The State Journal's analysis of Kentucky State University's financial records is equally damning:

"The finances of Kentucky State University have recently come under increased scrutiny. However, one area within the budget in particular has undergone a drastic change. Slowly, over the course of two decades, spending on instruction has dropped even amidst ongoing concerns about underinvestment, according to documents viewed by The State Journal.

"In 2001, KSU spent 28.2% of its annual budget on instruction. Today, KSU spends just 12.8% on instruction.

"The percentage has dropped under multiple consecutive administrators, including former President M. Christopher Brown II, and is one of the lowest percentages among multiple peer groups, including HBCUs and land grant universities. It has also been the topic of concern since at least 2001, when the percentage of the budget dedicated to instruction was nearly double what it is today.

"'Instructional spending' includes faculty salaries, tutoring and all spending on courses, whatever their subject area is. It specifically excludes spending on administrative personnel who lack a teaching role, which was one of the conclusions of a 2003 report by Baker & Hostetler on KSU. Among other areas, the report highlighted "too much administrative overhead" as a potentially problematic area.

[An official with the Council on Postsecondary Education commented,] "'A smaller institution I would expect to have a higher administrative cost, just by nature of the fact that every institution needs a leadership team.'

"However, faculty analyses over the past 20 years have raised concerns that even amongst other land-grant universities, HBCUs, and small schools, KSU's investment in instruction was low and its administration was bloated."