[82lsju]

The number of staff at Stanford has more than doubled since 2000, drawing some criticism of administrative bloat — including from former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. Many faculty, though, say the increase both complements and directly supports the University’s academic environment.

Between 1996 and 2023, the number of staff, or non-teaching employees, grew at an average rate of 382 new staff per year — 950 per year since 2019. The University’s staff-to-student ratio concurrently increased from 0.42 to 0.94 staff per student, higher than 46 out of the 50 top universities as ranked by the U.S. News and World report. 

This expansion is largely at the School of Medicine, where the yearly staff growth rate of 5.6% is significantly higher than the 1.7% rate across the rest of the University. New staff are also being hired at the Doerr School of Sustainability and other incipient programs, and for research support across departments.

https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/beh...ar-13-2024

[82lsju]

The number of staff at Stanford has more than doubled since 2000, drawing some criticism of administrative bloat — including from former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. Many faculty, though, say the increase both complements and directly supports the University’s academic environment.

Between 1996 and 2023, the number of staff, or non-teaching employees, grew at an average rate of 382 new staff per year — 950 per year since 2019. The University’s staff-to-student ratio concurrently increased from 0.42 to 0.94 staff per student, higher than 46 out of the 50 top universities as ranked by the U.S. News and World report. 

This expansion is largely at the School of Medicine, where the yearly staff growth rate of 5.6% is significantly higher than the 1.7% rate across the rest of the University. New staff are also being hired at the Doerr School of Sustainability and other incipient programs, and for research support across departments.

https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/beh...ar-13-2024

[StanfordMatt]

In my 1L year of law school (not Stanford), the school added meeting space to the library and got rid of some books in the process. A year later when the latest USNWR rankings were released, the law school subsequently dropped a few places in the rankings. By my 3L year, there were so many books in that law library that you could find a first edition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

[StanfordMatt]

In my 1L year of law school (not Stanford), the school added meeting space to the library and got rid of some books in the process. A year later when the latest USNWR rankings were released, the law school subsequently dropped a few places in the rankings. By my 3L year, there were so many books in that law library that you could find a first edition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

[BostonCard]

I've heard universities described as healthcare systems with a side-hustle in education.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2...s-00133272

This article shows that at both UNC and Duke, the medical centers have grown to provide a larger share of revenue than the Universities.  In Stanford's most recent financial report (https://bondholder-information.stanford....report.pdf), 62% of Stanford's revenues in FY2023 came from Stanford Health, and the $415 million dollar surplus generated by Stanford Health made up for a $206 million loss from the University.

Since this is an athletics board, it is worth mentioning that Athletics doesn't merit its own line item in the financial statements, and gets lumped in with housing and dining services, the alumni association under "Auxiliary Services", which, combined, accounted for $722 million in expenses, out of a total university budget of $7.6 billion, and a total Stanford budget of $16 billion.

BC

[BostonCard]

I've heard universities described as healthcare systems with a side-hustle in education.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2...s-00133272

This article shows that at both UNC and Duke, the medical centers have grown to provide a larger share of revenue than the Universities.  In Stanford's most recent financial report (https://bondholder-information.stanford....report.pdf), 62% of Stanford's revenues in FY2023 came from Stanford Health, and the $415 million dollar surplus generated by Stanford Health made up for a $206 million loss from the University.

Since this is an athletics board, it is worth mentioning that Athletics doesn't merit its own line item in the financial statements, and gets lumped in with housing and dining services, the alumni association under "Auxiliary Services", which, combined, accounted for $722 million in expenses, out of a total university budget of $7.6 billion, and a total Stanford budget of $16 billion.

BC

[Nan3cy]

I’m assuming those staff numbers include non-faculty research associates. Those folks are a long way from “administrative bloat.” I’ve been retired for quite a while, but I’m pretty sure the part of research administration that I used to work for is about the same size, and for sure the research base has gone up.

[Nan3cy]

I’m assuming those staff numbers include non-faculty research associates. Those folks are a long way from “administrative bloat.” I’ve been retired for quite a while, but I’m pretty sure the part of research administration that I used to work for is about the same size, and for sure the research base has gone up.

[82lsju]

I've heard universities described as healthcare systems with a side-hustle in education.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2...s-00133272

This article shows that at both UNC and Duke, the medical centers have grown to provide a larger share of revenue than the Universities.  In Stanford's most recent financial report (https://bondholder-information.stanford....report.pdf), 62% of Stanford's revenues in FY2023 came from Stanford Health, and the $415 million dollar surplus generated by Stanford Health made up for a $206 million loss from the University.

Since this is an athletics board, it is worth mentioning that Athletics doesn't merit its own line item in the financial statements, and gets lumped in with housing and dining services, the alumni association under "Auxiliary Services", which, combined, accounted for $722 million in expenses, out of a total university budget of $7.6 billion, and a total Stanford budget of $16 billion.

BC

the 2021-22 annual report from the AD

https://gostanford.com/documents/2022/11..._FINAL.pdf

shows 

- $11.45m from university support for combined varsity and recreation services
- $10.0m from university support for varsity sports

and

- total revenue of $134.1m
- total expenses of $145.6m

[82lsju]

I've heard universities described as healthcare systems with a side-hustle in education.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2...s-00133272

This article shows that at both UNC and Duke, the medical centers have grown to provide a larger share of revenue than the Universities.  In Stanford's most recent financial report (https://bondholder-information.stanford....report.pdf), 62% of Stanford's revenues in FY2023 came from Stanford Health, and the $415 million dollar surplus generated by Stanford Health made up for a $206 million loss from the University.

Since this is an athletics board, it is worth mentioning that Athletics doesn't merit its own line item in the financial statements, and gets lumped in with housing and dining services, the alumni association under "Auxiliary Services", which, combined, accounted for $722 million in expenses, out of a total university budget of $7.6 billion, and a total Stanford budget of $16 billion.

BC

the 2021-22 annual report from the AD

https://gostanford.com/documents/2022/11..._FINAL.pdf

shows 

- $11.45m from university support for combined varsity and recreation services
- $10.0m from university support for varsity sports

and

- total revenue of $134.1m
- total expenses of $145.6m

[fullmetal]

I always go back to this ditty from Noam Chomsky: "How America's Great University System Is Being Destroyed."

That’s one aspect, but there are other aspects which are also quite familiar from private industry, namely a large increase in layers of administration and bureaucracy. If you have to control people, you have to have an administrative force that does it. So in US industry even more than elsewhere, there’s layer after layer of management-a kind of economic waste, but useful for control and domination. And the same is true in universities. In the past 30 or 40 years, there’s been a very sharp increase in the proportion of administrators to faculty and students; faculty and students levels have stayed fairly level relative to one another, but the proportion of administrators have gone way up. There’s a very good book on it by a well-known sociologist, Benjamin Ginsberg, called The Fall of the Faculty: The Rise of the All-Administrative University and Why It Matters (Oxford University Press, 2011), which describes in detail the business style of massive administration and levels of administration-and of course, very highly-paid administrators. This includes professional administrators like deans, for example, who used to be faculty members who took off for a couple of years to serve in an administrative capacity and then go back to the faculty; now they’re mostly professionals, who then have to hire sub-deans, and secretaries, and so on and so forth, a whole proliferation of structure that goes along with administrators. All of that is another aspect of the business model.

https://chomsky.info/20140228/

Cynically, I would describe universities as tax-exempt hedge funds (in both human capital and economic capital) with schools and athletic departments attached.

[fullmetal]

I always go back to this ditty from Noam Chomsky: "How America's Great University System Is Being Destroyed."

That’s one aspect, but there are other aspects which are also quite familiar from private industry, namely a large increase in layers of administration and bureaucracy. If you have to control people, you have to have an administrative force that does it. So in US industry even more than elsewhere, there’s layer after layer of management-a kind of economic waste, but useful for control and domination. And the same is true in universities. In the past 30 or 40 years, there’s been a very sharp increase in the proportion of administrators to faculty and students; faculty and students levels have stayed fairly level relative to one another, but the proportion of administrators have gone way up. There’s a very good book on it by a well-known sociologist, Benjamin Ginsberg, called The Fall of the Faculty: The Rise of the All-Administrative University and Why It Matters (Oxford University Press, 2011), which describes in detail the business style of massive administration and levels of administration-and of course, very highly-paid administrators. This includes professional administrators like deans, for example, who used to be faculty members who took off for a couple of years to serve in an administrative capacity and then go back to the faculty; now they’re mostly professionals, who then have to hire sub-deans, and secretaries, and so on and so forth, a whole proliferation of structure that goes along with administrators. All of that is another aspect of the business model.

https://chomsky.info/20140228/

Cynically, I would describe universities as tax-exempt hedge funds (in both human capital and economic capital) with schools and athletic departments attached.

[M T]

Any measures of the growth in that time frame of the lines of rules & regulations that the schools (with their departments, including medical) are governed by?  As an outsider, I wonder if regulations require more administrators.

[M T]

Any measures of the growth in that time frame of the lines of rules & regulations that the schools (with their departments, including medical) are governed by?  As an outsider, I wonder if regulations require more administrators.

[Jamesy]

I've heard universities described as healthcare systems with a side-hustle in education.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2...s-00133272

This article shows that at both UNC and Duke, the medical centers have grown to provide a larger share of revenue than the Universities.  In Stanford's most recent financial report (https://bondholder-information.stanford....report.pdf), 62% of Stanford's revenues in FY2023 came from Stanford Health, and the $415 million dollar surplus generated by Stanford Health made up for a $206 million loss from the University.

Since this is an athletics board, it is worth mentioning that Athletics doesn't merit its own line item in the financial statements, and gets lumped in with housing and dining services, the alumni association under "Auxiliary Services", which, combined, accounted for $722 million in expenses, out of a total university budget of $7.6 billion, and a total Stanford budget of $16 billion.

BC

If we can get athletics to be funded by Stanford Health, we could dominate!

[Jamesy]

I've heard universities described as healthcare systems with a side-hustle in education.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2...s-00133272

This article shows that at both UNC and Duke, the medical centers have grown to provide a larger share of revenue than the Universities.  In Stanford's most recent financial report (https://bondholder-information.stanford....report.pdf), 62% of Stanford's revenues in FY2023 came from Stanford Health, and the $415 million dollar surplus generated by Stanford Health made up for a $206 million loss from the University.

Since this is an athletics board, it is worth mentioning that Athletics doesn't merit its own line item in the financial statements, and gets lumped in with housing and dining services, the alumni association under "Auxiliary Services", which, combined, accounted for $722 million in expenses, out of a total university budget of $7.6 billion, and a total Stanford budget of $16 billion.

BC

If we can get athletics to be funded by Stanford Health, we could dominate!

[82lsju]

If we can get athletics to be funded by Stanford Health, we could dominate!

well they do advertise with the AD, they have had giveaways in the past with "Stanford Health" written on it (clear bags and t-shirts), maybe their logo on uniforms.....

[82lsju]

If we can get athletics to be funded by Stanford Health, we could dominate!

well they do advertise with the AD, they have had giveaways in the past with "Stanford Health" written on it (clear bags and t-shirts), maybe their logo on uniforms.....

[CowboyIndian]

well they do advertise with the AD, they have had giveaways in the past with "Stanford Health" written on it (clear bags and t-shirts), maybe their logo on uniforms.....

Wearing a long-sleeve version as I read this…

[CowboyIndian]

well they do advertise with the AD, they have had giveaways in the past with "Stanford Health" written on it (clear bags and t-shirts), maybe their logo on uniforms.....

Wearing a long-sleeve version as I read this…

[BobK]

I have three shirts Stanford Health

[BobK]

I have three shirts Stanford Health

[cardcrimson]

I've heard universities described as healthcare systems with a side-hustle in education.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2...s-00133272

This article shows that at both UNC and Duke, the medical centers have grown to provide a larger share of revenue than the Universities.  In Stanford's most recent financial report (https://bondholder-information.stanford....report.pdf), 62% of Stanford's revenues in FY2023 came from Stanford Health, and the $415 million dollar surplus generated by Stanford Health made up for a $206 million loss from the University.

Since this is an athletics board, it is worth mentioning that Athletics doesn't merit its own line item in the financial statements, and gets lumped in with housing and dining services, the alumni association under "Auxiliary Services", which, combined, accounted for $722 million in expenses, out of a total university budget of $7.6 billion, and a total Stanford budget of $16 billion.

BC

Made me laugh out loud. Your cynicism is appreciated. I have to admit though, I contributed heavily to Stanford Health a couple of years ago. Wish it wasn't necessary, but they were the only game in town for what my daughter needed. . . .

[cardcrimson]

I've heard universities described as healthcare systems with a side-hustle in education.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2...s-00133272

This article shows that at both UNC and Duke, the medical centers have grown to provide a larger share of revenue than the Universities.  In Stanford's most recent financial report (https://bondholder-information.stanford....report.pdf), 62% of Stanford's revenues in FY2023 came from Stanford Health, and the $415 million dollar surplus generated by Stanford Health made up for a $206 million loss from the University.

Since this is an athletics board, it is worth mentioning that Athletics doesn't merit its own line item in the financial statements, and gets lumped in with housing and dining services, the alumni association under "Auxiliary Services", which, combined, accounted for $722 million in expenses, out of a total university budget of $7.6 billion, and a total Stanford budget of $16 billion.

BC

Made me laugh out loud. Your cynicism is appreciated. I have to admit though, I contributed heavily to Stanford Health a couple of years ago. Wish it wasn't necessary, but they were the only game in town for what my daughter needed. . . .

[newguy]

I've heard universities described as healthcare systems with a side-hustle in education.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2...s-00133272

This article shows that at both UNC and Duke, the medical centers have grown to provide a larger share of revenue than the Universities.  In Stanford's most recent financial report (https://bondholder-information.stanford....report.pdf), 62% of Stanford's revenues in FY2023 came from Stanford Health, and the $415 million dollar surplus generated by Stanford Health made up for a $206 million loss from the University.

Since this is an athletics board, it is worth mentioning that Athletics doesn't merit its own line item in the financial statements, and gets lumped in with housing and dining services, the alumni association under "Auxiliary Services", which, combined, accounted for $722 million in expenses, out of a total university budget of $7.6 billion, and a total Stanford budget of $16 billion.

BC

Made me laugh out loud. Your cynicism is appreciated. I have to admit though, I contributed heavily to Stanford Health a couple of years ago. Wish it wasn't necessary, but they were the only game in town for what my daughter needed. . . .

then it was likely worth it.  hope she's ok.

[newguy]

I've heard universities described as healthcare systems with a side-hustle in education.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2...s-00133272

This article shows that at both UNC and Duke, the medical centers have grown to provide a larger share of revenue than the Universities.  In Stanford's most recent financial report (https://bondholder-information.stanford....report.pdf), 62% of Stanford's revenues in FY2023 came from Stanford Health, and the $415 million dollar surplus generated by Stanford Health made up for a $206 million loss from the University.

Since this is an athletics board, it is worth mentioning that Athletics doesn't merit its own line item in the financial statements, and gets lumped in with housing and dining services, the alumni association under "Auxiliary Services", which, combined, accounted for $722 million in expenses, out of a total university budget of $7.6 billion, and a total Stanford budget of $16 billion.

BC

Made me laugh out loud. Your cynicism is appreciated. I have to admit though, I contributed heavily to Stanford Health a couple of years ago. Wish it wasn't necessary, but they were the only game in town for what my daughter needed. . . .

then it was likely worth it.  hope she's ok.