<p>There are some calculated variables in IPEDS for expenses in instruction, research, public service, academic support, institutional support, student services as a percent of "total core expenses".
I am not an expert on university budgets but wondered what these statistics might mean.</p>
<p>Here is a ranking by instructional expenses as a percent of core expenses.</p>
<p>"Instruction - A functional expense category that includes expenses of the colleges, schools, departments, and other instructional divisions of the institution and expenses for departmental research and public service that are not separately budgeted. Includes general academic instruction, occupational and vocational instruction, community education, preparatory and adult basic education, and regular, special, and extension sessions. Also includes expenses for both credit and non-credit activities. Excludes expenses for academic administration where the primary function is administration (e.g., academic deans). Information technology expenses related to instructional activities if the institution separately budgets and expenses information technology resources are included (otherwise these expenses are included in academic support). FASB institutions include actual or allocated costs for operation and maintenance of plant, interest, and depreciation. GASB institutions do not include operation and maintenance of plant or interest, but may, as an option, distribute depreciation expense."</p>
<p>Are the differences a function of accounting techniques? What do they mean? Is it better to be at the top, middle, or bottom? Does the make-up of the curriculum matter?</p>
<p>Instruction %, Research %, Academic Support %, Student services %, Public service %, Institutional support % School
63 7 10 5 4 11 Brigham Young University
60 14 12 2 0 11 Boston University
59 20 6 3 0 12 University of Chicago
57 26 8 4 1 5 Washington University in St Louis
55 21 5 6 0 12 University of Southern California
54 13 3 3 0 11 New York University
53 21 5 3 9 10 Columbia University in the City of New York
53 28 10 2 2 5 Vanderbilt University
51 3 11 19 2 14 Baylor University
51 36 2 3 0 9 Johns Hopkins University
51 10 16 9 0 14 Syracuse University
50 7 11 9 1 22 Boston College
50 15 10 10 1 11 Rice University
50 18 10 4 7 10 University of Delaware
49 12 11 7 5 16 Worcester Polytechnic Institute
48 6 21 7 1 17 University of Denver
46 19 6 11 0 18 Brandeis University
46 12 12 5 6 18 Saint Louis University-Main Campus
46 12 8 5 3 25 University of Notre Dame
45 11 16 13 0 15 Clark University
45 3 17 15 3 17 Fordham University
44 5 15 12 4 20 American University
44 18 13 10 0 14 George Washington University
44 17 10 9 3 18 Lehigh University
44 23 7 10 2 15 Stevens Institute of Technology
44 18 9 15 5 9 Yale University
43 3 13 6 1 11 Miami University-Oxford
42 37 9 5 0 7 Carnegie Mellon University
42 11 11 4 0 10 College of William and Mary
42 27 10 7 2 11 Emory University
41 27 3 4 1 15 Tulane University of Louisiana
41 20 6 2 6 5 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
40 26 13 8 0 13 Northwestern University
40 18 4 2 7 9 Purdue University-Main Campus
40 16 7 5 2 8 Rutgers University-New Brunswick
40 21 9 5 1 4 University of California-Irvine
40 19 12 4 15 9 University of Miami
40 38 7 5 1 9 University of Rochester
39 20 11 11 1 17 Brown University
39 8 6 4 7 15 Indiana University-Bloomington
39 37 6 4 0 10 Stanford University
39 24 12 3 3 5 University of California-Los Angeles
38 19 6 4 6 7 Ohio State University-Main Campus
38 30 12 6 4 9 Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
38 7 11 5 2 11 SUNY at Binghamton
37 27 9 3 0 20 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
37 17 8 4 11 7 The University of Tennessee
36 21 20 10 0 12 Dartmouth College
36 7 20 15 0 21 Marquette University
36 5 20 9 3 27 Southern Methodist University
36 27 8 5 1 5 University of Colorado at Boulder
36 25 27 2 1 8 University of Pennsylvania
35 48 3 3 0 12 Case Western Reserve University
35 35 2 2 0 15 Duke University
35 18 5 2 14 5 Michigan State University
35 0 13 18 5 27 Pepperdine University
35 8 11 5 4 9 University of Connecticut
34 17 12 10 8 17 Georgetown University
34 27 9 1 2 6 University of Washington-Seattle Campus
34 40 8 5 0 13 Yeshiva University
33 45 7 3 0 12 California Institute of Technology
33 20 30 4 0 13 Tufts University
32 25 12 7 8 16 Cornell University
32 20 20 4 0 20 Harvard University
32 26 6 6 3 8 University of California-Berkeley
32 27 7 2 9 6 University of Florida
32 27 11 3 6 6 University of Maryland-College Park
31 22 8 5 12 5 Clemson University
31 30 11 10 0 14 Princeton University
31 23 8 3 4 6 The University of Texas at Austin
31 27 8 2 10 6 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
30 16 7 2 15 9 Auburn University Main Campus
30 20 8 8 1 9 University of California-Riverside
30 22 5 9 1 6 University of California-Santa Barbara
30 21 7 5 12 3 University of Missouri-Columbia
29 24 6 3 13 4 Texas A & M University
29 23 7 11 4 7 University of California-Santa Cruz
29 24 7 3 4 5 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
29 38 11 7 5 11 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus
28 23 10 2 5 6 University of Iowa
28 27 12 3 3 7 University of Virginia-Main Campus
27 33 10 3 1 6 University of California-San Diego
27 23 15 3 9 6 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
26 22 13 4 11 4 Iowa State University
26 45 12 3 0 14 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
26 20 6 3 3 4 University of California-Davis
24 16 44 2 2 11 Wake Forest University
23 41 5 3 5 5 Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
23 36 7 4 7 3 University of Wisconsin-Madison
22 29 11 3 15 6 University of Georgia
21 19 9 4 10 2 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</p>
<p>This list is sorted by research expenses percent.</p>
<p>“Research (expense) - A functional expense category that includes expenses for activities specifically organized to produce research outcomes and commissioned by an agency either external to the institution or separately budgeted by an organizational unit within the institution. The category includes institutes and research centers, and individual and project research. This function does not include nonresearch sponsored programs (e.g., training programs). Also included are information technology expenses related to research activities if the institution separately budgets and expenses information technology resources (otherwise these expenses are included in academic support.) FASB institutions include actual or allocated costs for operation & maintenance of plant, interest, and depreciation. GASB institutions do not include operation & maintenance of plant or interest but may, as an option, distribute depreciation expense.”</p>
<p>Instruction % Research % Academic Support % Student services % Public service % Institutional support % School
35 48 3 3 0 12 Case Western Reserve University
33 45 7 3 0 12 California Institute of Technology
26 45 12 3 0 14 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
23 41 5 3 5 5 Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
34 40 8 5 0 13 Yeshiva University
40 38 7 5 1 9 University of Rochester
29 38 11 7 5 11 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus
42 37 9 5 0 7 Carnegie Mellon University
39 37 6 4 0 10 Stanford University
51 36 2 3 0 9 Johns Hopkins University
23 36 7 4 7 3 University of Wisconsin-Madison
35 35 2 2 0 15 Duke University
27 33 10 3 1 6 University of California-San Diego
38 30 12 6 4 9 Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
31 30 11 10 0 14 Princeton University
22 29 11 3 15 6 University of Georgia
53 28 10 2 2 5 Vanderbilt University
42 27 10 7 2 11 Emory University
41 27 3 4 1 15 Tulane University of Louisiana
37 27 9 3 0 20 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
36 27 8 5 1 5 University of Colorado at Boulder
34 27 9 1 2 6 University of Washington-Seattle Campus
32 27 7 2 9 6 University of Florida
32 27 11 3 6 6 University of Maryland-College Park
31 27 8 2 10 6 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
28 27 12 3 3 7 University of Virginia-Main Campus
57 26 8 4 1 5 Washington University in St Louis
40 26 13 8 0 13 Northwestern University
32 26 6 6 3 8 University of California-Berkeley
36 25 27 2 1 8 University of Pennsylvania
32 25 12 7 8 16 Cornell University
39 24 12 3 3 5 University of California-Los Angeles
29 24 6 3 13 4 Texas A & M University
29 24 7 3 4 5 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
44 23 7 10 2 15 Stevens Institute of Technology
31 23 8 3 4 6 The University of Texas at Austin
29 23 7 11 4 7 University of California-Santa Cruz
28 23 10 2 5 6 University of Iowa
27 23 15 3 9 6 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
31 22 8 5 12 5 Clemson University
30 22 5 9 1 6 University of California-Santa Barbara
26 22 13 4 11 4 Iowa State University
55 21 5 6 0 12 University of Southern California
53 21 5 3 9 10 Columbia University in the City of New York
40 21 9 5 1 4 University of California-Irvine
36 21 20 10 0 12 Dartmouth College
30 21 7 5 12 3 University of Missouri-Columbia
59 20 6 3 0 12 University of Chicago
41 20 6 2 6 5 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
39 20 11 11 1 17 Brown University
33 20 30 4 0 13 Tufts University
32 20 20 4 0 20 Harvard University
30 20 8 8 1 9 University of California-Riverside
26 20 6 3 3 4 University of California-Davis
46 19 6 11 0 18 Brandeis University
40 19 12 4 15 9 University of Miami
38 19 6 4 6 7 Ohio State University-Main Campus
21 19 9 4 10 2 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
50 18 10 4 7 10 University of Delaware
44 18 13 10 0 14 George Washington University
44 18 9 15 5 9 Yale University
40 18 4 2 7 9 Purdue University-Main Campus
35 18 5 2 14 5 Michigan State University
44 17 10 9 3 18 Lehigh University
37 17 8 4 11 7 The University of Tennessee
34 17 12 10 8 17 Georgetown University
40 16 7 5 2 8 Rutgers University-New Brunswick
30 16 7 2 15 9 Auburn University Main Campus
24 16 44 2 2 11 Wake Forest University
50 15 10 10 1 11 Rice University
60 14 12 2 0 11 Boston University
54 13 3 3 0 11 New York University
49 12 11 7 5 16 Worcester Polytechnic Institute
46 12 12 5 6 18 Saint Louis University-Main Campus
46 12 8 5 3 25 University of Notre Dame
45 11 16 13 0 15 Clark University
42 11 11 4 0 10 College of William and Mary
51 10 16 9 0 14 Syracuse University
39 8 6 4 7 15 Indiana University-Bloomington
35 8 11 5 4 9 University of Connecticut
63 7 10 5 4 11 Brigham Young University
50 7 11 9 1 22 Boston College
38 7 11 5 2 11 SUNY at Binghamton
36 7 20 15 0 21 Marquette University
48 6 21 7 1 17 University of Denver
44 5 15 12 4 20 American University
36 5 20 9 3 27 Southern Methodist University
51 3 11 19 2 14 Baylor University
45 3 17 15 3 17 Fordham University
43 3 13 6 1 11 Miami University-Oxford
35 0 13 18 5 27 Pepperdine University</p>
<p>I don’t really see how you can distinguish spending between instruction and research…does the faculty member who teaches AND researches count as instruction or research?</p>
<p>ilovebagels-
I am not an expert on this, but I think faculty are assigned an FTE for instruction and an FTE for research. The two FTEs add up to 1. Full time equivalent for instruction might be .5 and for research might be .5 so 50% of their salary goes to each. Just speculating…</p>
<p>I’m surprised Hawkette isn’t the one with the complicated lists this time :)</p>
<p>I’m more curious what institutional support means. GW has 0!</p>
<p>Here is the definition of “Institutional Support”. It sound like administrative overhead, an indication of efficiency perhaps. I can’t believe GW has zero…must be a data error. Wait…GW actually has 14%.</p>
<p>Institutional support - A functional expense category that includes expenses for the day-to-day operational support of the institution. Includes expenses for general administrative services, central executive-level activities concerned with management and long range planning, legal and fiscal operations, space management, employee personnel and records, logistical services such as purchasing and printing, and public relations and development. Also includes information technology expenses related to institutional support activities. If an institution does not separately budget and expense information technology resources, the costs associated with student services and operation and maintenance of plant will also be applied to this function. FASB institutions include actual or allocated costs for operation and maintenance of plant, interest and depreciation. GASB institutions do not include operation and maintenance of plant or interest, but may, as an option, distribute depreciation expense.</p>
<p>It is interesting that U Delaware has the highest percentage of instructional expenses of any public university. I have heard that U Delaware is the epitome of a tightly run university (in a financial sense, at least).</p>
<p>^ Former Dean of Wharton was elected President of UDelaware just a couple years ago. :)</p>
<p>CH,
Is this for the universities as a whole or just their undergraduate numbers? I think it’s the former. If I’m right, then it’s not of much use in the search for truth about the delivery of services at the undergrad level.</p>
<p>hawkette-
I am quite sure this is for universities as a whole. Why do you not think it has implications for the delivery of services to undergrads? A high proportion spent on instruction would probably apply to graduate and undergraduate alike. The instructional budget is probably spent on grad/undergrad in proportion to the grad/undergrad enrollment. Am I not thinking about this correctly?</p>
<p>The question I have is whether spending money translates into better instruction.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t look for answers about “the delivery of service” in these numbers. I don’t think any two schools categorize things the same way, sorry to say.</p>
<p>CH,
What caught my eye in this is that several of the colleges at the top of your list for % spent on Instruction are colleges that really don’t have a great rep for that. Near the top of the list, some of the ones that jumped out at me are Columbia (68% of students are grad students), Johns Hopkins (71%), USC (51%), and NYU (49%). </p>
<p>For the ones with large graduate programs, I often wonder about the allocation of resources/money to support undergraduates vs the grad students. In most cases that I have seen/heard about, the grad students get treated much more favorably. I have also seen some estimates that institutional spending on grad students can be as much as 5 to 15 times more than that for undergraduate students. Have you ever seen any data on that? </p>
<p>Anyway, while it is interesting data to look at, I think hoedown is right. Different schools will classify their expenses differently and thus you end with a lot of apples and oranges and it’s very tough to compare and make any definitive judgments.</p>