Nerd News: the True Cause of Increasing College Tuition?

Via the Insta-Prof comes this link at the Freakonomics blog. Blurb:

Over the last two decades, colleges and universities doubled their full-time support staff while enrollment increased only 40 percent, according to a new analysis of government data by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, a nonprofit research center.

During the same period, the staff of full-time instructors, or equivalent personnel, rose about 50 percent, while the number of managers increased slightly more than 50 percent.

The data, based on United States Department of Education filings from more than 2,782 colleges, come from 1987 to 2007, before the current recession prompted many colleges to freeze their hiring.

Hmmmm. More managers and admin types than teachers or students? *Sigh.* It reminds me of conversations with fellow teaching-nerds that sound like, "Can someone explain to me why we really need 20 vice-presidents in administration? I mean, what do all those people actually DO?" Goodness knows they enjoy better pay than teaching-nerds.