Base salaries for senior administrators in higher education are up by a median of 4 percent in 2007-8, the same gain as last year, and up from increases of 3.5 percent and 3.3 percent the previous two years, according to a report being released today by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources.

Increases were larger at public institutions, at doctoral institutions, and for the most senior of positions, the report found. The study is based on data about salaries for 272 positions, mostly at the director level or higher, at 1,307 institutions. Data are released by position, sector and over all, but the figures are not identifiable by institution.

As has been the case in recent years, the highest median salary in the survey is for medical deans: $385,461. Other dean salaries that are on the high end include dentistry, public health, law and veterinary medicine. On the low end are deans of instruction, divinity and external programs.

The following table shows the median increases for different job groupings, over all and by sector. Generally, public raises were slightly higher than those at privates, but there were more notable gaps favoring the publics in athletics and student affairs.

Median One-Year Salary Increases, by Job Category and Sector, 2006-7 to 2007-8

For a few positions, CUPA-HR releases data on median salaries by sector. Doctoral institutions, as has been the case for years, pay significantly more across a range of the disciplines covered.

Median Pay for Selected Positions, by Sector, 2007-8

For many other positions, CUPA-HR released a median base pay for all institutions, but not by sector. In many cases, the range across sectors is similar to that for the above positions.

Median Salary by Position, 2007-8

A free copy of the executive summary of the report and information about ordering the full report may be found on CUPA-HR's Web site.