CUPA-HR eNews

CUPA-HR Salary Survey Finds Overall Median Base Salary for Senior-Level Administrative Positions in Higher Education Increased by 4%
February 25, 2008

CUPA-HR recently released its 2007-08 Administrative Compensation Survey report. Results indicate that the overall median base salary for senior-level administrative jobs in colleges and universities increased by 4% (the same as last year).

This finding reflects the salaries of 73,575 job incumbents in public and private institutions nationwide. Salaries were reported by 1,307 institutions for 272 selected positions, mostly at the director level and above. Click here  to see the data table for select positions.

As it has now for many years, the overall median salary increase continued to outpace inflation. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers [CPI-U] in 2007 was 2.8% higher than in 2006.

Survey participants included approximately 81% of all U.S. doctoral institutions, 63% of master’s institutions and 51% of bachelor’s institutions. More than 400 specialized and two-year institutions also completed this year’s survey. Half of this year’s survey participants are from public institutions and half are from private institutions, and nearly 90% of this year’s respondents also participated in last year’s survey.

“We are very pleased that over 1,300 institutions consistently make completion of this critically important survey a priority for their institutions,” says CUPA-HR Director of Research & Information Systems Ray “Chip” Sizemore. “The high participation rate and the large number of incumbents represented in the survey provide very meaningful data for higher education.” 

Salaries for this survey were reported in 11 job categories: Senior Executive Officers; Chief Functional Officers; Academic Deans; Academic Associate/Assistant Deans; Academic Affairs; Business and Administrative Affairs; Human Resources; Information Technology; Athletics; Student Affairs; and External Affairs. Salary increases for Senior Executive/Chief Functional Officer positions were higher than increases in any of the other categories, with an increase of .4% over last year.  

Salary increases this year were slightly greater at public institutions than at private institutions in most job categories. The greatest difference was for Athletics positions. Those in Athletics positions at public institutions had a median increase of 4.3% compared to 4.0% at private institutions.

The median base salary for a CEO at a single institution ranged from $156,870 at two-year institutions to $365,190 at doctoral institutions. Other executive salaries reflected similar differences based on institution type.

The highest paid deans were those in the areas of medicine, dentistry, public health, law and veterinary medicine, while the lowest paid deans were those working in occupational studies/vocational education/technology, mathematics, instruction, divinity/theology and external degree programs.

“Employees are the most important assets of any college or university,” says CUPA-HR Chief Executive Officer Andy Brantley. “I am very pleased to see that 2007-08 salary increases match or slightly exceed increases provided during the previous two fiscal years.”

About the Survey Report|
The 2007-08 Administrative Compensation Survey Report provides an overview of median salaries from all reporting institutions by affiliation, budget size and enrollment. Comparative tables break down data by budget quartiles and institutional classification. To order survey results or download a free Executive Summary for this survey, go to “Surveys” on CUPA-HR’s home page (www.cupahr.org) and click on “Salary Surveys 2008.”