That may be part of it, but I think the main reason is that higher ed is process-oriented to a fault.
You need five people to sign off on what you're doing, and John is out until next Tuesday, so he can't sign it. When he gets back, he notices that Christine missed something on the form, so he waits five days and kicks it back. Repeat this until you give up.
You need five people to sign off on what you're doing, and John is out until next Tuesday, so he can't sign it. When he gets back, he notices that Christine missed something on the form, so he waits five days and kicks it back. Repeat this until you give up.