In the decade between fiscal years 1993 and 2003, the size of administration in the public universities of Illinois increased at 10 times the rate that teaching positions did. After adjusting for inflation, the administrative increase was nearly 49 percent during that period, while the teaching budget increase was 27 percent. In contrast, student enrollment numbers actually showed a small decline--2.7 percent.

The data are part of a study released by the University Professionals of Illinois, the statewide AFT union that represents faculty and staff in seven of the state's public universities. It is the first-ever comparative study of administrative and teaching staff levels and is based on a review of budgets submitted by the governor's office during the 10-year period.

The union commissioned the study, conducted by Robert Ginsburg of the Chicago-based Center on Work and Community Development, because it was concerned about university priorities, says Sue Kaufman, UPI president. In 1992, the state General Assembly passed a resolution, SJR 141, which the union backed, calling for reduced administrative costs and a greater emphasis on classroom instruction.

Instead, over the next 10 years while the number of students enrolled dropped by 2.7 percent (from 195,095 to 189,841), the total teaching staff grew by 3.6 percent (from 13,247 to 13,722) and the total administrative staff grew by 33.7 percent (from 4,028 to 5,386).

These overall percentages play out differently at each of the seven campuses where UPI represents staff. At Eastern Illinois University, for example, where the UPI chapter is in the midst of negotiating a new contract, chapter president David Radavich notes that the growth of administration has come at the expense of instruction. "We now have one administrator at EIU for every three faculty members," he recently told the university's board of trustees.

Yet, "with the influx of 600 new students this year, many faculty have been required to teach more classes with more students in them." This leads to burnout and exhaustion, he pointed out, and less time for faculty to give individual attention to students--a hallmark of an EIU education. "Some administrators are pushing to replace faculty with graduate students, further diminishing academic quality."

Illinois, like so many other states, is dealing with massive tax revenue shortfalls by cutting higher education budgets and raising tuition. The UPI survey suggests another approach. Had the ratio of administrative staff to teachers remained constant from 1993 to 2003, the universities would have saved $75 million. "If the university system had heeded the Legislature's mandate, we could have eased the impact of the present budget crisis in Illinois' higher education system and avoided some tuition increases and program cuts," comments John Murphy, UPI vice president. "We need to bring our focus back to teaching students." 

 [Barbara McKenna / AFT On Campus]

[December 26, 2002]