The Pulse of Higher Ed

Perspectives on Online and Professional Education
from UPCEA’s Research and Consulting Experts

Salary, Structure and Staffing Survey: Revenue Per Employee

As institutions of higher education enter an era of increasing accountability where the measurement of enrollments, research grants, endowments and other revenue sources are essential and expected reporting measures; professional, continuing and online (PCO) education units are also faced with similar accountability metrics as they plan for their own operations. From February to May 2018, 370 UPCEA members were invited to participate in a salary, staffing and structure survey and 175 participated.

The first of many reports and briefings to be released shows that while revenue per employee (RPE) across the membership increased (from $277,917 in $2014 to $311,111 in 2018), RPE decreased among larger institutions (over $15M of gross revenues) and increased among smaller ($5M or less) or medium sized institutions (between $5.1M and $15M). Many factors could help explain this, such as large institutions being early adopters and now there is more competition. If the number of programs and providers increases faster than demand growth, then it is likely that these shifts would occur. Other hypotheses could also include greater efficiencies and the presence of strategic outsource partners and others.

Click here to read the Revenue Per Employee briefing. 

 

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