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Growth in Administrative Salaries Outpaces Inflation

March 1, 2007

The change in median salaries for senior-level administrators at colleges and universities exceeded inflation, rising 4 percent in 2006-07, according to the annual salary survey released by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR).  Salary increases for executive positions were the most substantial, but all categories of administrative positions reflected greater increases this year than in the previous three years.

Among this year’s findings:

• Median administrative salary increases at public institutions were slightly higher this year than at private institutions (4.0 percent versus 3.9 percent). The greatest difference in salary increases was for executive positions: 4.9 percent for public institutions and 4.4 percent for private institutions.
  
  
• In a comparison of responses over the past four years, it was found that both female and minority representation has increased in nearly all of the selected administrative positions.  For both groups, the largest percentage increase was in the position of dean of engineering.
  
  
• The survey found that the median length of tenure for all selected administrative positions has remained roughly the same over the past four years.  Examples include: five years for a CEO at a single institution and three years for a chief academic officer/provost.

The survey results also present detailed salary data, a sampling of which is shown in the table below.

To view the executive summary for administrative compensation or to purchase the full report, visit the CUPA-HR Web site.