CUPA-HR 2009-10 Administrative Compensation Survey Report Available

The College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) recently released its 2009-10 Administrative Compensation Survey Report. Results indicate that for the first time in more than 25 years, the vast majority of institutions surveyed gave no salary increases to senior-level administrative staff. Approximately two-thirds of responding institutions gave no salary increases in 2009 and about two-thirds of incumbents received no increases. A small subset of these actually gave or received a salary decrease.

This finding reflects the salaries for 77,186 job incumbents in public and private institutions nationwide. Salaries were reported by 1,280 institutions for 280 selected positions, mostly at the director level and above. While the median salary increase for these positions was 0% this year, this was still better than inflation which was negative. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers [CPI-U] in 2009 was 0.4% lower than in 2008.

Salaries for the Administrative Compensation 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.

The median base salary for a CEO at a single institution ranged from $165,950 at associate’s institutions to $375,000 at doctorate-granting institutions. Other executive salaries reflected similar differences based on institution type. The highest paid deans were those in the areas of medicine, dentistry and law, while the lowest paid deans were those working in occupational studies/vocational education, instruction, and special programs. Click here to view the median base salaries for all 280 positions in the survey.

The 2009-10 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. You can also order survey results or download a free Executive Summary for this survey.

Missy Kline
Editor, CUPA-HR
mkline@cupahr.org