It should come as no surprise that both the amount and pace of administrative work thatdepartments must accomplish at almost all higher education institutions has increasedsubstantially over the past 10 years. If this is news to you just talk to your departmentadministrator—if she/he has time to have a pleasant conversation. After all, for mostinstitutions, operations budgets have been cut and professional and classified staff havebeen reduced, while at the same time, administrative work has escalated in response toincreases in student enrollments, greater demands for accountability, the increasingimportance of fund raising efforts, and the generation of sponsored research. No wonder thatthe lives of department chairs, administrators, and other professional and classified staffhave become more challenging. The increase in administrative work at the department level islargely a function of increases in administrative mandates.