Survey finds pay for senior administrators is up

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The median base salary for senior administrators in higher education increased by 2.3 percent in 2012, according to data released today by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. That is an increase from 2.0 percent in 2011.

Continuing a pattern of recent years, the increases were greater at private institutions than at publics (2.5 percent vs. 2.0 percent).

Increases were also greater at doctoral institutions and community colleges (both of which saw median gains of 2.5 percent) than at master's institutions (up 2.0 percent) and bachelor's institutions (2.2 percent).

CUPA-HR released the median salaries for various senior-level positions, by institutional classification, and they may be found at the conclusion of this article.

For many top executives in higher education, benefits beyond standard insurance coverage that most permanent employees receive are a key part of the compensation package. So for the first time this year, CUPA-HR also collected and released data on special benefits (housing, car or car allowances, club membership, deferred compensation and performance-based incentives) provided to top executives. Institutions answered this question for various positions with options of "yes," "partial" and "no," and the table that follows shows the percentages answering "yes" and "partial." For performance-based incentives, no "partial" option was given.

Presidents of campuses were the most likely to receive the most of these benefits.

Special Benefits for Top Executives

Position

Housing

Car or Car Allowance

Club Dues

Deferred Comp.

Incentives
Based on
Performance

System president

Yes: 37%

Partial: 13%

Yes: 41%

Partial: 14%

Yes: 23%

Partial: 5%

Yes: 19%

Partial: 10%

Yes: 21%

Campus president

Yes: 47%

Partial: 14%

Yes: 52%

Partial: 18%

Yes: 32%

Partial: 3%

Yes: 26%

Partial: 12%

Yes: 26%

Executive vice president

Yes: 2%

Partial: 2%

Yes: 10%

Partial: 6%

Yes: 7%

Partial: 2%

Yes: 7%

Partial: 7%

Yes: 9%

Chief academic affairs officer

Yes: 3%

Partial: 2%

Yes: 7%

Partial: 7%

Yes: 6%

Partial: 2%

Yes: 7%

Partial: 7%

Yes: 14%

Chief business officer

Yes: 1%

Partial: 1%

Yes: 8%

Partial: 6%

Yes: 6%

Partial: 2%

Yes: 8%

Partial: 7%

Yes: 12%

Chief athletic administrator

Yes: 1%

Partial: 1%

Yes: 13%

Partial: 6%

Yes: 9%

Partial: 2%

Yes: 6%

Partial: 6%

Yes: 15%

Chief development officer

Yes: 2%

Partial: 1%

Yes: 19%

Partial: 11%

Yes: 15%

Partial: 3%

Yes: 7%

Partial: 6%

Yes: 15%

Median Salary by Carnegie Classification, 2012

(Note: * indicates that the total number of people in the position is too small in that classification for a reliable figure.)

	All	Ph.D.- Granting	Master's	Bacc.	Assoc.
Chief Exec Officer, System	370,470	431,575	*	*	291,132
CEO, Single Inst/Campus in Syst	274,300	402,000	271,454	266,216	177,343
Exec VP/Vice Chancellor	187,039	312,682	178,515	151,440	151,154
Chief Acad Affairs Officer/Prov	175,126	292,409	180,000	153,750	122,946
Chief Business Officer	168,800	237,303	170,000	159,000	120,000
Chief Athletics Admr	105,444	218,719	105,500	88,999	73,219
Chief Audit Officer	107,155	122,400	88,000	95,930	90,864
Chief Dev/Advance Officer	155,004	237,186	153,694	145,000	96,055
Chief Enrollment Mgt Officer	132,349	163,734	133,987	126,080	95,123
Chief Exten/ Engagement Officer	143,123	190,008	109,200	*	95,107
Chief External Affairs Officer	158,650	200,000	142,958	110,030	129,540
Chief Facilities Officer	109,043	157,896	104,894	91,924	92,569
Chief Financial Officer	152,828	220,000	143,790	131,423	119,220
Chief Health Affairs Officer	305,940	482,928	*	*	93,537
Chief Human Resources Officer	105,000	154,383	99,000	87,532	95,407
Chief Info/ IT Officer	125,847	202,000	120,227	107,200	103,000
Chief Instal Planning Officer	133,516	172,993	118,111	136,500	112,455
Chief Instal Research Officer	86,700	115,269	82,774	78,264	82,827
Chief Investment Officer	210,325	225,000	122,070	220,436	*
Chief Legal Affairs Officer	179,332	205,940	144,383	143,500	135,046
Chief Library Officer	88,355	164,267	90,111	76,839	73,510
Chief Pub Relations Officer	105,000	168,882	98,496	92,954	80,899
Chief Research Officer	212,652	241,196	123,130	117,300	95,404
Chief Stu Affairs/Life Officer	130,019	196,978	132,018	119,650	103,584
Academic Deans
Dean Agriculture	218,848	231,453	144,326	*	*
Dean Architecture/ Design	202,824	210,120	135,960	*	*
Dean Arts and Letters	125,850	171,000	125,000	107,500	96,256
Dean Arts and Sciences	145,356	223,091	136,099	112,598	89,813
Dean Biological and Life Sci	125,352	225,000	131,976	74,540	92,046
Dean Business	169,428	294,443	157,560	122,022	90,750
Dean Computer and Info Sci	154,448	219,330	154,000	*	90,012
Dean Continuing Ed	113,132	159,000	118,347	90,900	92,880
Dean Coop Extension	171,772	185,400	*	*	91,173
Dean Dentistry	298,005	311,175	256,250	*	*
Dean Divinity/Religion	92,820	161,445	91,801	83,244	*
Dean Education	137,953	194,229	128,000	91,800	88,824
Dean Engineering	230,000	264,502	181,831	109,349	96,250
Dean External Degree Prgms	91,485	*	86,500	*	91,485
Dean Family and Cons Sci	190,000	201,490	*	*	*
Dean Fine Arts	134,000	187,245	130,939	105,000	96,384
Dean Forestry & Environ Studies	197,475	204,960	*	*	*
Dean Gov/Pub Affairs/Pub Pol	247,450	274,087	*	*	*
Dean Graduate School	140,779	175,004	121,473	99,110	*
Dean Hth-Related Professions	127,338	192,224	138,000	112,184	93,368
Dean Honors Program	125,000	141,020	104,040	*	*
Dean Humanities	115,140	187,402	133,592	96,000	92,000
Dean Instruction	97,060	*	94,357	105,277	93,837
Dean Journalism & Mass Comm	180,594	202,374	160,000	*	94,112
Dean Law	294,100	309,113	260,916	*	*
Dean Library Sciences	135,000	161,813	115,227	94,605	88,222
Dean Mathematics	105,000	171,504	155,000	*	96,004
Dean Medicine	445,781	452,400	*	*	*
Dean Music	164,436	191,106	125,986	*	*
Dean Nursing	132,275	209,652	124,587	101,868	90,279
Dean Occup Studies / Voc Ed/Tech	97,000	138,244	136,671	113,525	91,137
Dean Performing Arts	152,600	198,048	147,145	*	*
Dean Pharmacy	230,626	243,956	202,598	200,900	*
Dean Pub Admin	142,856	215,000	*	*	*
Dean Pub Health	272,459	301,713	*	*	*
Dean Sciences	140,379	217,000	135,800	105,666	95,501
Dean Social Sciences	114,850	220,000	127,715	87,500	92,375
Dean Social Work	196,000	200,002	123,600	*	*
Dean Special Programs	86,398	*	103,810	83,232	82,738
Dean Undergrad Programs	127,243	162,887	122,000	102,289	90,491
Dean Veterinary Medicine	243,661	241,347	*	*	*
Dean of Students	91,795	119,554	87,180	83,492	91,266
Institutional Administrators
Chief Accnting Officer/Contrlr	100,548	143,800	96,512	90,562	83,516
Chief Admin Officer	163,977	235,567	142,000	134,995	143,588
Chief Architect for the Inst	105,694	120,011	95,389	95,368	104,934
Chief Auxiliary Services Officr	95,927	131,204	85,880	85,069	82,622
Chief Budget Officer	108,269	134,820	99,750	94,449	86,760
Chief Purchasing Officer	82,000	102,500	73,048	69,871	70,549
Chief EO/AA Officer	98,490	105,846	86,758	78,400	91,772
Chief Diversity Officer	112,000	151,494	89,290	87,296	87,366
Chief Hospital Admr	378,463	455,960	*	*	*
Chief Veterinary Hospital Admr	150,069	150,069	*	*	*
Chief Student Admissions Officr	88,597	116,868	85,022	82,925	73,650
Chief Student Fin Aid Officer	80,000	105,060	79,439	69,763	74,066
Chief Student Registr/Rec Off	78,329	102,250	78,500	68,791	70,600
Chief Tech Transfer Officer	169,218	169,543	*	*	*
Chief Spons Resrch/Prgms Admr	94,780	116,747	86,275	81,920	86,871
Chief Contracts & Grants Admr	86,210	96,900	72,075	64,763	77,250
Deputy Chief, Student Affairs	95,979	128,150	90,184	75,000	92,548
Deputy Chief, Research Officer	168,108	180,660	*	*	*
Deputy Provost	157,459	188,756	135,549	122,500	122,303
Associate Provost	123,146	160,698	120,781	102,228	95,016
Assistant Provost	99,352	120,500	100,000	81,888	91,959
Chief of Staff to Syst/Inst CEO	131,950	154,656	122,004	115,478	102,980
Heads of Divisions, Deptmts & Centrs
Dep Chief Financial Officer	112,570	124,510	106,350	100,479	95,253
Dep Chief Facilities Officer	83,280	108,332	78,680	72,936	70,054
Dep Chief HR Officer	80,145	98,003	74,875	72,000	77,851
Dep Chief Info/IT Officer	108,710	139,746	103,335	83,956	89,365
Dep Chief Athletics Officer	75,190	110,843	67,637	64,611	64,507
Dep Chief Advance/Dev Officer	116,420	157,985	105,798	112,200	85,927
Dep Chief Budget Officer	90,890	102,346	81,095	71,400	90,116
Bursar	69,542	89,128	65,443	58,855	68,792
Chief Camp Bookstore Admr	61,053	90,224	61,912	53,992	60,000
Chief Camp Continuing Ed Admr	80,411	104,087	75,110	69,687	75,002
Chief Camp Distance Ed Admr	81,714	97,500	73,150	67,000	81,589
Chief Camp Internatl Ed Admr	84,373	108,504	78,179	72,826	78,747
Chief Camp Intnl Studies Ed Adm	77,267	90,430	69,671	74,038	65,000
Chief Environ Hth & Safety Admr	89,000	103,576	75,929	71,426	84,344
Chief Camp Risk Mgt & Ins Admr	92,830	108,000	71,734	77,037	88,982
Chief Camp Sec Admr/Police Chief	81,143	114,398	78,116	65,113	72,129
Dep Chief Camp Sec /Asst Police Chief	68,539	89,303	62,742	56,600	63,785
Chief Camp Park /Transport Admr	77,635	84,409	62,915	*	*
Chief Camp Employment Admr	71,260	82,912	63,625	65,500	70,684
Chief Camp Payroll Admr	64,001	82,956	57,320	53,040	63,820
Chief Camp Benefits Admr	71,793	86,171	62,350	66,522	71,000
Chief Camp Employee Rel Admr	86,165	90,203	84,786	86,569	79,464
Chief Camp Classif & Comp Admr	85,000	90,000	70,072	68,000	81,816
Chief Camp HR Info Systs Admr	79,386	89,667	70,000	65,000	80,000
Chief Camp Training & Dev Admr	80,000	85,818	70,481	82,444	77,857
Chief Camp Food/ Dining Svs Admr	89,598	109,180	85,000	84,850	67,214
Dep Chief Camp Food/Din Svs Adm	69,924	76,306	64,877	64,329	48,421
Chief Campus Research Park Admr	159,770	164,084	*	*	*
Chief Camp Real Estate Admr	116,473	118,636	89,630	*	*
Chief Camp Energy & Util Admr	94,462	99,612	86,082	86,623	75,173
Chief Camp TeleCom/Netw Admr	92,200	113,844	85,148	78,393	88,355
Chief Camp Enterprise Applic	103,404	120,627	96,811	93,000	90,999
Chief Camp Academic Computing	87,924	110,000	81,623	73,271	79,724
Chief Camp Adm Computing Admr	95,030	121,915	92,446	83,626	80,327
Chief Camp Research Computing	110,563	110,865	*	*	*
Chief Camp IT Security Admr	99,425	106,153	89,560	84,242	78,063
Chief Camp Student Activ Admr	58,600	73,271	58,533	49,929	58,748
Chief Camp Student Cntr Admr	75,467	89,875	64,625	60,631	*
Chief Camp Greek Life Admr	51,917	59,064	46,000	44,001	*
Chief Camp Acad Advising Admr	67,164	78,692	65,893	62,498	61,136
Chief Camp Career Services Admr	68,300	88,047	65,844	61,000	63,489
Chief Camp Student Counsel Cntr	81,016	101,584	75,109	76,000	73,494
Chief Camp Stu Hth Cntr-Non-Med	89,203	109,841	80,839	74,062	57,309
Chief Camp Stu Hth Cntr-MD Admr	155,961	172,680	142,000	125,000	*
Chief Camp Stu Hth Ctr-Nrs/Prac	71,354	83,577	70,853	60,930	63,623
Chief Camp Student Housing Admr	68,828	98,208	65,000	55,331	48,525
Chief Camp Annual Giving Admr	68,475	86,133	64,271	61,855	73,466
Chief Camp Corp/Fdn Rel Admr	84,025	103,000	76,600	80,000	78,492
Chief Camp Planned Giving Admr	94,760	121,440	88,508	86,843	*
Chief Camp Alumni Affairs Admr	72,512	106,498	68,980	64,125	56,725
Chief Camp Major Gifts Admr	90,000	122,640	82,000	84,835	68,628
Chief Camp Donor Rel Admr	68,052	79,155	58,632	65,000	69,385
Chief Camp Advance Svs Admr	70,040	80,000	63,018	67,849	*
Chief Camp Fed Gov/Legis Liaisn	131,633	141,520	123,600	*	82,164
Chief Camp State/ Loc Gov Liais	115,636	125,000	100,825	*	110,020
Chief Camp Marketing Admr	82,265	95,155	80,000	72,735	72,797
Chief Camp Publications Admr	72,090	83,421	65,803	67,853	74,895
Chief Camp Study-Abroad Admr	72,340	76,740	70,361	70,728	*
Chief Camp Workf/Career Dev Adm	81,018	104,123	69,105	58,469	88,412
Chief Bus Affairs Off, Coll/Div	98,660	103,964	93,466	83,625	91,412
Chief HR Officer, College/Div	90,000	88,255	62,400	*	89,894
Academic Associate/Assistant Deans
A/A Dean, Agriculture	150,026	154,930	*	*	*
A/A Dean, Arch/Design	113,413	113,413	*	*	*
A/A Dean, Arts & Letters	100,492	109,405	91,633	*	*
A/A Dean, Arts & Sciences	109,368	126,012	98,088	106,696	69,666
A/A Dean, Biological & Life Sci	109,064	130,435	89,867	*	70,824
A/A Dean, Business	131,425	165,601	117,365	83,139	73,723
A/A Dean, Computer & Info Sci	115,630	150,842	104,625	94,727	*
A/A Dean, Continuing Ed	88,168	104,542	84,027	69,072	73,754
A/A Dean, Coop Extens	150,000	150,000	*	*	*
A/A Dean, Dentistry	171,900	169,947	*	*	*
A/A Dean, Divinity/Relig	97,000	108,854	*	*	*
A/A Dean, Education	103,889	121,970	95,753	85,812	72,159
A/A Dean, Engineering	143,439	148,897	123,298	*	*
A/A Dean, Ext Degr Prgms	86,819	*	*	*	*
A/A Dean, Fam/Cons Sci/Hum Sci	117,500	117,533	*	*	*
A/A Dean, Fine Arts	90,546	104,727	87,020	*	*
A/A Dean, Forestry & Envir Stds	118,670	126,755	*	*	*
A/A Dean, Gov/Pub Affrs/Pub Pol	132,867	135,171	*	*	*
A/A Dean, Graduate Prgms	103,632	114,459	87,107	88,350	*
A/A Dean, Health-Rel Profs	112,571	130,018	103,824	*	78,450
A/A Dean, Honors Program	97,850	103,212	66,305	*	*
A/A Dean, Humanities	103,624	122,437	95,000	*	73,500
A/A Dean, Instruction	86,643	*	*	*	78,738
A/A Dean, Journ & Mass Comm	104,965	112,062	94,620	*	*
A/A Dean, Law	148,772	151,383	137,950	*	*
A/A Dean Library Sci	97,735	101,335	86,045	*	*
A/A Dean, Mathematics	93,867	106,525	*	*	76,914
A/A Dean, Medicine	196,212	196,225	*	*	*
A/A Dean, Music	93,560	93,560	91,129	*	*
A/A Dean, Nursing	113,708	133,447	103,712	81,585	83,093
A/A Dean, Occup/ Voc Ed/Tech	87,176	77,917	*	*	76,216
A/A Dean, Performing Arts	95,727	99,490	101,972	*	*
A/A Dean, Pharmacy	141,987	148,526	133,350	148,683	*
A/A Dean, Pub Admin	*	*	*	*	*
A/A Dean, Pub Health	138,375	143,485	*	*	*
A/A Dean, Sciences	115,502	125,000	106,676	*	78,468
A/A Dean, Social Sciences	106,779	124,171	93,967	*	68,172
A/A Dean, Social Work	112,918	119,622	*	*	*
A/A Dean, Special Prgms	76,322	94,261	70,054	*	*
A/A Dean, Undergrad Prgms	90,000	118,893	68,000	88,106	*
A/A Dean, Veterinary Medicine	171,009	168,703	*	*	*