Decisions about both instructional and administrative staffing play a critical role in shaping long-term financial sustainability. In our previous blog post, Optimizing Instructional Capacity: A Key Lever for Financial Sustainability, we examined how institutions are adapting faculty staffing models to align with shifting student demand.
Administrative staffing trends also have significant financial implications. The latest rpk GROUP report, The Financial Sustainability of Higher Education: Bright Spots & Challenges 2012 to 2022, explores how administrative staffing has evolved over the past decade and whether concerns about ‘administrative bloat’ are justified.
The Growth of Administrative Staffing
Over the past decade, managerial and professional staff hiring has outpaced faculty hiring at nearly all types of institutions. Between FY12 and FY20, these positions grew by an average of 12% to 20%, with public research universities seeing the largest increase (23%).
The Pandemic’s Impact
The COVID-19 pandemic temporarily disrupted both instructional and administrative staffing patterns. In FY21, institutions slowed faculty hiring and reduced noninstructional staff. However, by FY22, most institutions had resumed hiring, with managerial and professional staff levels increasing beyond that of five years earlier at all but public bachelor’s colleges.
At the same time, many institutions continued to cut nonprofessional staff, such as administrative assistants and maintenance personnel. This shift suggests that even as colleges and universities increased administrative hiring, they prioritized professionalized roles over lower-cost support positions.
Balancing Efficiency with Student Support
Spending data reveals that the increase in administrative staffing is not uniformly distributed across institutional functions. While concerns about administrative bloat persist, the data suggests that some of this hiring aligns with efforts to improve student retention and success outcomes. Notable takeaways include:
- Student support services saw significant investment, particularly in private institutions, suggesting an emphasis on student advising, mental health services, and retention efforts.
- Public and private research universities allocated more spending to academic support, including curriculum development, instructional technology, and academic administration.
A Data-Driven Approach to Staffing
The trends outlined in the rpk GROUP report suggest that while some growth in administrative staffing has been targeted to meet student needs, institutions must continue to evaluate the return on investment from staffing decisions. By taking a data-driven approach to staffing – ensuring that both instructional and administrative roles contribute directly to student success – colleges and universities can better position themselves for financial sustainability.
Stay tuned for more insights as we unpack additional findings from the Financial Sustainability of Higher Education report.
Want to dive deeper? Download the full rpk GROUP report here. And register for our upcoming webinar on Thursday, April 3rd at 1pm ET (register here).
During the webinar, rpk’s Rick Staisloff and Donna Desrochers will share key findings from the report. Later, they will engage in conversation with industry leaders, Terry Brown, Vice President for Academic Innovation and Transformation at American Association of State Colleges and Universities, and Ed Smith-Lewis, Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships and ICB at United Negro College Fund, on the financial sustainability of higher education and the impact on institutions.
