From: Michael McNabb Subject: U of M Cost of Administration At the January 28, 2013 hearing of the House higher education

committee the chair remarked: Where it [U of M] appears to have great difficulty is showing us where it's had to make tough choices. The reason is that the U of M administration has not made really tough choices--despite a reduction in state appropriations. In fiscal year 2002 the total operating expenses for the University were $2,005,138,000. In fiscal year 2012 the total operating expenses were $2,948,366,000. The fuel for this billion dollar explosion was skyrocketing tuition. In fiscal year 2002 the administration collected a net amount (after scholarships and grants) of $293,127,000 in tuition and fees. In fiscal year 2012 the net amount of tuition and fees collected was $696,278,000. The senior administrators and the Regents have shown no mercy to the students (and their parents). This skyrocketing tuition far exceeded the reduction in state appropriations. In fiscal year 2002 the University received $643,088,000 in state appropriations. In fiscal year 2012 the amount was $572,075,000. See pp. 17-18 of the 2002 U of M annual financial report at http://www.finsys.umn.edu/controller/um_annualrpt2002.pdf and pp. 14-15 of the 2012 U of M annual financial report at http://www.finsys.umn.edu/controller/um_annualrpt2012.pdf. The U of M chief financial officer testified that the administration has cut $228 million since 2006. See the January 31 Star Tribune report on House Asks U Big Questions on Budget at http://startribune.com/politics/statelocal/189107281.html. From fiscal year 2007 through fiscal year 2012 the total operating expenses for the University were just under $17 billion. See the U of M annual financial reports at http://www.finsys.umn.edu/controller/annualreports.html. So the cuts amount to 1.3% of the total operating expenses. Does the administration view this as making tough choices?

Or making a serious effort to contol costs and tuition? The U of M administration has made some terrible choices, including: (1) Spending hundreds of millions of dollars on itself each year. See On The Cost of Administration Part III at http://ptable.blogspot.com/2012/10/when-i-use-word-humptydumpty-said-in.html#links and The Cost of "Top Talent" at http://ptable.blogspot.com/2012/03/cost-of-top-talent-state-legislators.html#links . (2) Allowing many of the academic facilities to deteriorate. See Crumbling Academic Infrastructure at http://ptable.blogspot.com/2013/02/crumbling-academic-infrastructurein.html#links. (3) Displacing the agricultural research at UMore Park that has produced hundreds of millions of dollars for the economy of Minnesota. See section 3 of The Rest of the Story at http://ptable.blogspot.com/2012/04/rest-of-story-president-kaler-was.html#links and More on MoreU Park at http://ptable.blogspot.com/2011/05/for-record-more-onmoreu-park-senate.html#links. (4) Cutting academic programs and replacing professors with part-time instructors. See section (1) of $tate of the University--A Parent's Perspective at http://ptable.blogspot.com/2011/07/tate-of-u-parents-perspective.html#links. (5) Spending millions of dollars on advertising. See Million$ More For Advertising at http://ptable.blogspot.com/2013/01/million-more-advertising-from-april.html#links. Our family has seen first hand the effects of these choices. Four of our children have received their undergraduate or professional degrees (medicine, law, dentistry) or both from the University since 2003. Major changes are necessary. See State (and) University Part II at http://ptable.blogspot.com/2013/01/state-and-university-part-ii-state.html#links .

Michael W. McNabb University of Minnesota B.A. 1971; J.D. 1974 University of Minnesota Alumni Association life member