I wasn't stating the case for USF, but if you read the document it provides insight into a lot of the metrics that they perceive as important. Articles published that detail how Nebraska was booted out and how Syracuse bowed out indicate that there is a lot of lobbying that goes on. In terms of strict metrics, many schools currently fall short. The challenge for UCONN and other schools is that the AAU wants to maintain a certain level of exclusivity but at the same time some members don't have the appetite (post Nebraska) to thin out current members that don't conform to standards.
From the memos I've seen, the culling is real and will continue. There's a lot of lobbying, but what I'm saying is that there are no preliminary agreements. There can't be, because there is no commissioner in charge. In fact, one of the ways Nebraska was ousted was for a coalition to table the vote on Nebraska and then wait for the next session when the committee reformed with enough votes to oust it. In other words, each year the decision makers change, and who knows what the consensus will be.
On the flip side, that report by USF fails to mention that a huge source of funds for the research that goes on at USF comes from running the medical center. There are several universities across the country that have an enormous amount tied up in their medical centers, like Cincy, USF and UAB. This is where the bulk of the research revenue comes from. If these revenues were counted as competitive research dollars, schools like UAB and San Francisco and Cincy would already be AAU members. One of the reasons Nebraska was kicked out was because 80% of its research funding came from such non-competitive grants. The AAU will not consider these as research. For the same reason, anything that UConn has going with Jackson Labs, or the med. center, or even the public-private partnerships will not be considered as research revenue. U. Albany, for instance, has had many billions roll into the university, and private partnerships totally $14 billion, but it has no AAU membership.
The AAU will only look at faculty performance (in terms of publications, awards, fellowships) and winning competitive research grants, mainly from national foundations.
