March-April 2008

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The Annual Report On The Economic Status Of The Profession, 2007-08

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The Annual Report On The Economic Status Of The Profession, 2007–08

List of Tables and Figures
Explanation of Statistical Data
Report in .pdf format
Appendix I State tables (for specific institutions) (.pdf)
Appendix II Two-Year Institutions without Academic Ranks (.pdf)

Highlights of the report:

After a short-lived recovery in 2006–07, faculty salaries are lagging behind inflation again this year. Yet the salaries paid to head football coaches, presidents, and other top administrators do not seem to reflect an economic downturn. Over the past three decades, the ranks of contingent faculty, nonfaculty professionals, and administrators have swelled while the number of tenured and tenure-track faculty stagnated. What do these changing circumstances tell us about the priorities of higher education institutions? Here are some of the highlights:

  • Overall average salaries for full-time faculty rose 3.8 percent this year, the same as the increase reported last year. But with inflation at 4.1 percent for the year, the purchasing power of faculty salaries has declined for the third time in four years.
  • Long-term salary trends also indicate a widening differential between the average salaries of faculty members at private colleges and universities and the average salaries of their colleagues at public institutions. When public institutions struggle to attract (and keep) the best faculty, our nation faces the risk of creating separate but unequal systems of higher education.
  • The salaries paid to head football coaches at Division I-A universities are ten times as high as the salaries of senior professors. What does this say about the priorities of these universities?
  • The gap between faculty salaries and salaries paid to administrators continues to grow. What does that tell us about institutional priorities? This year’s report builds on previous discussions of presidents’ salaries by including data for other top administrators.
  • Over three decades, employment patterns in colleges and universities have been radically transformed. While the number of tenured and tenure-track faculty has grown 17 percent, the ranks of contingent faculty (both part and full time) and full-time nonfaculty professionals have each tripled, and the count of administrators has doubled.

Unless otherwise indicated, the data in this report were provided by institutions responding to the AAUP Faculty Compensation Survey and were compiled and analyzed by the AAUP Research Office. Any questions concerning the report should be directed to the American Association of University Professors, Research Office, 1012 Fourteenth Street NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005-3465. (202) 737-5900. Copies of the report are available for purchase from the AAUP.