B3 Administrative Cost as % Instructional Cost
Fiscal Year 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Ratio 0.20 0.21 0.19 0.21 0.20
B3 Administrative Cost as % Instructional Cost
Administrative Cost as % Instructional Cost

Expenses classified as Institutional Support divided by the sum of instruction support and academic support (see below for expenses falling into each category). The higher UTSA's ratio, the greater the proportion of spending on administration relative to spending on instruction (i.e., a ratio of .20 means that UTSA spends 20 cents on administration for every dollar it sends on instruction.

Institutional Support:

A functional expense category that includes expenses for the day-to-day operational support of the institution. Includes expenses for general administrative services, central executive-level activities concerned with management and long range planning, legal and fiscal operations, space management, employee personnel and records, logistical services such as purchasing and printing, and public relations and development. Also includes information technology expenses related to institutional support activities. IT costs associated with student services and operation and maintenance of plant are also applied to this function.

Instruction Support:

A functional expense category that includes expenses of the colleges, schools, departments, and other instructional divisions of the institution and expenses for departmental research and public service that are not separately budgeted. Includes general academic instruction, occupational and vocational instruction, community education, preparatory and adult basic education, and regular, special, and extension sessions. Also includes expenses for both credit and non-credit activities. Excludes expenses for academic administration where the primary function is administration (e.g., academic deans). Information technology expenses related to instructional activities are included. Includes actual or allocated costs for operation and maintenance of plant, interest, and depreciation.

Academic Support:

A functional expense category that includes expenses of activities and services that support the institution's primary missions of instruction, research, and public service. It includes the retention, preservation, and display of educational materials (for example, libraries, museums, and galleries); organized activities that provide support services to the academic functions of the institution (such as a demonstration school associated with a college of education or veterinary and dental clinics if their primary purpose is to support the instructional program); media such as audiovisual services; academic administration (including academic deans but not department chairpersons); and formally organized and separately budgeted academic personnel development and course and curriculum development expenses. Also included are information technology expenses related to academic support activities. Includes actual or allocated costs for operation and maintenance of plant, interest, and depreciation.

Note: Based on the broad definition of instructional cost and narrow definition of administrative cost, the ratios likely underestimate the amount institutions spend on administration.

Source: Legislative Budget Board