Economical Conditions in Education

Education, Economy

& Employees
The slumping economy has made this perhaps the most difficult year ever to work for a college. Nearly every size and type of institution, rich and poor, has been affected in some way by the lingering financial crisis. The colleges have spread that pain to employees in the form of pay cuts, layoffs, furloughs, and hiring freezes.

The good news is that administrators, professors, and staff members on many campuses remain upbeat about their jobs and employers, at least for now. That's according to data from nearly 41,000 employees on 247 campuses that took part in The Chronicle's second annual Great Colleges to Work For survey. The number of institutions that participated this year nearly tripled.

College employees are never shy when it comes to complaining about everything from pay to parking to politics, but it turns out that there's also a lot they like about their jobs. When asked to respond to 60 statements about their institutions on a five-point scale, survey respondents gave the highest marks to statements relating to their understanding of how their jobs contributed to their colleges' mission, the freedom and responsibility they were given in their jobs, and the security and safety on their campuses.

For the second year in a row, however, they gave a thumbs down to statements relating to accountability, communication, and appreciation. Of all 60 survey statements, the one that received the lowest marks was this: "Issues of low performance are addressed in my department." Employees also gave the low scores when asked whether recognition and rewards programs were meaningful, and whether employees were paid fairly for their work.

Over all, the responses were more positive than last year: 71 percent of faculty members at public institutions expressed confidence in their senior leadership (compared with 56 percent last year); 72 percent described relations with the administration as "healthy" (up from 61 percent last year). Nearly equal percentages of men (89 percent) and women (90 percent) said their institutions provided resources for work-life balance (up from 82 and 83 percent respectively last year); and both groups were similarly satisfied with their jobs as a whole (90 percent for men and 91 percent for women, both up slightly from last year).

Like last year, the percentages of positive responses were fairly high because the survey was not a random national sample, but instead was conducted only at institutions that felt confident enough in the quality of their workplaces to participate in the survey.

In some areas, overall satisfaction scores fell slightly from last year. Administrators gave lower marks to collaborative governance, and professors at both public and private institutions rated their teaching environment less favorably this year. Both findings are perhaps a reflection of the tight economy, speculates Richard K. Boyer, a principal and managing partner of ModernThink LLC, a Wilmington, Del., human-resources consulting company, which managed the survey for The Chronicle.

"When money is tight, administrators make decisions without consulting the faculty, classes get bigger, fewer classrooms are constructed, and the remaining buildings get less upkeep," he says.
A new feature of the Great Colleges to Work For survey this year is an Honor Roll, which highlights the 30 four-year and nine two-year colleges that scored well across multiple categories of recognition. Here's a closer look at the best practices that helped four of those institutions and make the Honor Roll.