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The Daily OrangeFaculty fallout
Recent Stats of SU hires mimic national trend of more administrators than faculty members
By Dan Scorpio
Posted: 4/2/08, 12:15 AM EST Section: News
Administrators are beginning to outnumber faculty at universities across the country, and some experts are wary of the consequences this poses to education.
A new report states that institutions of higher education in the United States employ more staff positions than teaching faculty members, according to a report by The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in March 2008.
"A concern for students is that faculty will not often be available outside of class time," said John Curtis, director of research and public policy for the American Association of University Professors. "It likely will become more difficult to develop relationships with professors, and students' learning will be affected."
According to the NCES report, 48.6 percent of more than 3.5 million employees in higher education were full-time professors during the 2006-2007 academic year. The remaining 51.4 percent were administrative, student services and support staff.
In the past five years, Syracuse University has hired 285 full-time employees. Of these new hires, 89 were for faculty positions - a 31 percent ratio.
The report also shows an increasing reliance of colleges and universities on part-time and adjunct professors.
There are some higher education specialists who are troubled by these statistics.
Curtis said providing a number of additional services is distracting for universities.
"No longer is there just a little bit of advising or a few student activities," Curtis said. "There is a wide variety."
The number of full-time, non-faculty employees at universities has increased by 281 percent over the last several years, Curtis said.
Nationally, the number of tenure-track faculty has increased by 17 percent.
New requirements put in place on how universities report data, further accreditation processes and increased emphasis on student learning outcomes are causes of the need for more administrative staff.
A new report states that institutions of higher education in the United States employ more staff positions than teaching faculty members, according to a report by The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in March 2008.
"A concern for students is that faculty will not often be available outside of class time," said John Curtis, director of research and public policy for the American Association of University Professors. "It likely will become more difficult to develop relationships with professors, and students' learning will be affected."
According to the NCES report, 48.6 percent of more than 3.5 million employees in higher education were full-time professors during the 2006-2007 academic year. The remaining 51.4 percent were administrative, student services and support staff.
In the past five years, Syracuse University has hired 285 full-time employees. Of these new hires, 89 were for faculty positions - a 31 percent ratio.
The report also shows an increasing reliance of colleges and universities on part-time and adjunct professors.
There are some higher education specialists who are troubled by these statistics.
Curtis said providing a number of additional services is distracting for universities.
"No longer is there just a little bit of advising or a few student activities," Curtis said. "There is a wide variety."
The number of full-time, non-faculty employees at universities has increased by 281 percent over the last several years, Curtis said.
Nationally, the number of tenure-track faculty has increased by 17 percent.
New requirements put in place on how universities report data, further accreditation processes and increased emphasis on student learning outcomes are causes of the need for more administrative staff.
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