The Existent Terms Of Undergraduate Education
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
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The UC management has announced its innovation to decrease undergraduate enrollment too increment undergraduate fees 42% over a one-year period. But this strategy makes no feel for the UC organisation too volition truly add together to our budget woes. In the analysis below, I demonstrate what it truly costs to develop a UC undergraduate pupil for a year.
My declaration is that if nosotros examine the salaries of the people teaching undergraduate courses at the UC too the average class charge of UC students, nosotros notice that acre UCOP claims that it costs over $20,000 to develop an undergraduate pupil for a year, the basic instructional cost per pupil is closer to $5,000. So acre the state currently gives $9,650 per pupil too the students volition side past times side twelvemonth live on probable paying over $10,000, the existent cost of instruction is virtually a quarter of the reported price.
To create upward one's heed the existent cost of instruction, nosotros start amongst a few basic statistics: The average UC undergrad takes 45 credit hours per year, too nosotros know that students unremarkably guide keep 8 large courses (averaging 200 students) too ii modest courses (averaging xx students) on campuses using the quarter system. We too know that tenure-line faculty learn one-half of the undergraduate credit hours too that lecturers too grad students learn the other half. In fact, tenure-line faculty generate 690 pupil credit hours per FTE, acre lecturers gain 1,490 pupil credit hours per FTE. This statistic is real of import because the electrical current innovation to cut or eliminate lecturers would undermine the “efficiency” of the system. Keep inward heed that inward 2008, the average lecturer salary was $56,000, acre the average tenure-line faculty fellow member earned $106,000.
To create upward one's heed the per-student cost of a modest class taught past times a tenure-line faculty member, nosotros guide keep the average salary ($106,000), separate it past times the average class charge (5.1), too separate this sum past times the number of students (20), nosotros larn $1,039, but, if nosotros solely count the utilization of the professor’s salary that goes to instruction (50%), the existent cost is $520. If nosotros perform this same calculation amongst lecturers, the average per pupil cost is $308. In the example of large courses belongings 200 students, nosotros tin only separate the cost of modest courses past times 10, too nosotros larn the per-student cost for large courses taught past times tenure-line faculty every bit $52 too the cost for lecturers every bit $30. If nosotros straightaway guide keep the average class charge of a pupil who takes 8 large courses too ii modest courses during an average year, amongst one-half of the courses taught past times professors too one-half taught past times lecturers, nosotros larn $878 (208 + 120 + 520 + 30). If nosotros include the sum cost of a professor (research + instruction), nosotros larn $1,606.
How virtually the cost of graduate students who learn modest news sections accompanying the large lecture courses that undergrads take? To calculate this, nosotros quest to await at the average pay per class too the average class charge too tuition remission of graduate pupil instructors. While nosotros practise non guide keep exact figures here, I guide keep been told that the cost per department at UCLA for a graduate pupil averages $6,000 (Please allow me if this is wrong), too nosotros know that many large classes practise non guide keep sections, too and so nosotros tin solely guess that if a class of 200 has 10 sections of xx students, the per pupil cost for each department is $300 (this does non include the cost of the tuition remission for graduate students). If a pupil takes 8 large classes during a year, too each class has a department taught past times a graduate student, nosotros guide keep to add together $2,400 to the sum instructional cost, too nosotros straightaway larn $3,278. However, none of these calculations include wellness benefits, which add together an extra 20% to our calculations. If nosotros include wellness benefits, nosotros larn $3,932 (this number is high because to a greater extent than than one-half of the lecturers are non eligible for benefits).
So why does UCOP claim that it costs over $20,000 for 1 year’s teaching of an undergraduate student? UCOP volition struggle that nosotros guide keep non accounted for the cost of classrooms, utilities, administration, libraries, too staff. Our commencement response is that nosotros desire to focus on exactly the straight instructional cost. Moreover, economies of scale locomote here; it is clear that when yous add together a novel student, yous practise non add together a novel classroom or add together a novel administrator. In fact, in that place guide keep been real few novel classrooms added inward the UC system, too class sizes guide keep of late gone up. Furthermore, it is impossible to enjoin what utilization of an administrator’s salary should become to supporting the instructional mission of the UC, too it is unclear why an undergraduate should pay for the raises of administrators too researchers. While I recognize that students too the state should pay for some utilization of the indirect or associated costs of UC operations, it strikes me every bit completely unjustifiable to guide keep less than 25% of the undergraduate revenue become to straight instructional expenses.
What is abundantly clear is that undergraduates are subsidizing research, graduate students, too administrators, acre their fees are existence increased too their educational opportunities are existence decreased. It is too clear that the state solitary cannot live on blamed for the escalating costs of pupil fees too tuition. The solution to the UC’s budget issues is therefore to increment undergraduate enrollment, retain lecturers, too rely to a greater extent than on small, interactive classes that salve coin too heighten the character of undergraduate education.
Sources:
The average pupil credit hours tin live on institute at: https://sisds.ucdavis.edu/aboutinstruction.htm
The average class charge too credit hours for senate faculty too lecturers comes from the annual “Faculty Instructional Activities” report: http://www.ucop.edu/planning/fia/documents/fia_annlrpt2007.pdf (pp. 13-14).
Average salaries for professors too lecturers:
http://ucpay.globl.org
The argue why nosotros should solely count one-half of the professor’s salary to calculate the instructional cost: http://socrates.berkeley.edu/ schwrtz/UndergradCost.html
For a study of the cost for graduate students: http://www.ucop.edu/sas/sfs/docs/gradsurvey_2007.pdf
For the average cost of benefits for faculty serving the inwardness missions, see:
“The University of California 2008-09 Budget For Current Operations Summary of he Budget Request.”
My declaration is that if nosotros examine the salaries of the people teaching undergraduate courses at the UC too the average class charge of UC students, nosotros notice that acre UCOP claims that it costs over $20,000 to develop an undergraduate pupil for a year, the basic instructional cost per pupil is closer to $5,000. So acre the state currently gives $9,650 per pupil too the students volition side past times side twelvemonth live on probable paying over $10,000, the existent cost of instruction is virtually a quarter of the reported price.
To create upward one's heed the existent cost of instruction, nosotros start amongst a few basic statistics: The average UC undergrad takes 45 credit hours per year, too nosotros know that students unremarkably guide keep 8 large courses (averaging 200 students) too ii modest courses (averaging xx students) on campuses using the quarter system. We too know that tenure-line faculty learn one-half of the undergraduate credit hours too that lecturers too grad students learn the other half. In fact, tenure-line faculty generate 690 pupil credit hours per FTE, acre lecturers gain 1,490 pupil credit hours per FTE. This statistic is real of import because the electrical current innovation to cut or eliminate lecturers would undermine the “efficiency” of the system. Keep inward heed that inward 2008, the average lecturer salary was $56,000, acre the average tenure-line faculty fellow member earned $106,000.
To create upward one's heed the per-student cost of a modest class taught past times a tenure-line faculty member, nosotros guide keep the average salary ($106,000), separate it past times the average class charge (5.1), too separate this sum past times the number of students (20), nosotros larn $1,039, but, if nosotros solely count the utilization of the professor’s salary that goes to instruction (50%), the existent cost is $520. If nosotros perform this same calculation amongst lecturers, the average per pupil cost is $308. In the example of large courses belongings 200 students, nosotros tin only separate the cost of modest courses past times 10, too nosotros larn the per-student cost for large courses taught past times tenure-line faculty every bit $52 too the cost for lecturers every bit $30. If nosotros straightaway guide keep the average class charge of a pupil who takes 8 large courses too ii modest courses during an average year, amongst one-half of the courses taught past times professors too one-half taught past times lecturers, nosotros larn $878 (208 + 120 + 520 + 30). If nosotros include the sum cost of a professor (research + instruction), nosotros larn $1,606.
How virtually the cost of graduate students who learn modest news sections accompanying the large lecture courses that undergrads take? To calculate this, nosotros quest to await at the average pay per class too the average class charge too tuition remission of graduate pupil instructors. While nosotros practise non guide keep exact figures here, I guide keep been told that the cost per department at UCLA for a graduate pupil averages $6,000 (Please allow me if this is wrong), too nosotros know that many large classes practise non guide keep sections, too and so nosotros tin solely guess that if a class of 200 has 10 sections of xx students, the per pupil cost for each department is $300 (this does non include the cost of the tuition remission for graduate students). If a pupil takes 8 large classes during a year, too each class has a department taught past times a graduate student, nosotros guide keep to add together $2,400 to the sum instructional cost, too nosotros straightaway larn $3,278. However, none of these calculations include wellness benefits, which add together an extra 20% to our calculations. If nosotros include wellness benefits, nosotros larn $3,932 (this number is high because to a greater extent than than one-half of the lecturers are non eligible for benefits).
So why does UCOP claim that it costs over $20,000 for 1 year’s teaching of an undergraduate student? UCOP volition struggle that nosotros guide keep non accounted for the cost of classrooms, utilities, administration, libraries, too staff. Our commencement response is that nosotros desire to focus on exactly the straight instructional cost. Moreover, economies of scale locomote here; it is clear that when yous add together a novel student, yous practise non add together a novel classroom or add together a novel administrator. In fact, in that place guide keep been real few novel classrooms added inward the UC system, too class sizes guide keep of late gone up. Furthermore, it is impossible to enjoin what utilization of an administrator’s salary should become to supporting the instructional mission of the UC, too it is unclear why an undergraduate should pay for the raises of administrators too researchers. While I recognize that students too the state should pay for some utilization of the indirect or associated costs of UC operations, it strikes me every bit completely unjustifiable to guide keep less than 25% of the undergraduate revenue become to straight instructional expenses.
What is abundantly clear is that undergraduates are subsidizing research, graduate students, too administrators, acre their fees are existence increased too their educational opportunities are existence decreased. It is too clear that the state solitary cannot live on blamed for the escalating costs of pupil fees too tuition. The solution to the UC’s budget issues is therefore to increment undergraduate enrollment, retain lecturers, too rely to a greater extent than on small, interactive classes that salve coin too heighten the character of undergraduate education.
Sources:
The average pupil credit hours tin live on institute at: https://sisds.ucdavis.edu/aboutinstruction.htm
The average class charge too credit hours for senate faculty too lecturers comes from the annual “Faculty Instructional Activities” report: http://www.ucop.edu/planning/fia/documents/fia_annlrpt2007.pdf (pp. 13-14).
Average salaries for professors too lecturers:
http://ucpay.globl.org
The argue why nosotros should solely count one-half of the professor’s salary to calculate the instructional cost: http://socrates.berkeley.edu/ schwrtz/UndergradCost.html
For a study of the cost for graduate students: http://www.ucop.edu/sas/sfs/docs/gradsurvey_2007.pdf
For the average cost of benefits for faculty serving the inwardness missions, see:
“The University of California 2008-09 Budget For Current Operations Summary of he Budget Request.”