Not disagreeing there's bloat and inefficiencies at many US research universities, but something I think is missed in a lot of these discussions is that a lot o

Not disagreeing there's bloat and inefficiencies at many US research universities, but something I think is missed in a lot of these discussions is that a lot of research funding works on a reimbursement basis: for relatively small things like travel, we (faculty, students) would spend first, then get reimbursed. For bigger items the university pays and charges the grant accordingly (after due diligence). None of this happens without armies of accountants; these are often classed as "administrators." I would love to have fewer vice presidents, etc., people who really are administrators / middle managers, on our campuses. But there really aren't as many of these positions as people seem to think. Articles like [0] (cited in one of the othe comments) seem to lump everyone who is not faculty or student an "administrator." Most such people are really staff; on the research side they help with accounting, compliance, etc. (On the student-facing side there's also a lot of staff -- students & families expect a lot more from universities now, everything from housing to fancy gyms to on-campus healthcare, and more. All that needs staff to run.) To confuse things more, some faculty (say at med schools) don't teach all that much, and some "administrators" do pitch in and teach from time to time. Again, I don't disagree we can do better, but I also think any discussion of higher ed costs and inefficiencies really should start with the reality of what universities do. [0] https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulweinstein/2023/08/28/administrative-bloat-at-us-colleges-is-skyrocketing/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulweinstein/2023/08/28/admini...