Inequality between university pay

"Tuition reciprocity"
Trying to entice their faculty members into staying
Canadian and Australian universities complain of a brain drain to America

The salary gap between full professors at the best private universities in America and its best public universities has grown from $1,300 in 1980 to $21,700 in 1998, according to a study by F. King Alexander, an assistant professor of Educational Organization & Leadership at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign.

"Tuition reciprocity"

Private universities with deep pockets can also offer larger research budgets, smaller teaching loads and even "tuition reciprocity" programmes whereby children of faculty members can go to other private universities free. This can amount to a few hundred thousand dollars of free tuition if you have a handful of children.

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) issued its annual faculty salary report last month and, for the third straight year, faculty salaries increased. The pace of the increases has slowed, however. This year's gain is only half of last year's, when adjusted for inflation.

Trying to entice their faculty members into staying

Public university administrators spend much of their time trying to entice their faculty members into staying and not running off to private establishments. Mr Alexander's figures confirm what public administrators have been talking about for some time: the nation's best public universities are at risk of becoming training grounds for private universities with bigger chequebooks.

Professor Bell of the AAUP found that the salary advantage of faculty at private research institutions accelerated in the 1990s, even when she compared only the most selective private and public universities. This salary gap diminishes the ability of the public universities, which most students attend, to attract and retain outstanding faculty.

A recent report in The Economist stated that, in 1980, the University of Michigan paid its professors and average of $400 more than the average for professors at top private universities; by 1998, Michigan was paying them $4,000 less. Most other top public universities have fared even worse; the University of California at Irvine saw its slight salary advantage of $300 in 1980 fall to an $11,000 deficit by 1998.

For much of the 1980s and early 1990s, state legislatures cut appropriations to their public universities because they were in deficit and wanted to spend money on other projects such as building new prisons. Two-thirds of public universities need some sort of political approval to increase tuition fees; when the fees did go up, it was often to offset falling revenues from the state.

America's top private universities did not have to deal with politicians. They raised tuition fees from an average of $3,900 in 1980 to $16,500 in 1997 without scaring away prospective students. Many of the best private universities combine high tuition fees with an offer of aid to those who need financial help.

The Economist report also stated that Wall Street played a factor. From the mid-1990s on, the booming stockmarket has provided even more money, both directly - university endowments - and indirectly - with alumni contributions. Private universities are no different from professional basketball teams: they use their wealth to hire the best talent available. Top professors at private institutions, such as Harvard, can be rewarded with salaries as much as $200,000 or more. At public institutions salaries are public information. As such, giving a hefty raise to one professor means alienating a colleague, or paying them more. Private universities can also act faster and be more flexible as they have no fixed scale.

Canadian and Australian universities complain of a brain drain to America

It's not just American public universities that are feeling purse strings tightening. Canadian and Australian universities complain of a brain drain to America. In New Zealand, the University of Auckland lost more than 20 faculty member to American universities in the 1990s, said Mr Alexander. England suffers too. An Oxford or Cambridge professor can have his or her salary doubled by even a mediocre private American university.

Some American public universities have fought back. The Illinois Board of Higher Education created a modest pool of money to be used for retaining star lecturers. The University of Wisconsin negotiated a deal with the legislature and governor whereby the state will provide $57 million in new money over four years and the university will raise $40 million in new private money over the same period.

Many state legislators believe professors on six-figure salaries are earning their fair share and are not responding favourably to increasing salary funding. They earn more brownie points by broadening access to public universities - which means keeping tuition fees low.

Writer: Lindsay Wood

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