A CASE OF BUREAUCRATIC ACCRETION - CONTEXT AND CONSEQUENCES

An examination of data from a twenty-five-year period at the Universit y of California shows disproportionate growth in expenditures for admi nistration relative to instruction. Explanatory perspectives that acco unt for administrative growth are discussed, as are the contradictory pressures on the university to adapt to environmental complexity and p olitical economic demands in the contemporary period of retrenchment.