4 ms·

I think a distinction should be made between administrations on the ground (we had an incredible secretary of graduate studies who made everyone's life much eas

I think a distinction should be made between administrations on the ground (we had an incredible secretary of graduate studies who made everyone's life much easier) and those who work for the executive office and act to lower the "cost" of running a University while not actually making any processes more efficient.

cycomanic 4y ago
Completely agree, the closer an admin is to actually working with the people on the ground, the more they care and the more engaged they are. The administrators in our department that we interact with on a weekly basis are all extremely dedicated and will go out of their way to help you. If you ask someone in central admin for anything you will likely be told it is not their job and look somewhere else (and the next person you contact will do the same... until you give up).
etempleton 4y ago
Yes administration is a very broad term in higher education. When people complain about administration they are almost always talking about the presidents cabinet and academic leadership, not, say, the folks in financial aid or admissions.
- rdtwo 4y ago
  Yeah but the bloat is there too. Admission, DEI, mental health, community outreach, environmental affairs, etc…
  - psychomugs 4y ago
    Many of those you listed were, at least at my university, actually understaffed in my opinion, especially mental health services. Our department director of grad studies told me that the counseling center went through double-digit turnovers in just a few months. Students almost have to compete for appointments the way they’d compete for seats in a class. The cynic in me thinks that the student-run and -staffed peer counseling program was the university putting a band-aid on the issue while they continued pouring resources into brand management.
    - etempleton 4y ago
      Admissions folks also work pretty crazy hours and are notoriously understaffed and underpaid. It is a grind.

cycomanic 4y ago

Completely agree, the closer an admin is to actually working with the people on the ground, the more they care and the more engaged they are. The administrators in our department that we interact with on a weekly basis are all extremely dedicated and will go out of their way to help you. If you ask someone in central admin for anything you will likely be told it is not their job and look somewhere else (and the next person you contact will do the same... until you give up).

etempleton 4y ago

Yes administration is a very broad term in higher education. When people complain about administration they are almost always talking about the presidents cabinet and academic leadership, not, say, the folks in financial aid or admissions.

rdtwo 4y ago
Yeah but the bloat is there too. Admission, DEI, mental health, community outreach, environmental affairs, etc…
- psychomugs 4y ago
  Many of those you listed were, at least at my university, actually understaffed in my opinion, especially mental health services. Our department director of grad studies told me that the counseling center went through double-digit turnovers in just a few months. Students almost have to compete for appointments the way they’d compete for seats in a class. The cynic in me thinks that the student-run and -staffed peer counseling program was the university putting a band-aid on the issue while they continued pouring resources into brand management.
  - etempleton 4y ago
    Admissions folks also work pretty crazy hours and are notoriously understaffed and underpaid. It is a grind.