The University- Penny Pinching

This is the third posts regarding how a university works. You can read the first post to get some background, if you haven’t already, and in the second post we talked about where schools get (or don’t get) their money. Now that we’ve talked about what’s coming in, let’s talk about what goes out. This is your tax money (and perhaps the tuition you paid or will be paying). It’s good to understand what that money is doing. I’m of the opinion that it’s stretching a lot farther than you may think.

I want to start off by telling you that I get it-- I really do. College and graduate school is expensive—very expensive. I have the student loan debt to prove it. I also know that many people look at a college or university, and see giant buildings and well-manicured grounds. They see computers and professors in tweed jackets and events on campus and state of the art labs and the first thing they think is that these schools take those huge bags of money and make it rain.

So, where do universities really spend their money? It’s super easy to find this out for public schools, because it’s a matter of state government, and you have the right to look it up. In fact, Sunshine Law requires all government (schools included) bodies to open all meetings and records to the public. These things are published, and you could likely find this information at your local library or online (in Missouri we call it the Blue Book). Private schools are a bit trickier, but non-profits should disclose their records as well. In fact, any school of good reputation is going to want to tell the community how they spend their money.

Here’s two tables to show you the breakdown, one for publics and one for privates. The numbers come from National Center for Education Statistics, which tracks these kinds of things:

The main note to take away, at least in my mind: half (or more) of each school’s money goes into teaching, research, and hospitals. All of the staff (institutional, academic, and student), the dorms, the maintenance of the buildings, etc. falls within that other half (or less). The only place the university is really making it rain is in the classroom. And I think that everyone should expect this to be the case.

There are some differences between privates and publics, to be sure. If you’d like a better side-by-side comparison of money coming in and going out between the two types, I’ve found another nifty little infographic for you to look at. I’m a sucker for a good infographic.

But how much can it really cost to teach some college students? The answer is “a lot”. You have to pay for faculty. Instructional supplies. Teaching assistants. Books, computers, classroom technology, software licenses, etc. The list runs on and on. The big thing—that’s not all faculty salary. In fact, if you want to get rich (or just even want to have a job), go into the corporate world, not academia. You won’t get rich there.

What’s the big deal with research, anyways? Well, I’ll go into more detail about this when I talk about the job responsibilities of faculty members, but the quick answer is this: universities are supposed (even  mandated) to conduct research, and many people (myself included) think you can’t really teach if you’re not still learning yourself. Research gives us things to teach about, in addition to improving our lives.

Are those other services really that important? Yes. Especially if you expect someone to answer the phones, take out the trash, mow the grass, cook for the dining halls, and get the students’ financial aid posted against their accounts. As for my pet peeve—people complaining about the manicured grounds and wasteful spending on flowers and the like—show me one person who would want to send their kid to a school that didn’t have nice grounds. Show me a single person who says the only school they’ll send their child to is the one with no flowers, no trees, and no grass.

What about the new buildings—universities always seem to be constructing or remodeling something, and that’s expensive, right? Let’s clear this issue up right now, because once you know, I think you will understand. Before World War II, colleges and universities were mostly for the upper middle class and the rich. Enrollment numbers were small. After World War II, that shifted dramatically. When the Greatest Generation came home from fighting in Europe and the Pacific, they were rewarded for their service in many ways. Rosie gave the fighting men back their jobs. The federal government (under the Veterans’ Administration) gave them affordable mortgages, so that they could buy a home. And we gave them college education under the GI bill. The number of students at colleges and universities soared. They, in turn, ended up in jobs that afforded them the ability to save and pay for their children’s (the Baby Boomers) college educations. The numbers at colleges and universities went even higher. During those two periods of time, the majority of buildings we see on campuses today were built. Many of which were not touched again until decades later, if at all.

We have tons of university buildings across this country that have not been remodeled or rehabbed since the 1950s and 1960s. They are falling apart now. Also—newer technology (the technology that we demand our children have available to them in the classroom, given the amount of tuition we pay) cannot be supported or incorporated into some of these old buildings. Honestly, try making wireless routers work in a concrete building from the early 1960s, or, try bringing a building that is nearly 70 years old up to code! Universities keep deferring most of these projects, but some can no longer be ignored.

Another factor—university enrollments are swelling once again. In less than twenty years, the campus I work at has increased its population by 14,000 students. Where do we house them? Where do we teach them?

Finally, let’s spend a moment talking about private gifts and donations. We’d like to think that the only donations that our donors would want to give are unrestricted scholarship funds. This can be the case—often is the case—but there are many donors who want to see a tangible product for their gift. Many people who have the means to give to schools want to have their name on a building, or a room, or even a bench, instead of on a professorship or a scholarship fund.  Gift money and endowments come with restrictions, and the money has to be spent in the manner that the donor wants to be spent-- no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

So, we now know where the money comes from, and where the money goes. I hope you feel as if you have a better understanding of what the taxes and tuition pay for—instruction. This leads to the topic of faculty and instructors. In the next post we’ll talk about what the faculty actually does at a university. I’ll give you a hint: it’s more than just teaching for nine hours a week.