Did You Know?

From Jered Kolbert:

Increased Number of Students & Management & Decreased Faculty in PASSHE

Did you know that since 1995, the number of students within the Pennsylvania State Systems of Higher Education (PASSHE) increased by 15.6% and the number of managers increased by 16.77%? In contrast, the number of faculty in the PASSHE only increased by 4.45%. Not only has the size of the faculty failed to keep pace with the number of students and administrators, but there is a much greater reliance upon temporary faculty, who have increased by 58.3% since 1995. The increased use of temporary faculty has required tenure-track faculty to advise more students. In 1995, tenure-track faculty advised an average 21.3 students, which increased to 24.9 by the Fall of 2006 which represents a 16.9% increase. (See chart below).

Loss of Tenure-Track Faculty in PASSHE

Did you know that the Pennsylvania State Systems of Higher Education (PASSHE) is losing quality faculty? Since 2002, 903 tenure track faculty members have departed the PASSHE. Over the same time period, only 555 new tenure track faculty have been hired. One-hundred and forty of the 555 newly-hired Tenure Track faculty members who left the PASSHE since 2002 simply resigned, and did not leave because of retirement, being denied tenure, or for being non-renewed. The net effect is a 25.23% loss ratio due to faculty resignations – a sure signal that economic reasons played a factor in their decision to leave (source: APSCUF Survey of Chapters).

Salary Increases for Management & Salary Decreases for PASSHE Faculty

Did you know that the salaries of Pennsylvania State Systems of Higher Education (PASSHE) faculty have decreased in comparison to other university systems? According to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), between 2001 and 2006 the national averages for faculty salaries increased 2.3% over inflation, and Pennsylvania state-related, private, and border public universities grew between 2.5% and 6% above inflation. In contrast, between July 2002 and July 2007, after adjusting for inflation, the salaries of management within the Pennsylvania state system increased 12.12% while the salaries for PASSHE increased a miniscule 0.17% (Source: System Sys/Pay Data). The proportion of PASSHE’s budget that is devoted to faculty payroll has substantially declined. In 1999, faculty payroll represented 41.91% of the PASSHE’s budget. By 2004, that figure had dropped to 34.23%. See chart below.