A Brandeis survey found that staff members feel underappreciated and overworked on campus, according to a self-study published by the university in September 2018. The study also looked at endowment spending and structural issues. 

In the study, Brandeis examined human resources and financial resources as part of the university’s accreditation process through the New England Commissions of Higher Education (NECHE). The sixth standard of nine NECHE standards focuses on professorship at Brandeis and opportunities for various faculty members. 

Standard VII: Institutional Resources

Human Resources

Staff members in spring 2015 were asked to complete a survey looking at the quality of work-life at Brandeis. 

When asked about their workload, 10.6 percent of staff members said it was “much too heavy” and 31.2 percent said it was “too heavy.” 

Additionally, 16.5 percent of staff also strongly agreed and 27.9 percent of staff agreed with the statement “I have experienced feelings of being not respected by other members of the community because I am staff.” 

Because of these concerns, Brandeis created the Brandeis University Staff Advisory Committee (BUSAC), which acts as a representative voice for staff on campus, similar to the Student Union or Faculty Senate, Aimee Slater, the chair of BUSAC told The Brandeis Hoot in an email. 

The Ombuds office also expanded to “offer an additional alternative dispute-resolution service to all members of the community, including faculty and staff,” according to the self-study. 

Slater explained that there are various issues that BUSAC has started to address since the committee formed in spring 2018. BUSAC works with human resources and university administration to address issues that staff members may have. 

“Some of what BUSAC is trying to do by working with administration and Human Resources is to . . . connect people across campus to reduce duplication of work, clarify priorities and improve communication from all levels,” Slater wrote in an email.

The self-study also wrote that Brandeis “operates with a relatively lean staff.” At the time that the study was published, there were 211 staff members per 1000 students while the average Association of American Universities (AAU) has 362 staff members per 1000 students. 

During the 2008 recession, there were over 120 employees that chose early retirement buyouts, shrinking the size of the faculty significantly. 

All employees on campus are offered health and dental insurance, a retirement plan, paid time off, tuition remission for their children, long-term disability and life insurance. 

Financial Resources

The university’s annual operating budgets and financial statements have demonstrated a surplus for the past four years, according to the self-study. This ultimately demonstrates a slow recovery from the financial crisis of 2008. 

During Fiscal Year 17 (FY17), there was a $1.17 million surplus on the revenue of $344 million. Student enrollment accounts for 45 percent of total revenue. Housing and dining is 12 percent, funded research is 18 percent, draw from endowment contributed 14 percent, contributions was 7 percent and miscellaneous sources contributed 4 percent. 

On the expense side, during FY17, instruction and academic support constituted 50 percent of expenses, student services 10 percent and research 16 percent. 

“Three-quarters of the expenditure directly advance our educational and research mission,” wrote the self-study. “The remainder of the budget supports the institutional structure.” 

At the end of FY17, Brandeis’ endowment was $976.89 million with assets totalling over $1474 million. Of the assets, $1,001 million are in long-term investment, $340 million in property and equipment, $30.1 million in cash and $102 million in other assets. 

The Heller School for Social Policy, the International Business School and the Rabb School of Continuing Studies “have a measure of autonomy in constructing their budgets, subject to annual required direct contributions to the University budget,” according to the self-study. The Arts and Sciences do not follow this budgeting system. 

In the fifth-year report to the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE), the university spoke about their need to rebuild financial resources and decrease their dependency on capital needs. 

“Restraining the growth of compensation was crucial, since salaries and benefits constitute over half of our operating expenses, but we remain mindful that squeezing salaries can be only a temporary expedient, not a long-term strategy,” writes the self-study. 

While the self-study was written, the university was working towards decreasing the draw from our endowment. At the peak of the crisis, yearly draw from the endowment was 6.9 percent. By FY17, the draw decreased by a full percentage point to 5.9 percent. FY18 saw another decrease to 5.81 percent. 

President Ron Liebowitz announced plans to increase endowment draw from 5.7 percent to 6.2 percent in January 2019. Stewart Uretsky, the executive vice president for finance and administration, told The Hoot in an email that the plan will be maintained for four total years. 

After this four year period, endowment spending will decrease by 10 basis points per year, or 0.1 percent per year, until “we are spending at 5 percent on that portion as well,” according to the email.

Brandeis operates under a “narrow (yet stable) operating margin,” according to the self-study. The margin accounts for underlying structural deficits which is approximately $30 million. 

The self-study speaks to how the excessive draws from the endowment have affected the value of the endowment over time. Tufts University and Boston University (BU) had similar endowments to Brandeis in the 1990s and now have over $500 million more in their endowment than Brandeis. 

The university wrote that if the endowment draw had been at or less than 5 percent, our endowment would be in line with Tufts and BU.

The university is currently starting a three step process to help preserve and strengthen their endowment. The first part of the 10-year plan in FY17 is to reduce the endowment draw from 5.9 percent to 5 percent in even increments over a 10-year period. The next step of the process will involve changing the way that the endowment spend rate is calculated. The final step will be to ensure that the draw from the endowment will be equalized across all endowment funds. 

The overall goal with the endowment is to decrease the draw to 5 percent in the next eight years or less. 

Land

The university is also struggling with an aging campus. During the time of self-study, two-thirds of the gross square footage on campus was constructed postwar era. Forty-six percent of campus space has not had a major renovation in over 50 years while 33 percent of campus has not had renovations in 25 to 5o years. 

Sixty percent of current campus buildings were built between 1951 and 1975 with the most recent addition being Skyline Residence Hall. 

Because of these necessary renovations, the university in FY08 through FY12 spent an average of $15 million per year on deferred maintenance. These costs increased throughout the years, with a peak during FY14 with a $23.8 million cost on maintenance. 

“The hard reality is that a problem built over decades cannot be overcome in a hurry,” writes the self-study. Brandeis estimates that it faces as least $250 million in overall deferred maintenance costs.