barrons

While there may be some individual exceptions it gives a good overall picture just like all other rankings. Smaller schools tend to spend a higher percentage as would be expected by the greater efficiency of larger size.

collegehelp

IPEDS Finance instructions for public schools

07 – Institutional support — Report expenses for the day-to-day operational support of the institution, excluding expenses for physical plant operations. Include expenses for general administrative services, executive direction and planning, legal and fiscal operations, and public relations/development.

08 – Operation & maintenance of plant — Report all expenses for operations established to provide service and maintenance related to grounds and facilities used for educational and general purposes. Also include expenses for utilities, fire protection, property insurance, and similar items. See the instructions for line 09 relative to depreciation expense.

IPEDS Finance instructions for private not-for-profit

06 – Institutional support – Enter all expenses for the day-to-day operational support of the institution. Include expenses for general administrative services, executive direction and planning, legal and fiscal operations, administrative computing support, and public relations/development. (FARM para. 452.16)

There is no separate category for Operation and Maintenance of Plant for private schools. Instead, it is distributed (separately) among functions: Instruction, Research, Public Service, Academic Support, Student Services, Institutional Support, and Auxiliary Expenses.

Column 4, Operation and Maintenance of Plant - This column, in conjunction with Line 11, is used to show the distribution of operation and maintenance of plant expenses to the various functions. Enter in this column the allocated amount of operation and maintenance of plant expenses to each function listed on lines 01-10. The total operation and maintenance of plant expenses should be entered as a negative amount on line 11 of this column, so that the net total of the column as well as the net total of line 11 is zero.


I think I need to re-do the list for private universities and LACs to make it comparable to publics. But, the data is there with which to do it. It will take a little time.

collegehelp

This should be better. I subtracted "Operation and Maintenance of the Plant" from the private school "Institutional Support" and used the public school "Institutional Support" that excluded "Operation and Maintenance of Plant".

So, I have excluded Operation and Maintenance from both public and private. It should be more like apples-apples now. Since it is apples-apples, I will include them all in one long list.

I have not had a chance to study it. Did it make much difference?

Bennington College 27.3%
Spelman College 26.3%
Millsaps College 26.1%
Thomas Aquinas College 25.7%
Pepperdine University 24.2%
Austin College 24.0%
Principia College 23.9%
Reed College 23.1%
Southwestern University 23.0%
Earlham College 22.9%
Southern Methodist University 22.7%
Hendrix College 22.1%
Trinity College 21.9%
Agnes Scott College 21.1%
Franklin and Marshall College 21.0%
Sewanee: The University of the South 20.4%
Sweet Briar College 20.4%
Wofford College 20.3%
Swarthmore College 20.2%
Randolph-Macon College 20.1%
Claremont McKenna College 19.5%
Ursinus College 19.4%
University of Notre Dame 19.4%
Wheaton College 19.1%
Skidmore College 19.1%
Carleton College 18.7%
Macalester College 18.7%
Middlebury College 18.6%
Albion College 18.6%
Beloit College 18.6%
Knox College 18.5%
Connecticut College 18.3%
Dickinson College 18.0%
Sarah Lawrence College 18.0%
Vassar College 17.8%
Colgate University 17.8%
Davidson College 17.7%
Hollins University 17.7%
St Mary's College of Maryland 17.7%
Mills College 17.7%
Lawrence University 17.6%
Presbyterian College 17.6%
Centre College 17.5%
University of Richmond 17.4%
Birmingham Southern College 17.4%
Juniata College 17.2%
Marquette University 17.2%
Wellesley College 17.1%
Hanover College 17.0%
Barnard College 17.0%
New College of Florida 16.9%
Gettysburg College 16.9%
Hobart William Smith Colleges 16.6%
College of Saint Benedict 16.5%
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 16.4%
College of the Holy Cross 16.3%
Bryn Mawr College 16.0%
Pitzer College 16.0%
Boston College 16.0%
Whitman College 15.9%
Colorado College 15.9%
Pomona College 15.8%
American University 15.7%
St Lawrence University 15.7%
Wheaton College 15.6%
Harvey Mudd College 15.6%
Williams College 15.5%
Haverford College 15.4%
Illinois Wesleyan University 15.4%
Allegheny College 15.4%
Kenyon College 15.3%
Colby College 15.3%
Bates College 15.3%
Drew University 15.3%
Saint Johns University 15.2%
Bowdoin College 15.1%
Lafayette College 15.0%
Brandeis University 14.8%
Georgetown University 14.7%
Bucknell University 14.6%
Wesleyan University 14.5%
The College of Wooster 14.5%
Oberlin College 14.4%
Augustana College 14.4%
Hamilton College 14.3%
Brown University 14.3%
Union College 13.8%
University of North Carolina System Office 13.8%
Muhlenberg College 13.6%
Fordham University 13.5%
Furman University 13.4%
Cornell University 13.4%
Grinnell College 13.4%
Lehigh University 13.3%
Willamette University 13.3%
Occidental College 13.2%
University of Denver 13.2%
Amherst College 13.2%
Wabash College 13.1%
Washington and Lee University 13.0%
Goucher College 12.9%
Indiana University-Bloomington 12.9%
Stevens Institute of Technology 12.9%
Smith College 12.9%
Bard College 12.8%
Harvard University 12.8%
Mount Holyoke College 12.7%
Kalamazoo College 12.6%
Baylor University 12.3%
St. Olaf College 12.0%
University of Puget Sound 11.9%
Yeshiva University 11.7%
Clark University 11.7%
George Washington University 11.6%
Rhodes College 11.5%
Tulane University of Louisiana 11.4%
Tufts University 11.1%
Northwestern University 11.1%
Ohio Wesleyan University 11.0%
Gustavus Adolphus College 10.8%
DePauw University 10.8%
Denison University 10.7%
Princeton University 10.4%
Syracuse University 10.3%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 10.3%
Wake Forest University 10.2%
Dartmouth College 10.1%
University of Southern California 10.0%
Worcester Polytechnic Institute 10.0%
Case Western Reserve University 9.9%
Wells College 9.7%
Rice University 9.7%
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus 9.5%
Boston University 9.3%
Hope College 9.3%
Saint Louis University-Main Campus 9.3%
SUNY at Binghamton 9.2%
University of California-Riverside 8.7%
Miami University-Oxford 8.5%
Stanford University 8.4%
Scripps College 8.4%
University of Delaware 8.3%
Columbia University in the City of New York 8.1%
Virginia Military Institute 8.1%
Yale University 8.1%
New York University 8.1%
University of Connecticut 7.8%
Purdue University-Main Campus 7.8%
University of California-Berkeley 7.7%
Auburn University Main Campus 7.6%
College of William and Mary 7.4%
Duke University 7.3%
Rutgers University-New Brunswick 7.1%
University of Chicago 7.0%
Brigham Young University 6.9%
Johns Hopkins University 6.8%
Carnegie Mellon University 6.5%
University of California-Santa Cruz 6.3%
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities 5.9%
University of Florida 5.8%
The University of Tennessee 5.8%
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus 5.5%
University of Maryland-College Park 5.5%
University of Georgia 5.5%
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 5.1%
University of Miami 5.0%
University of California-Santa Barbara 5.0%
The University of Texas at Austin 5.0%
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus 4.9%
Clemson University 4.7%
Washington University in St Louis 4.7%
University of California-San Diego 4.5%
Emory University 4.4%
University of Washington-Seattle Campus 4.4%
Michigan State University 4.4%
University of Pennsylvania 4.0%
University of Colorado at Boulder 3.9%
Ohio State University-Main Campus 3.7%
Texas A & M University 3.7%
University of Virginia-Main Campus 3.6%
University of California-Los Angeles 3.4%
University of Iowa 3.3%
Iowa State University 3.2%
University of California-Irvine 3.0%
University of Wisconsin-Madison 3.0%
University of Rochester 2.7%
University of California-Davis 2.6%
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 2.6%
California Institute of Technology 2.5%
Vanderbilt University 2.3%
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2.0%
University of Missouri-Columbia 1.5%

vossron

So in a few words, what does this difference mean, and does it seem reasonable?

Bennington College 27.3%
University of Missouri-Columbia 1.5%

collegehelp

It means that operations at University of Missouri - Columbia have little administrative overhead. Operations are lean and efficient. More of the money is probably going toward education and less toward commitees and task forces. There is less waste.

Bennington is top-heavy, inefficient, bloated with admistration and bureaucracy, wasteful.

collegehelp

This might be even more like apples and apples, This is the percent of total expenses that are spent on Institutional Support- Salaries and Fringe Benefits.

Reed College 18.4%
Millsaps College 17.4%
Pepperdine University 17.2%
Southwestern University 16.2%
Bennington College 15.2%
New College of Florida 14.8%
Principia College 14.8%
Connecticut College 14.3%
Earlham College 13.9%
St Mary's College of Maryland 13.2%
Franklin and Marshall College 13.2%
Sewanee: The University of the South 13.2%
Beloit College 12.7%
Dickinson College 12.5%
Wheaton College 12.2%
Marquette University 12.2%
Middlebury College 12.2%
Randolph-Macon College 12.1%
Bryn Mawr College 11.9%
Skidmore College 11.8%
Southern Methodist University 11.7%
Colorado College 11.7%
Thomas Aquinas College 11.6%
Swarthmore College 11.6%
Macalester College 11.6%
Carleton College 11.5%
Agnes Scott College 11.4%
Juniata College 11.4%
University of Richmond 11.3%
Sarah Lawrence College 11.3%
Presbyterian College 11.2%
Austin College 11.2%
College of Saint Benedict 11.2%
Lawrence University 11.1%
Spelman College 11.0%
Mills College 11.0%
Barnard College 10.9%
University of Notre Dame 10.8%
The College of Wooster 10.6%
Boston College 10.5%
Birmingham Southern College 10.4%
Goucher College 10.3%
Sweet Briar College 10.3%
Wellesley College 10.3%
Drew University 10.3%
Brown University 10.3%
Indiana University-Bloomington 10.2%
Saint Johns University 10.2%
Hollins University 10.2%
Whitman College 10.0%
College of the Holy Cross 10.0%
Colby College 10.0%
Haverford College 9.9%
Lehigh University 9.9%
Wesleyan University 9.9%
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 9.8%
Allegheny College 9.8%
Colgate University 9.7%
Augustana College 9.7%
Ursinus College 9.6%
Lafayette College 9.6%
Cornell University 9.6%
Smith College 9.6%
Hobart William Smith Colleges 9.4%
Bates College 9.4%
Vassar College 9.3%
American University 9.3%
Grinnell College 9.3%
Bucknell University 9.3%
Bowdoin College 9.3%
Harvey Mudd College 9.3%
Amherst College 9.2%
Knox College 9.2%
George Washington University 9.2%
Hanover College 9.2%
Wofford College 9.0%
Kalamazoo College 9.0%
Pitzer College 9.0%
Claremont McKenna College 9.0%
Yeshiva University 8.9%
Hendrix College 8.9%
Centre College 8.9%
Gettysburg College 8.9%
Oberlin College 8.9%
Brandeis University 8.9%
Trinity College 8.7%
Pomona College 8.6%
Illinois Wesleyan University 8.6%
Wabash College 8.6%
Tufts University 8.6%
Washington and Lee University 8.5%
University of California-Riverside 8.4%
Wheaton College 8.4%
Mount Holyoke College 8.3%
Hamilton College 8.2%
St Lawrence University 8.2%
University of Denver 8.1%
Syracuse University 8.1%
Rhodes College 8.1%
Harvard University 8.0%
Kenyon College 8.0%
Muhlenberg College 7.9%
Northwestern University 7.9%
University of Puget Sound 7.8%
Rice University 7.7%
Fordham University 7.7%
Williams College 7.7%
Davidson College 7.7%
Occidental College 7.7%
Baylor University 7.7%
Denison University 7.6%
SUNY at Binghamton 7.5%
Furman University 7.5%
Gustavus Adolphus College 7.5%
Willamette University 7.4%
Dartmouth College 7.3%
Bard College 7.2%
University of North Carolina System Office 7.1%
Georgetown University 7.1%
Albion College 7.0%
Princeton University 6.9%
University of Southern California 6.8%
Clark University 6.8%
The University of Texas at Austin 6.8%
Union College 6.8%
Rutgers University-New Brunswick 6.7%
University of California-Berkeley 6.6%
Ohio Wesleyan University 6.4%
College of William and Mary 6.3%
Miami University-Oxford 6.3%
University of California-Santa Cruz 6.3%
University of Connecticut 6.3%
St. Olaf College 6.3%
University of Delaware 6.2%
Purdue University-Main Campus 6.1%
The University of Tennessee 5.8%
DePauw University 5.7%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 5.6%
Boston University 5.5%
University of Chicago 5.5%
Hope College 5.4%
Saint Louis University-Main Campus 5.4%
Stanford University 5.3%
University of Maryland-College Park 5.2%
Yale University 5.1%
Virginia Military Institute 5.1%
Carnegie Mellon University 5.0%
University of California-Santa Barbara 5.0%
Tulane University of Louisiana 5.0%
New York University 4.9%
Wake Forest University 4.7%
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities 4.6%
University of California-San Diego 4.5%
University of Georgia 4.5%
University of Miami 4.4%
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus 4.3%
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 4.3%
Worcester Polytechnic Institute 4.3%
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus 4.3%
Scripps College 4.3%
Case Western Reserve University 4.2%
Columbia University in the City of New York 4.2%
Wells College 4.2%
Duke University 4.1%
University of Florida 4.0%
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus 3.9%
Michigan State University 3.8%
Johns Hopkins University 3.8%
Clemson University 3.5%
University of Washington-Seattle Campus 3.4%
University of California-Los Angeles 3.4%
Texas A & M University 3.4%
Stevens Institute of Technology 3.4%
University of Virginia-Main Campus 3.3%
University of Pennsylvania 3.2%
University of Missouri-Columbia 3.2%
Emory University 3.1%
University of California-Irvine 3.0%
Washington University in St Louis 2.8%
Iowa State University 2.8%
Ohio State University-Main Campus 2.7%
Brigham Young University 2.7%
University of California-Davis 2.6%
University of Iowa 2.3%
Auburn University Main Campus 2.3%
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 2.3%
University of Rochester 2.2%
California Institute of Technology 2.0%
University of Colorado at Boulder 2.0%
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1.8%
Vanderbilt University 1.8%
University of Wisconsin-Madison 1.5%

vossron

My emphasis should have been on the "and does it seem reasonable?" part, but since it's a relatively smooth continuum across all schools, I guess it is. Still, that's a huge difference.

Correlating this data with education quality metrics might be interesting, to see if the "bloat" pays off in any statistically significant way.

I do see CalTech at the low end of bloat!

collegehelp

Based on post #36
percent of total expenses due to administrative (Institutional Support) salaries and benefits

some lists for comparisons

Reed 18.4
Earlham 13.9
Middlebury 12.2
Bryn Mawr 11.9
Swarthmore 11.6
Carleton 11.5
Barnard 10.9
Wellesley 10.3
Colby 10.0
Haverford 9.9
Wesleyan 9.9
Colgate 9.7
Smith 9.6
Bates 9.4
Vassar 9.3
Bucknell 9.3
Harvey Mudd 9.3
Amherst 9.2
Claremont McKenna 9.0
Oberlin 8.9
Pomona 8.6
Williams 7.7
St Olaf 6.3
Scripps 4.3

Pepperdine 17.2
Notre Dame 10.8
Boston College 10.5
Tufts 8.6
Syracuse 8.1
Northwestern 7.9
Rice 7.7
Georgetown 7.1
USC 6.8
U Chicago 5.5
NYU 4.9
Wake Forest 4.7
Duke 4.1
Johns Hopkins 3.8
Emory 3.1
Washington U St Louis 2.8
U Rochester 2.2
Vanderbilt 1.8

Indiana U Bloomington 10.2
UC Riverside 8.4
SUNY Binghamton 7.5
U Texas Austin 6.8
Rutgers U New Brunswick 6.7
UC Berkeley 6.6
William and Mary 6.3
U Conn 6.3
UC Santa Cruz 6.3
U Delaware 6.2
Purdue 6.1
U Tennessee 5.8
U Maryland College Park 5.2
UC Santa Barbara 5.0
U Minnesota -Twin Cities 4.6
UC -San Diego 4.5
U Georgia 4.5
U Miami 4.4
U Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus 4.3
Penn State 4.3
U Florida 4.0
Clemson 3.5
UCLA 3.4
Texas A&M 3.4
U Washington 3.4
UVA 3.3
U Missouri Columbia 3.2
UC Irvine 3.0
Ohio State 2.7
UC Davis 2.6
U Michigan 2.3
U Iowa 2.3
Auburn U 2.3
U Colorado Boulder 2.0
U Illinois Urbana-Champaign 1.8
U Wisconsin Madison 1.5

RPI 9.8
Harvey Mudd 9.3
Case Western 4.2
MIT 5.6
WPI 4.3
Virginia Tech 4.3
Georgia Tech 3.9
Stevens 3.4
Caltech 2.0

Brown 10.3
Cornell 9.6
Harvard 8.0
Dartmouth 7.3
Princeton 6.9
Stanford 5.3
Yale 5.1
Columbia 4.2
Penn 3.2

vossron

Do significant, e.g., athletics expenses significantly affect the percentage of administrative expenses?

If yes, how does removing such expenses affect the lists? E.g., would Williams' 7.7% go up much if athletics were removed from their total?

If school A and B had the same administrative expenses, but A paid professors twice what B paid, B would appear to have bloated administrative expenses, when actually A had bloated teaching expenses.

interesteddad

vossron:

The bigger problem is the wide discrepencies in which categories schools put their expenses.

alGorescousin

But...colleges are bastions of inefficiency. Too many committees and subcommittees. Too many "speaking trips and such."

I know a few profs in a music department at a major LAC. They fly all over the world throughout the school year for this or that conference, or this or that performance and this or that seminar. A complete waste. That money comes not from grants but from tuition.

collegehelp

interesteddad-
How can "institutional support (i.e., administrative) - salaries and benefits" be placed in different IPEDS Finance categories by different schools. The IPEDS Finance instructions seem pretty clear to me. I just don't think there is much ambiguity. I don't think it could be as big a problem as you say.

It might be possible to allocate expenses differently from one report to another but I just don't see how the reporting can be that inconsistent within the IPEDS Finance report.

collegehelp

vossron-
Money spent on teaching is money well spent. Quality teaching is where tuition dollars SHOULD go.

vossron

Yes, but your pejorative "bloat" is bogus, making the list of little value.

If A and B both spend X on administration, A spends 8X on teaching, and B spends 4X on teaching, it means that A has twice as many teachers, or pays them twice as much, or something in between. It has zero to do with the premise of bloated administration, and may have zero to do with teaching quality. If A also spends 8X on athletics (assume 8X income from it if you want), and B zero, it further shrinks A's administrative percentage, falsely making A look efficient.

interesteddad

The problem is the denominator. The IPEDs data is very inconsistent in picking up each colleges spending. I pointed out earlier that Amherst and Swarthmore spend exactly the same amount per student ($70,000+). Yet IPEDS only picks up $60,000 for Swarthmore and $40,000 for Amherst.

They also spend exactly the same for Institutional Support salaries: $7.71 for Swarthmore, $7.97 for Amherst. Your tables are showing distinctions without a difference.