It’s graduation season and lately we’ve been hearing a lot about budget cuts for colleges and universities.
But have you ever wondered how much people at those colleges and universities make?
The Texas Tribune recently analyzed salaries for professors and administrators across the state and found they vary widely.
According to their research “Public university salaries at all levels have been on a steep upward trend line in Texas and nationally — the average salary has nearly doubled since 1994 — and that coincides, not surprisingly, with a sharp increase in tuition. The historical figures, as reported by the state's Higher Education Coordinating Board, show that the average annual salary for a professor in Texas has ballooned from $60,695 in 1994 to $111,944 in 2010. At the same time, the average salary in the 10 most populous states has grown from $64,220 to $113,763, according to an annual faculty survey by the American Association of University Professors. (New Jersey's professor pay is the highest this year, with an average of more than $130,000.)”
Let’s face it, schools have to keep salaries competitive in order to attract top talent. We all want our students to learn from the best.
However, the Texas Tribune also found students and families are incurring greater costs.
“Since the Legislature deregulated tuition in 2003, allowing university boards to set their own prices, the cost per semester to students has jumped by an average of 63 percent, from $1,934 to $3,150, according to state figures from 2008. At some schools, tuition and fees have nearly doubled,” the Texas Tribune found.
Texas Tribune has a terrific database, where you can check out the top professors salaries, administrators, and more.
