“What’s important to the students – teaching or administrating?” asked Sue Kaufman, president of the University Professionals of Illinois.

Kaufman was referring to a study by the UPI released Thursday that found universities continue to spend more of its budgeted money on administrators than teachers, even though Illinois legislators have asked them to do the opposite.

UPI, the state’s largest faculty union, has become concerned with the increasing expenditures universities make for administrators while neglecting teaching improvements, Kaufman said, which led to a study on university expenditure for administrators and faculty from fiscal year 1993 to fiscal year 2003, which began July 1.

In 1992, Illinois legislators passed a resolution asking public universities to “cut back on administrative waste and put more money into teaching,” Kaufman said.

Apparently, she continued, the resolution did not put enough pressure on public universities to carry out the task because the opposite has happened.

According to UPI’s report, the ratio of students to administrators increased nearly six times faster than the ratio between students and teachers, while administrative positions have increased at nearly 10 times the rate teaching positions have.

That’s not all.

The study suggests that if universities had kept their administration to student ratios the same as they were in 1993, universities, in total, would have an additional $75 million available.

Since FY93, administrative positions at universities have increased nearly 34 percent compared to only a 3.6 percent increase in teaching positions.

What affect does this have on Eastern?

At Eastern, 65 new administrative positions have been established since FY93.

During the same period, the university lost 35 teaching positions, 19 tenure-track positions and 16 nontenure-track positions.

Tenure offers higher pay, better benefits and job security.

With fewer teachers around, faculty are becoming concerned students aren’t getting enough attention in the classroom.

“That’s quite a shift away from teaching to administration,” said David Radavich, president of Eastern’s chapter of UPI and an English professor. “We want more money to go into the classroom.”

In addition, public universities are spending 48 percent more for administrators than in FY93 while only raising teaching budgets 26 percent.

Eastern has increased teaching budgets 53 percent since FY93 from $24.9 million to $38.1 million.

Eastern has increased its administrative budget 83 percent since FY93 from nearly $6 million to $10.9 million.

“We should be looking at the priorities of our universities and doing what’s best for the students,” Kaufman said.

“I think we all have to work together to determine what our priorities actually are. Teaching is absolutely essential.

“You can be sure, in the upcoming legislative session, we are going to be there talking about this and showing our concerns.”

UPI survey findings

Ratio of students to administrators increased nearly six times faster than the ratio between students and teachers, administrative positions have increased at nearly 10 times the rate teaching positions have.

At Eastern, 65 new administrative positions have been established since FY93.

Public universities are spending 48 percent more for administrators than in FY93 while only raising teaching budgets 26 percent.