Can't they just chalk up almost any amount of money up to the "wage fund": which includes wages not only of the professors and teaching assistants themselves, but also of an arbitrarily large amount of administrative staff that can be paid arbitrarily large sums of money? After all, you can get passionate teachers to work for peanuts (since they're passionate about teaching), but not the competent managers, right?
Admittedly, I have rather passing (and anecdotal) connection to accounting, and not the US-based accounting at that, but I was given an impression that the art of showing arbitrarily large costs and expenses as justified and necessary is an important accounting art, in quite high demand.
Admittedly, I have rather passing (and anecdotal) connection to accounting, and not the US-based accounting at that, but I was given an impression that the art of showing arbitrarily large costs and expenses as justified and necessary is an important accounting art, in quite high demand.