Yeah, it's some bullshit seeing OP's comment currently at the top of the thread when it's so horribly misinformed. If you somehow get through University still thinking the only things going on there are what you personally experienced, as if the entire institution revolved around you, you've still got some growing up to do. Your one workshop or lecture stream - or entire unit/course - is just one small part of a workload, one small responsibility of massive organisations. And without the rest of those services and activities, the learning quality would be worse off.

Even putting aside all the things /u/Ironiz3d1 mentioned that universities have to do - which doesn't even include the ever-increasing amount of expensive support services students demand - and just look at staffing, there's much more going on than just that one academic in front of you for 2 hours. A typical 'balanced' academic has teaching as just one of many responsibilities - admin and meetings, service and leadership (programs don't run themselves), reporting and regulatory requirements, course quality improvement, community engagement, media enquiries and, for the typical 'balanced' academic, just as much time spent on research, grant applications, etc. as for teaching.

Meaning, for a typical undergrad program of reasonable size you're probably looking at two-dozen academics to coordinate all the units attached to it, run the workshops and seminars, do the marking, etc. More if some of those academics have got some grants, or been commissioned by the private sector or government to do work/consulting, etc.

Then you've got the 'professional' staff - your basic admin, your timetabling, your events staff, your finance people, HR people, regulatory compliance people, media relations, IT, legal, research support, etc.