The issue of faculty workloads at colleges and universities, and its corresponding effect on rapidly increasing costs within higher education in the United States, has recently received national attention.

Unfortunately, it seems the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education do not evaluate faculty workloads when approving appropriation requests or tuition and fee increases, or, if they do, this analysis is not available to the public.

OCPA recently requested data regarding faculty workloads and compensation for colleges and universities under the control of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. A State Regents spokesperson informed OCPA that the Regents do not collect this information as it is “specific higher education institutional data.” This is an interesting response considering the State Regents evaluate and approve individual state appropriation needs and individual tuition and fee increases for these institutions. Since teaching and training for the human capital needs of the state is, by far, the most important aspect of Higher Education, wouldn’t it be crucial for the State Regents to be aware of what it costs to teach students, in order to determine appropriation and tuition and fee levels?

Since the Legislature granted the State Regents authority to approve tuition and fee increases in 2003, undergraduate resident tuition and fees have increased by an average of 100.59 percent during the last nine fiscal years, according to the State Regents. During the same time period, inflation has only increased by approximately 25 percent, while private earnings have rose only about 45 percent.

Tuition at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University during that time period is even more alarming:

Oklahoma State University (Including the Tulsa campus) – Undergraduate Resident Tuition and Mandatory Fee Increases:
•FY-2003 – $100.83 main campus tuition & fees per credit hour
•FY-2012 – $236.90 main campus tuition & fees per credit hour
•134.95% – main campus tuition & fee increases over last 9 years
•25% – inflation over last 9 years
•$2,069.40 – increase per 15 hour semester

University of Oklahoma – Undergraduate Resident Tuition and Mandatory Fee Increases:
•FY-2003 – $97.62 main campus tuition & fees per credit hour
•FY-2012 – $237.48 main campus tuition & fees per credit hour
•144.17% – main campus tuition & fee increases over last 9 years
•25% – inflation over last 9 years
•$2,103.30 – increase per 15 hour semester

To help the public analyze some of these decisions, OCPA recently requested the following information from the State Regents, who have forwarded our request to the college and university presidents “for their review and response.”

1. For each of the last five school years, for each of the colleges, universities, and higher education centers – please list for each professor:
a. the total annual salary/wages,
b. the total annual benefits (such as insurance, retirement, & other allowances),
c. the total number of classes personally/physically taught/lectured (exclude classes where the professor used teaching/graduate assistants or other staff for lectures), and
d. the total number of students in those classes personally/physically taught/lectured by that professor.

2. For each of the last five school years, for each of the colleges, universities, and higher education centers – Please list for each teaching/graduate assistant:
a. the total annual salary/wages,
b. the total annual benefits (such as insurance, retirement, & other allowances),
c. the total number of classes personally/physically taught, and
d. the total number of students in those classes personally/physically taught by that teaching/graduate assistant (or other staff).

3. For each of the last five school years, for each of the colleges, universities, and higher education centers – Please provide:
a. the total number of A’s awarded for all classes,
b. the total number of B’s awarded for all classes, and
c. the combined total for all other letter grades for all classes

Please answer/provide the following:

1. For each of the colleges, universities, and higher education centers, are student evaluations of professors available to the public?
2. If so, for each of the colleges, universities, and higher education centers, please describe the process for obtaining such evaluations.
3. If not, for each of the colleges, universities, and higher education centers, please explain the reason why student evaluations of professors are not available to the public.

We eagerly await their response. Stay tuned. . .