STANFORD ALUMNI
FOR FREE SPEECH AND
CRITICAL THINKING

 

October 19, 2026

 

Colleges Are Cutting Administrative Jobs, and Critics Say That’s a Good Thing

 

After years of growing, new data suggests ‘administrative bloat’ may be reversing

 

Excerpts (links in the original):

. . . .

“A decades-long increase in the number of employees on campuses who don’t actually teach -- disparaged by critics as ‘administrative bloat’ -- is starting to reverse, new data suggests. 

 

“The number of noninstructional employees at U.S. universities and colleges -- the many people on campuses who don’t actually teach -- fell last year more than it has at any time in at least the last decade, according to the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, or CUPA-HR. ...

 

“A faculty committee convened at Yale University to consider why higher education has lost so much public trust cited administrative bloat as one of the reasons. It said that even determining how many administrators there were at Yale ‘proved remarkably difficult.’ That in itself was a finding, the committee said in its report, released in April. The university ‘should be able to answer a straightforward question: What share of its resources is devoted to its core academic functions, and what share is not?’

 

“Universities and colleges have ‘layers of bloated administration’ for which ‘students and taxpayers are forced to foot the bill,’ U.S. Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent told a White House roundtable last year. ‘Students, families and taxpayers are being asked to pay more and more each year to support rising institutional and administrative expenditures that often have little to do with actual learning.’...

 

“Universities and colleges ‘are in a different era now,’ [Chair of UNC's Department of Educational Leadership Prof. Kevin McClure] said. ‘And it’s going to require a different kind of staffing.’”

 

Full article at Hechinger Report.

 

Killing Complexity Before Complexity Kills Growth

 

Excerpts:

 

“Why do so many companies lose their way? When companies are just starting out, they have no problem identifying the path before them. The founders know where they’re headed, who their customers are and how they hope to succeed. Often, they see themselves as insurgents -- on a mission to fill customer needs that incumbents have overlooked or ignored. Founders obsess over the details. They abhor bureaucracy and personally keep tabs on what is happening on the front line to make sure they’re still on top of their markets. Employees take their cues from the founders and keep finding new ways to please customers, do their jobs better and increase sales.

 

“The problem is that most companies lose the Founder’s Mentality® as they grow. But size itself is not really the problem -- some corporations (a lucky few) manage to maintain the founder’s mentality, even as they grow into major multinationals. What really hurts the founder’s mentality and hamstrings large organizations is complexity. Complexity is the ‘silent killer’ of growth, creeping in unnoticed as companies expand into new geographies and lines of business. Layers, ranks and titles build up, and the connection to the front line is severed. Instead of keeping up with customers, management spends most of its time on process....

 

“Organizational simplification does not mean just redrawing the org chart. It also requires streamlining processes through changes in accountabilities, governance and ways of working. Without all these elements, organizational simplification won’t deliver lasting results; before long, complexity will creep back in (see Figure 2). In practice, organizational simplification is often performed in tandem with business simplification, which might include shedding less productive geographies and lines of business to regain strategic focus.

 

[Followed by discussion of a company that undertook organizational simplification.]

 

“Most important, everyone from the front line to the C-suite had to embrace a new way of working. Where there had been bureaucratic wheel-spinning and risk avoidance, the company wanted to see collaboration and entrepreneurism. The company would no longer tolerate ‘energy vampires’ who cranked out templates, scheduled meetings, avoided ownership of decisions or stopped action with requests for one more round of analysis....

 

“Restoring the energy and sense of purpose that most companies are born with can be transformative. Companies can indeed get their mojo back. But they also have to work to keep it. For example, once a company has removed unnecessary nodes, it can create a nodes-management system to ensure that complexity does not creep back in. Leaders can help sustain performance improvements by making a conscious effort to model the founder’s mentality. They should inspire with bold goals, commit to continued simplification to make life easier for workers and celebrate wins along the way.”

 

Full article at Bain (April 14, 2017). 

 

Managing Organizational Complexity

 

Editor’s note: In connection with the foregoing, we also asked Google/Gemini “What happens when an organization gets too complicated to manage?” and received this shorthand reply:

 

Organizations become too complicated to manage when growth, excessive layers of management, and data silos turn internal processes into a barrier to progress.

 

Why Complexity Happens

 

• Unchecked Growth: Companies add product lines, locations, and leadership roles to manage expansion without removing obsolete structures.

• Data and Team Silos: Information gets trapped in separate tools and departments, blocking a clear view of the big picture.

• Bureaucratic Layers: Too many approval steps and matrix reporting levels slow down daily work and dull responsiveness to customers.

 

The Cost of Complication

 

• Stalled Decisions: Managers spend hundreds of thousands of hours on internal alignment rather than action.

• Loss of Customer Focus: Teams turn inward to satisfy metrics and avoid risk instead of serving clients.

• Higher Security Risks: Scattered data makes proper oversight and privacy protection difficult.

 

Steps to Simplify

 

• Attack Product Lines First: Drop low-performing areas or overlapping brands to refocus the core business.

• De-layer Structures: Eliminate redundant management nodes so employees have clear, direct reporting lines.

• Redefine Decision Rights: Push choices closer to the front line and assign clear ownership for specific outcomes.

 

See other AI inquiries at our Ask AI webpage. See also our Stanford Concerns and our Back to Basics at Stanford webpages.

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From the Cornell Free Speech Alliance -- The Hill Is Still Worth Climbing

 

Excerpts:

 

“There is a particular kind of affection reserved for a place where you were routinely cold, occasionally overwhelmed, and almost always walking uphill.

 

“Years later, you can still hear the chimes. You remember the professor who expected more of you than you thought you could deliver, the friends who became family, and the view across the Slope that could stop you mid-sentence.

 

“It is painful to see that place reduced to a cruel nickname.

 

“We have heard Cornell called ‘the rape school.’ We have heard that everything is canceled, that the institution is finished, that there is nothing left to defend.

 

“We disagree.

 

“The allegations surrounding the Cornell Seven demand seriousness, compassion, and a determination to establish what happened. Jane Doe deserves to have her account heard fully and fairly. Students accused of wrongdoing deserve findings based on evidence. Other Cornell students deserve to pursue their education without being treated as accomplices by association.

 

“And Cornell deserves an assessment more careful than its worst headline.

 

“For the Cornell Free Speech Alliance, that obligation runs in both directions. If we ask the university to welcome uncomfortable truths, we must acknowledge facts that favor it, too. ...

 

[Followed by detailed discussion of the past investigations, disciplinary proceedings, etc.]

 

“Students need reliable support, fair hearings, and clear explanations. Peaceful criticism must remain welcome. Harassment must not. Leadership can assign responsibilities and publish deadlines without waiting for another commission. Alumni can offer time and expertise alongside opinions. ...

 

“There is hard work ahead. We remain proud to be Cornellians, and we intend to help.

 

“The hill is still worth climbing.”

 

Full op-ed at Cornell Alumni for Free Speech. 

 

Other Articles of Interest

 

Americans May Have Soured on College, but the Data Show They’re Still Going

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Full article at Hechinger Report: “And when we look at total college enrollment -- including people who don’t go immediately after high school, as well as graduate students -- the picture also doesn’t show a collapse in college-going. In fact, the number of enrolled students has been rising since 2022.”

 

More Students Are Ruling Out Colleges Based on the Politics of States Where the Schools Are Located

 

Full article at Higher Ed Dive: “The share of students who say they have ruled out colleges solely because of a state’s politics has jumped 10 percentage points in just three years, according to a poll released Tuesday from the higher education consultancy Art & Science Group.”

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The Next Budget Crisis in Higher Ed -- Legal Bills

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Full op-ed at Faculty Leaks: “According to an Oct. 16 report in The Harvard Crimson, Harvard spent approximately $210 million on legal expenses in fiscal year 2026, up nearly 70% from the previous year and roughly 10 times what it spent just a few years ago. To put that number in perspective, Harvard spent more on legal expenses in a single year than some prestigious colleges spend operating their entire institutions. Haverford College reported annual operating expenses of approximately $135 million in 2025, while Bryn Mawr College spent about $150 million. Harvard’s legal bill also exceeded the annual core operating budgets of several public universities, including Cal State Bakersfield and Sonoma State. Harvard’s $210 million legal bill was so large that it exceeded the annual revenue of dozens of the nation’s 200 highest-grossing law firms, according to the Am Law 200 rankings.”

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What Students Value Most About College

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Full article at Inside Higher Ed: “Based on a spring 2026 survey of 1,007 U.S. college students, researchers found that 74.2 percent of respondents reported receiving high or exceptional value from the purpose and personal growth they experienced in college, the highest among nine dimensions of the college experience. Economic return ranked lowest at 66.2 percent, even as concerns about college costs and career outcomes continue to dominate discussions about the value of higher education.”

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Penn State May Cut 47 Programs Over Low Interest, Weak Employment Opportunity

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Full article at College Fix: “The decision follows a year-long review of all 403 of the school’s degree programs, a news release states.”

 

An Action Plan for USC’s New Provost

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Full op-ed by USC Prof. Anna Krylov at Substack.

 

Minnesota May Transfer Money from Two-Year Colleges to Help Struggling Universities

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Full article at AP.

 

Why We Care -- Samples of Current Teaching, Research and Other Activities at Stanford

 

Click on each article for direct access; selections are from Stanford Report and other Stanford websites.

 

The Search for Alzheimer’s Answers

 

Stanford Announces a New Civics Minor

 

The Slow Return of Fun at Stanford

 

Humans and AI Engage in Meaningful Collaborations​​​​​​​

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