Fat Cats: Bloated College Administrations Hike Tuition Costs

By Jennifer Karbany

College tuitions were never cheap, but they used to be much more affordable, particularly at mainstream state-funded institutions. But as tuition costs nationwide have soared, student loan debt has ballooned, and the Great Recession’s end is nowhere in sight, a new critical eye on the country’s broken higher education system has revealed plenty of room for improvement.

A recent series of articles in The Wall Street Journal highlighted many problems university systems across America grapple with, among them – bloated administration costs that jack up tuition prices.

Scott Thurm’s Dec. 14 article “Who Can Still Afford State U?” notes that “administrative costs have soared nationwide, and many administrators have secured big pay increases.”

“Teaching loads have declined for tenured faculty at many schools, adding to costs,” Thurm continues. “Between 2001 and 2011, the Department of Education says, the number of managers at … universities grew 50 percent faster than the number of instructors. What’s more, schools have spent liberally on fancier dorms, dining halls and gyms to compete for students.

Meanwhile, times couldn’t be worse for adding new administration costs.

“Now, cash-strapped states across the country are cutting…

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Source: The College Fix