Administrators in Higher Education Survey Methodology, 2023-24

CUPA-HR has been collecting data on higher ed administrators since 1967. The data collection period for CUPA-HR’s Administrators in Higher Education Survey ran from November 1, 2023, to January 18, 2024. The survey was conducted through Surveys Online.^[1]

POSITIONS SURVEYED

The survey collected data on 203 positions grouped into six administrative categories:^[2]

• Top Executive Officers
  • These positions include Chief Executive Officer (Campus or System), Executive Vice President/Vice Chancellor, and Chief Academic Affairs Officer/Provost.
• Senior Institutional and Chief Functional Officers
  • Persons in these positions direct a major functional area with institution-wide scope/impact as well as the work of other administrative and professional employees. They typically report to a top executive officer or other senior institutional officer. Examples include Chief Financial Officer, Chief Development/Advancement Officer, Chief Human Resources Officer, and Chief Information/IT Officer.
• Institutional Administrators
  • Persons in these positions direct a functional area with institution-wide scope as well as the work of other professional employees. They serve as the senior content expert in a recognized professional realm. Examples include Chief Purchasing Officer, Chief Diversity Officer, Chief Hospital Administrator, and Chief Student Registration/Records Officer.
• Heads of Divisions, Departments, and Centers
  • Persons in these positions manage an institutionally recognized division, department, or center and the work of other professional employees. Examples include Bursar, Chief Campus Bookstore Administrator, Chief Campus Benefits Administrator, and Chief Campus Student Housing Administrator.
• Academic Deans
  • These are typically persons with faculty status who serve as the principal administrator/head of an academic program, which may be a school, college, or department.
• Academic Associate/Assistant Deans
  • These are persons with or without faculty status who report to and support the dean in the administration of an institutional program, which may be a school, college, or department.

DATA COLLECTED

This year’s survey includes data for 49,130 administrators. For each administrator reported, the following data were collected:

• Annualized base salary (effective date November 1, 2023)
• H-1B status
• Sex (optional)
• Race/ethnicity (optional)
• Year entered current position (optional)
• Birth year (optional)
• Whether the administrator has faculty status (for associate/assistant dean positions only)
• State of residence

Participants could either enter this data manually online for each administrator or upload a file containing this data.

Executive Pipeline and Benefits

The following data were collected for four positions: president/CEO of a system, president/CEO of a single institution, chief academic affairs officer/provost, and chief human resources officer.

• Place of employment prior to current appointment
• Position prior to current appointment

In addition, data on the following benefits/perquisites was collected for seven positions: president/CEO of a system, president/CEO of a single institution, executive vice president/vice chancellor, chief academic affairs officer/provost, chief business officer, chief athletic administrator, and chief development/advancement officer.

• Institution-provided housing (full, partial, or no subsidy)
• Institution-provided vehicle or vehicle allowance (full, partial, or no subsidy)
• Institution-provided club membership (full, partial, or no subsidy)
• Institution-provided deferred compensation program (yes or no)
• Performance-based incentive pay opportunity (yes or no)

Pipeline and benefits data were collected online, and all questions were optional.

Institutional Basics

Basic data on institutional characteristics were collected from all participants:

• Total expenses reported to IPEDS in 2022-23
• Student enrollment (effective date approximately October 15, 2023)
• Faculty size (effective date November 1, 2023) and number of separations in the past year
• Staff size (effective date November 1, 2023) and number of separations in the past year
• Human resources staff size and number of separations in the past year
• CHRO reporting relationship
• Whether collective bargaining exists for the following groups:
  • Full-time faculty
  • Part-time or adjunct faculty
  • Full-time staff
  • Graduate students

Basic information on total expenses as well as student, faculty, and staff size were required questions. All other questions were optional.

RESPONDENTS

Respondents were largely human resources professionals from higher education institutions in the U.S. There were 1,027 institutions that completed the survey.^[3]

CITATION INFORMATION

CUPA-HR. (2024). Administrators in Higher Education Survey, 2023-24 [Data set].

¹ Surveys Online is a product of Peerfocus.

² See the Administrators Survey Participation and Information Template for a complete list of all administrator positions surveyed, instructions to participants, and more information on how data were collected.

³ Special focus institutions include medical institutions, law institutions, art design schools, tribal colleges, and others. Institutions not classified include international institutions, higher ed affiliates, and any other institution not listed with a basic Carnegie classification. Higher ed affiliates include research foundations, research laboratories, preparatory academies, and other institutions that CUPA-HR has deemed to have similar enough workforces to higher ed institutions that they may participate in CUPA-HR surveys and benchmark their positions using CUPA-HR data. For-profit institutions, higher ed affiliates, and non-classified institutions are generally not included in overall analyses of CUPA-HR data unless otherwise specified.