How Fiu Spends Its Money

HOW FIU SPENDS ITS MONEY

FIU Expenditures on Faculty and Higher Level Administration:

2004-05 to 2013-14

Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy

Center for Labor Research and Studies

Florida International University

October 2014

Contact:

Ali R. Bustamante

(305) 348-1519

Table of Contents
List of Tables and Graphs / Page 3
Executive Summary / Page 4
Introduction / Page 6
Numbers of Administrators vs. Faculty / Page 7
Administrator and Faculty Salaries / Page 10
Detailed Look at FIU Administrator and Faculty Personnel and Salaries / Page 11
Conclusion / Page 17
Appendix I: Faculty Ranks / Page18
Appendix II: Administrator Ranks / Page 19
Appendix III: 40 Highest Paid FIU Administrators and Faculty: 2013 / Page 20
Appendix IV: Methodology Notes / Page 22
List of Tables and Graphs
Table 1 / Faculty, Administrator and Student Headcounts: 2004-2013 / Page 7
Graph 1 / Faculty, Administrator and Student Headcount and FTE Growth: 2004 to 2013 / Page 8
Table 2 / Faculty, Administrator and Student FTE: 2004-2013 / Page 8
Graph 2 / Faculty, Administrator and Student FTE Index: 2004 to 2013 / Page 9
Table 3 / Student/Faculty FTE Ratio: 2004-2013 / Page 9
Table 4 / Faculty and Administrator Budget and Student Tuition Revenue: 2004-2013 / Page 10
Graph 3 / Faculty and Administrator Budget and Student Tuition Percent Change: 2004-2013 / Page 11
Table 5 / Average Annual Salary and Total Number of Faculty by Tenure Status: 2004-2013 / Page 12
Graph 4 / Share of Tenured/Tenure-track Faculty from All Faculty: 2004-2013 / Page 12
Table 6 / Average Annual Salary and Total Number by Faculty Position: 2004-2013 / Page 14
Table 7 / Average Annual Salary and Total Number by Administrator Position: 2004-2013 / Page 15
Table 8 / Faculty to Administrator Salary and Headcount Ratio: 2004-2013 / Page 17
Appendix I / Faculty Ranks / Page18
Appendix II / Administrator Ranks / Page19
Appendix III / 40 Highest Paid FIU Administrators and Faculty: 2013 / Page 20

How FIU Spends Its Money :

FIU Expenditures on Faculty and Higher Level Administration:

2004-2013

Executive Summary

This report analyzes the trends in Florida International University (FIU) expenditures on faculty and faculty salaries compared to expenditures on administration and administrators’ salaries for the years 2004 through 2013. Previous reports were produced in 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2011. This report extends the analysis of FIU’s expenditures with data available in October 2013, including faculty salaries through the 2013-2014 academic year. This report supports previous findings that FIU is experiencing administrative bloat, expanding the resources of administration at the expense of instruction, research and service.

Findings:

Between 2004 and 2013 the growth of administrative personnel was more than twice as great as the growth of faculty. The total number of faculty increased by 19.8 percent while the total number of administrators grew by 44.3 percent.

Between 2004 and 2013 faculty FTE grew by 20.0 percent, administrator FTE grew by 43.4 percent and student FTE grew by 45.6 percent.

Between 2004 and 2013 total administrator salaries grew by 57.4 percent compared to 26.4 for faculty. FIU administration experienced an overall personnel budget growth that was 2.2 times as great as faculty budget growth.

The student-faculty FTE ratio shows that individual faculty are responsible for more students, a 21.4 percent increase between 2004 and 2013.

The student to faculty FTE ratio of tenured/tenure-track faculty increased by 35.4 percent between 2004 and 2013 compared to an overall decline of 7.5 percent for the student to faculty FTE ratio of non-tenured/non-tenure-track faculty.

Between 2004 and 2013 the total number of non-tenured/non-tenure-track faculty increased by 56.9 percent andthe total number oftenured/tenure-track faculty increased by7.3 percent.

Between 2004 and 2013 faculty experienced an average salary increase of 5.6 percent. All faculty positions experienced some average salary growth between 2004 and 2013 withthe exception of instructional specialists and program directors. Librarians and research associates observed the lowest salary growth, 2.8 and 3.5 percent, while professors and assistant professors experienced the greatest gains, 14.8 and 15.3 percent.

Between 2004 and 2013 administrative personnel increased by 44.3 percent. Directors in particular experienced the greatest overall personnel growth,from 130 individuals in 2004 to 223 in 2013, an increase of 71.5 percent. As a result, directors represented 54.8 percent of all administrators in 2013.

Between 2004 and 2013 average administrative salaries increased by 9.5 percent. The increases in administrative salaries for presidents and chairs were the greatest. Between 2004 and 2013, the president’s salary increased by $114,112, an increase of 29.4 percent and the average salary for chairs increased by $43,781, an increase of 41.9 percent.

In 2004, total faculty salaries were 2.2 times the amount of administrator salaries but that number declined to 1.7 by 2013, a 19.7 percent decline. Likewise, in 2004, there were 3.3 times as many faculty as administrators but that declined to 2.7 in 2013, a 17.0 percent decline. The gap between faculty and administrative personnel and budgets has narrowed as more resources have been allocated towards administration at the expense of faculty.

In 2013, 39 out of the 40 highest paid individuals at FIU were administrators. The disparity between the highest paid faculty and administrator is $291,657.

Introduction

This is the fifth report the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy (RISEP) has produced analyzing the trends in Florida International University (FIU) expenditures on faculty and faculty salaries compared to expenditures on administration and administrators’ salaries. Previous reports were produced in 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2011.[1]

In general, the results of our previous studies demonstrated that for the past decade FIU has been following a disturbing national trend known as administrative bloat: expanding the resources of administration at the expense of instruction, research and service.[2]This report extends the analysis of FIU’s expenditures with data available in October 2013, including faculty salaries through the 2013-2014 academic year.

This study analyzes the changes in numbers, composition, and salaries of faculty and administrators at FIU in the context of increasing student enrollment and rising tuition during the academic years 2004-2005 through 2013-2014. Specifically we analyze trends in FIU’s personnel and salary allocations to faculty and administration over anine-year period.

The datasets for most of the analysis in this study are publically available from the Academic Affairs Department at FIU. They are listings of faculty in the bargaining unit and administrators not including staff (e.g. advisors, office managers), and include the employee’s name, job title, administrative code,full time equivalency (FTE), and annual salary. All salary data were adjusted for inflation and converted into 2013 dollars using the Bureau of Labor Statistics: consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U).[3]Additional supporting data was retrieved from the State University System of Florida Board of Governors: Interactive University Data.[4] (For more on the data sources and analysis methodology of this study please see Appendix V).

In this study we consider faculty to be any member of the FIU collective bargaining unit as determined by Appendix A of the 2011-2014 FIU Board of Trustees/United Faculty of Florida Collective Bargaining Agreement position classifications.[5] Additionally, we distinguish faculty by tenure status (professors, assistant professors, and associate professors are considered tenured/tenure-track faculty and all other faculty are listed as non-tenured/non-tenure-track faculty) and by rank to provide a nuanced analysis of salary and composition patterns. For a listing of job titles within the faculty category see Appendix I. Administrators were defined as all personnel with an active administrative code as provided by the Academic Affairs Department at FIU.For a listing of job titles within the administrator category see Appendix II. All faculty and administrators with less than a full-time equivalent (FTE) of 0.5 were excluded from this study in order to limit the downward pressure on annual salaries of part-time personnel.[6]

This study was conducted by the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy (RISEP)[7] at the Center for Labor Research and Studies at Florida International University located in Miami, FL. The study was commissioned by the United Faculty of Florida-Florida International University (UFF-FIU). The UFF-FIU has not been involved in any other aspects of the study, which was performed entirely and independently by RISEP.

Numbers of Administrators vs. Faculty

Between 2004 and 2013 the growth of administrative personnel was more than twice as great as the growth of faculty (see table 1). The total number of faculty increased by 19.8 percent while the total number of administrators grew by 44.3 percent. The overall slow growth of faculty personnel occurred while student headcount enrollment grew by 51.1 percent between 2004 and 2013, 2.6 times greater than faculty growth.[8]In fact, overall growth in administration neared growth in student enrollment while faculty personnel growth lagged far behind (see graph 1).

Table 1: Faculty, Administrator and Student Headcounts: 2004-2013
Faculty / Administrator / Student
Year / Headcount / Percent Change / Headcount / Percent Change / Headcount / Percent Change
2004 / 926 / - / 282 / - / 35,061 / -
2006 / 935 / 1.0% / 311 / 10.3% / 38,537 / 9.9%
2008 / 921 / -1.5% / 357 / 14.8% / 39,146 / 1.6%
2010 / 932 / 1.2% / 342 / -4.2% / 44,010 / 12.4%
2012 / 1062 / 13.9% / 387 / 13.2% / 50,394 / 14.5%
2013 / 1109 / 4.4% / 407 / 5.2% / 52,980 / 5.1%
% Growth 2004-2013 / 19.8% / - / 44.3% / - / 51.1% / -

Full-time equivalent (FTE) of faculty and administration reflect similar overall growth in headcounts between 2004 and 2013 (see table 2). Student enrollment headcount grew by 5.5 percentage points more than student FTE growth between 2004 and 2013 because of a disproportionate increase in part-time students relative to full-time students during that period. In fact, FIU headcount and FTE enrollment grew considerably more than in state peer institutions between 2004 and 2013 (see Appendix III). Nevertheless, the overall trend of high growth in student enrollment and administration and low faculty growth still stands.

Table 2: Faculty, Administrator and Student FTE: 2004-2013
Faculty / Administrator / Student
Year / FTE / Percent Change / FTE / Percent Change / FTE / Percent Change
2004 / 920.2 / - / 281.8 / - / 22,422 / -
2006 / 920.5 / 0.0% / 309.3 / 9.8% / 25,179 / 12.3%
2008 / 916.2 / -0.5% / 356.5 / 15.2% / 25,314 / 0.5%
2010 / 928.8 / 1.4% / 340.9 / -4.4% / 28,808 / 13.8%
2012 / 1055.1 / 13.6% / 384.6 / 12.8% / 31,557 / 9.5%
2013 / 1103.9 / 4.6% / 404.1 / 5.1% / 32,649 / 3.5%
% Growth 2004-2013 / 20.0% / - / 43.4% / - / 45.6% / -

Student FTE experienced variable but continuous positive growth between 2004 and 2013 unlike faculty FTE (see graph 2). FIU’s inability to grow faculty along with student FTE likely resulted in fewer and larger classes for students along with heavier teaching loads for faculty.

Between 2004 and 2013 data show an increased faculty workload at FIU. The student-faculty FTE ratio, calculated by dividing student FTE enrollment by faculty FTE, shows that individual faculty are responsible for 5 more students in 2013 than in 2004, a 21.4 percent increase (see table 3).

Table 3: Student/Faculty FTE Ratio: 2004-2013
Year / Student to Faculty FTE Ratio / Percent Change
2004 / 24.37 / -
2006 / 27.35 / 12.3%
2008 / 27.63 / 1.0%
2010 / 31.02 / 12.3%
2012 / 29.91 / -3.6%
2013 / 29.58 / -1.1%
% Growth 2006-2012 / 21.4% / -

Administrator and Faculty Salaries

Overall growth of faculty salaries has also lagged behind administrative salary growth. Between 2004 and 2013 total administrator salaries grew by 57.4 percent compared to 26.4 for faculty (see table 4). This means that FIU administration experienced an overall personnel budget growth that was 2.2 times as great of faculty budget growth. We multiply the average tuition and fees of undergraduate students with overall student FTE to obtain a conservative estimate of student tuition revenue for the years 2004 through 2013. Our estimates show that student tuition revenue has increased by 152.1 percent between 2004 and 2013. The sharp rise in student tuition revenue is due to both the increase in student tuition and fees as well as increasing student enrollment. As student tuition revenues have increased sharply growth in faculty personnel budgets has been modest and underperformed administration budget growth (see graph 3).

Table 4: Faculty and Administrator Budget and Student Tuition Revenue: 2004-2013
Year / Faculty / Percent Change / Administrator / Percent Change / Student / Percent Change
2004 / $72,734,948 / - / $33,709,866 / - / $84,104,698 / -
2006 / $76,645,566 / 5.4% / $39,778,165 / 18.0% / $95,557,886 / 13.6%
2008 / $75,359,898 / -1.7% / $44,724,492 / 12.4% / $105,198,162 / 10.1%
2010 / $76,216,170 / 1.1% / $44,074,825 / -1.5% / $156,695,435 / 49.0%
2012 / $85,860,171 / 12.7% / $49,873,080 / 13.2% / $205,373,289 / 31.1%
2013 / $91,969,004 / 7.1% / $53,057,312 / 6.4% / $211,992,569 / 3.2%
% Growth 2004-2013 / 26.4% / - / 57.4% / - / 152.1% / -

Detailed Look at FIU Administrator and Faculty Personnel and Salaries

Between 2004 and 2013 faculty personnel has increased by 19.8 percent while average faculty salaries have increased by 5.6 percent (see table 5). A closer look at the composition of faculty shows that much of the personnel increase during the past nine years has occurred in non-tenured/non-tenure-track faculty, which increased by 56.9 percent, compared to a 7.3 percent increase for tenured/tenure-track faculty. In fact, tenured/tenure-track faculty increased by 51 individuals while non-tenured/non-tenure/track faculty increased by 132.

Since 2004, data show that the share of tenured faculty from all faculty has declined steadily from 74.9 percent in 2004 to 67.2 percent in 2013 (see graph 4). Additionally, between 2004 and 2013 average tenured/tenure-track faculty salaries increased by 9.2 percent while non-tenured/non-tenure/track faculty salaries increased by 4.5 percent. Data reveals that FIU has increased its share of lowered salary non-tenured/non-tenure/track faculty.

Table 5: Average Annual Salary and Total Number of Faculty by Tenure Status: 2004-2013
Year / Tenured/tenure-track Faculty / Non-tenured/Non-tenure-track Faculty / All Faculty
2004 / $84,073 / $62,020 / $78,547
Number / 694 / 232 / 926
2006 / $90,022 / $60,628 / $81,974
Number / 679 / 256 / 935
2008 / $89,045 / $61,788 / $81,824
Number / 677 / 244 / 921
2010 / $90,946 / $61,274 / $81,777
Number / 644 / 288 / 932
2012 / $89,771 / $61,483 / $80,848
Number / 727 / 335 / 1062
2013 / $91,795 / $64,785 / $82,930
Number / 745 / 364 / 1109
Salary % Growth 2004-2013 / 9.2% / 4.5% / 5.6%
Number % Growth 2004-2013 / 7.3% / 56.9% / 19.8%

The faculty positions with considerable personnel growth between 2004 and 2013 are assistant professors, instructors, lecturers, research associates and program directors; each group experienced more than 35 percent overall growth (see table 8). Instructors experienced the greatest growth, 85.7 percent, between 2004 and 2013. Conversely, professors, associate professors, instructional specialists and librarians have experienced personnel declines in the past nine years.

All faculty positions experienced some average salary growth between 2004 and 2013 with the exception of instructional specialists and program directors that declined by 13.2 and 13.7 percent respectively (see table 6). Librarians and research associates observed the lowest salary growth, 2.8 and 3.5 percent, while professors and assistant professors experienced the greatest gains, 14.8 and 15.3 percent. The salary gains and losses of faculty have not been uniform or consistent. In fact, data show that faculty salaries have been relatively unstable as they’ve increased and decreased dramatically.

Table 6: Average Annual Salary and Total Number by Faculty Position: 2004-2013
Year / Professor / Associate Professor / Assistant Professor / Scholar/Scientist/Engineer (including associate, assistant, and eminent) / Instructor / Instructional Specialist / Lecturer / Librarian (including associate and assistant) / Research Associate / Program Director (including associate and assistant)
2004 / $104,578 / $78,855 / $70,338 / $94,869 / $61,864 / $53,581 / $63,983 / $61,799 / $52,473 / $95,368
Number / 205 / 295 / 194 / 31 / 119 / 4 / 25 / 29 / 17 / 5
2006 / $110,381 / $84,960 / $77,199 / $92,723 / $56,396 / $56,335 / $61,666 / $66,692 / $51,859 / $83,748
Number / 199 / 271 / 209 / 28 / 122 / 4 / 44 / 29 / 27 / 2
2008 / $93,010 / $82,245 / $78,253 / $99,864 / $59,088 / $54,881 / $63,266 / $65,998 / $63,935 / $83,678
Number / 192 / 247 / 238 / 14 / 131 / 4 / 44 / 27 / 22 / 2
2010 / $112,915 / $86,096 / $77,508 / $89,785 / $60,061 / $56,324 / $65,362 / $67,160 / $52,062 / $88,978
Number / 185 / 245 / 214 / 20 / 164 / 4 / 38 / 25 / 34 / 3
2012 / $110,500 / $87,125 / $77,347 / $104,416 / $65,480 / $54,176 / $68,498 / $63,218 / $49,415 / $82,513
Number / 199 / 249 / 279 / 29 / 209 / 4 / 36 / 23 / 31 / 3
2013 / $120,045 / $89,091 / $81,117 / $106,609 / $67,373 / $46,500 / $71,120 / $63,535 / $54,323 / $82,337
Number / 204 / 261 / 280 / 32 / 221 / 2 / 34 / 27 / 38 / 10
Salary % Growth 2004-2013 / 14.8% / 13.0% / 15.3% / 12.4% / 8.9% / -13.2% / 11.2% / 2.8% / 3.5% / -13.7%
Number % Growth 2004-2013 / -0.5% / -11.5% / 44.3% / 3.2% / 85.7% / -50.0% / 36.0% / -6.9% / 123.5% / 100.0%
Table 7: Average Annual Salary and Total Number by Administrator Position: 2004-2013
Year / President / Vice-president (including senior) / Associate/Assistant Vice-president / Provost / Assistant/Vice Provosts / Dean / Associate/Assistant Dean / Director (including associate and assistant) / Coordinator / Chair / General Counsel (including associate and assistant) / Executive Assistant
2004 / $388,467 / $228,123 / $141,824 / $295,975 / $178,605 / $223,938 / $117,868 / $93,129 / $78,430 / $104,538 / $179,517 / $81,003
Number / 1 / 5 / 16 / 1 / 7 / 9 / 27 / 130 / 42 / 38 / 4 / 2
2006 / $458,833 / $239,903 / $156,232 / $321,356 / $146,605 / $213,544 / $116,307 / $85,551 / $80,036 / $110,514 / $199,560 / $63,322
Number / 1 / 8 / 26 / 1 / 6 / 14 / 32 / 142 / 26 / 45 / 4 / 6
2008 / $525,868 / $237,567 / $154,564 / $361,993 / $189,511 / $205,998 / $130,728 / $104,453 / $71,441 / $135,496 / $197,738 / $69,053
Number / 1 / 11 / 24 / 1 / 2 / 11 / 40 / 188 / 22 / 44 / 6 / 7
2010 / $520,146 / $236,349 / $161,292 / $323,038 / $145,093 / $200,697 / $130,821 / $109,777 / $70,629 / $147,185 / $200,207 / $60,328
Number / 1 / 9 / 26 / 1 / 2 / 13 / 34 / 176 / 24 / 43 / 7 / 6
2012 / $503,887 / $225,304 / $158,564 / $312,940 / $196,639 / $233,914 / $131,465 / $100,357 / $72,132 / $143,047 / $162,814 / $62,771
Number / 1 / 11 / 27 / 1 / 2 / 14 / 39 / 210 / 25 / 40 / 8 / 9
2013 / $502,579 / $230,998 / $160,763 / $312,507 / $196,738 / $230,938 / $130,351 / $106,488 / $67,616 / $148,319 / $163,488 / $60,299
Number / 1 / 11 / 27 / 1 / 2 / 15 / 38 / 223 / 29 / 42 / 9 / 9
Salary % Growth 2004-2013 / 29.4% / 1.3% / 13.4% / 5.6% / 10.2% / 3.1% / 10.6% / 14.3% / -13.8% / 41.9% / -8.9% / -25.6%
Number % Growth 2004-2013 / 0.0% / 120.0% / 68.8% / 0.0% / -71.4% / 66.7% / 40.7% / 71.5% / -31.0% / 10.5% / 125.0% / 350.0%

Between 2004 and 2013 administrative personnel increased by 44.3 percent. The administrative positions with considerable personnel growth are vice-presidents, associate/assistant vice presidents, deans, associate/assistant deans, directors and executive assistants (see table 7). Directors in particular experienced the greatest overall personnel growth that increased from 130 individuals in 2004 to 223 in 2013, an increase of 71.5 percent. As a result, directors represented 54.8 percent of all administrators in 2013. Conversely, assistant/vice provosts and coordinators were the only administrative groups to experience personnel declines during the past nine years, incurring losses of 5 and 13 individuals respectively.

Between 2004 and 2013 average administrative salaries increased by 9.5 percent for most positions with the exception of coordinators and executive assistants. General counsels also experienced a salary decline but that decline was driven by an increase in the number of associate and assistant general counsels relative to general counsels. The increases in administrative salaries for presidents and chairs were the greatest. Between 2004 and 2013, the president’s salary increased by $114,112, an increase of 29.4 percent, without including the numerous benefits afforded to the president. The average salary for chairs increased by $43,781 during the past nine years, an increase of 41.9 percent.

Conclusion

A comparison of faculty and administrator personnel and salaries between 2004 and 2013 shows that FIU administration has pursued policies contributing towards administrative bloat during the past nine years. In 2004, total faculty salaries were 2.2 times the amount of administrator salaries but that number declined to 1.7 by 2013, a 19.7 percent decline (see table 8). Likewise, in 2004, there were 3.3 times as many faculty as administrators but that declined to 2.7 in 2013, a 17.0 percent decline. The gap between faculty and administrative personnel and budgets has narrowed as more resources have been allocated towards administration at the expense of faculty.Additionally, a look at the highest paid individuals at FIU in 2013 reveals that 39 out of the top 40 salaries are paid to administrators (see Appendix III). The disparity between the highest paid faculty and administrator is $291,657.

Table 8: Faculty to Administrator Salary and Headcount Ratio: 2004-2013
Total Salary Ratio / Headcount Ratio
2004 / 2.2 / 3.3
2006 / 1.9 / 3.0
2008 / 1.7 / 2.6
2010 / 1.7 / 2.7
2012 / 1.7 / 2.7
2013 / 1.7 / 2.7
% Growth 2004-2013 / -19.7% / -17.0%

This report set out to analyze how FIU allocates its resources on personnel and salaries. At FIU it appears that while enrollment and tuition grew, faculty size was increased at a rate too slow to overcome increases in student/faculty ratios. Additionally, FIU adopted a spending reduction policy of increasingly substituting lower-paid contingent faculty members for higher paid tenured faculty. Meanwhile, the size of the administration and their salaries grew impressively. This report finds substantial evidence of administrative bloat as university resources have been diverted away from faculty and towards administration.

Appendices

Appendix I:Faculty by Rank

Appendix 1: Faculty Ranks*
Professor / University Librarian
Associate Professor / Associate University Librarian
Assistant Professor / Assistant University Librarian
University Instructor / Instructor Librarian
Senior Instructor / Associate in
Instructor / Assistant in
University Lecturer / Program Director
Senior Lecturer / Scholar/Scientist/Engineer
Lecturer / Associate Scholar/Scientist/Engineer
Graduate Research Professor / Assistant Scholar/Scientist/Engineer
Distinguished Service Professor / Research Associate
Eminent Scholar / Instructional Specialist

*And employees with the following Administrative Titles: Associate Chair and Assistant Chair.