Administration at San Diego State University



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San Diego State University -- This page last updated 12-Sep-16



Administration at San Diego State University

Students need to learn what is happening at their University and consider becoming active to make changes. Students often complain about the high cost of their education, but fail to ask the questions why the costs have risen so rapidly. In April 2015, the New York Times had an excellent editorial pointing out some of the key reasons for the cost rises. Below is a link to this article:

New York Times Editorial - The Real Reason College Tuition Cost So Much - April 5, 2015

San Diego State University is part of the California State University (CSU) system, which is featured in this article. Studies show that since the mid-1970s, the CSU system has had only a 3.4% increase in faculty, while administration has grown 221%. (The student population has grown about 30%.) In fact, San Diego State University is leading the curve, as our faculty have decreased since that time, while administration has grown between 300% and 500%. A local more recent article is available, "Administrative bloat comes to the CSU system," written by a professor of English at SDSU.

Our administration likes to argue that SDSU is the flagship of the CSU system. Check the Wikipedia entries for SDSU and San Jose State University. You will see that these universities have similar numbers of students. However, on the facts sideline, you will see that SDSU has 1,491 Academic Staff (associated with faculty) and 1,591 Administrative Staff, while SJSU has 1,978 Academic Staff and 1,102 Administrative Staff. So which one would you consider to be better from the perspective of a student? Imagine how much easier it would be to get the classes you need with 500 more faculty and 500 fewer administrators creating special rules for you to follow.

 For additional details, you should read the article in the Huffington Post

New Analysis Shows Problematic Boom In Higher Ed Administrators - August 18, 2015.

This article details the steady rise in administration with plenty of good references again using CSU as a poster child for the problem.

More recently, The Atlantic produced an article showing that administration is actually very good at their jobs, which they define as solving problems, which most people find do NOT need to be solved. They even create conference helping justify hiring more of like minded people who have absolutely nothing to do with actually helping students or faculty at a University.

Whose Interests Do College Diversity Officers Serve? Administrative bloat is driving up the cost...


If you want details on the CSU system, especially about San Diego State University, then you may want to read this link showing the priorities at our school (especially compared to other CSU who are not doing well either).

Race to the Bottom: Salary, Staffing Priorities, and the CSU's 1%

This paper gives detailed numbers on each campus, and SDSU is leading the curve on losing faculty, adding part-time lecturers, and putting money into administration. Think how this affects you and the classes you want.

Many of your classes are taught by adjuncts. Here is an article from The Atlantic, which lets you know how they are treated by University Administration:

There is No Excuse How Universities Treat Adjuncts