“Students” might also be the wrong denominator for research-intensive places. Penn has an army of postdocs and research staff too. Even though they aren’t paid

“Students” might also be the wrong denominator for research-intensive places. Penn has an army of postdocs and research staff too. Even though they aren’t paid out of indirects, they do need to get paid, have places to park, get safety training, etc, all of which do need admins.