing by 14.8%. That's because WSU has
worked hard at creating efficiencies, said Robert Kohrman, associate
vice president for budget, planning and analysis.
Another angle to the numbers
Although
university officials don't dispute the numbers, they say the numbers
don't paint a fair portrait of the universities' spending.
U-M
officials say the money paid to some administrators in their research
is initially charged to the school's general fund but is then paid back
by research grants that the university gets.
They
also argue that the faculty compensation figure is artificially low
because it doesn't include money that many faculty get from other
sources, such as grants or endowments.
Officials at Lake Superior State University, where administrative costs rose 36%, cited new leaders and promotions.
"We have had two new presidents and two new academic vice presidents over the past five years," spokesman Thomas Pink said.
"With
realignment of positions, a faculty member who accepts a department
head position may then be classified as an administrator. With the
restructuring over the past several years, there have been increases
and decreases in the number of department heads, department chairs,
etc."
Boulus
said a more accurate picture of administrative spending can be found by
comparing the compensation for an average administrative position. In
2005-06, that number was $86,733. By 2009-10, it had grown about 9%, to
$94,397, state data show.
What
the 9% increase doesn't reflect, however, is that there are now 1,931
administrators who have been added to the payroll since 2005.
At
Oakland University, where administrative compensation rose 41%,
spokesman Ted Montgomery noted OU spends about $12,470 from its general
fund per student, below the state average of $16,743. That's proof, OU
says, of its fiscal responsibility.
As OU marches toward opening a new medical school, it has also begun hiring administrative staff to get the program ready.
"These
positions, which also include the dean and associate deans of the
medical school, are paid more than the average administrator at the
university, due to the market for medical school positions," he said.
At
Western Michigan University, where spending on administrator
compensation is up 18%, spokeswoman Cheryl Roland said the school has
added administrators to work with struggling students. "WMU has moved
aggressively to improve student support services," she said.
Ferris
State University said its 25.5% hike in administrative compensation is
skewed in 2010 by the offering of an early-retirement benefit to
non-faculty staff. If spending on that incentive is knocked out, the
increase over the last five years is actually 17%, Ferris officials
said.
At
Eastern Michigan, officials said the growth in the number of
administrators is artificially high because many positions were open in
2005-06 because of unrest while an interim president ran the school and
positions were left unfilled.
Cuts coming?
As
EMU President Susan Martin looks at Gov. Rick Snyder's proposed higher
education budget, she sees pain ahead. She says the cut, which could be
between 15% and 20%, could put kinks in EMU's budget.
"We will not be able to increase financial aid and may have to decrease it," she told legislators. "Tuition will increase."
Snyder
said that the proposed cuts don't have to devastate universities,
spokeswoman Geralyn Lasher said, adding that Snyder said he thinks
universities can "live within" the proposed budgets.
Even
with the cuts, Michigan's universities are still going to go out and
hire good people, both as faculty and administrators, Boulus said.
"We still want good people," he said. "We still value good people.
