Half of regional admissions counselors are looking for new jobs, survey finds

Higher Ed Dive

Jeremy Bauer-Wolf

October 19, 2022

Dive Brief:

• Nearly half of 440-plus regional admissions counselors — those who recruit in areas far from their home campuses — said they were seeking a new position, either within or outside of higher education, a new survey found.

• Roughly half of the officials also reported they saw no clear path for a promotion at their institution, according to the survey from the National Association of Regional Admission Counselors.

• The counselors are looking for new roles as some colleges beef up regional admissions programs because of the coronavirus pandemic. About 28% of regional admissions officials said their institutions grew their programs as a result of the health crisis.

Dive Insight:

The higher ed sphere was not immune to the pandemic-induced trend known as the Great Resignation, a widespread exodus and shuffling of workers, many dissatisfied with their current employment conditions.

After more than two years of turbulence, the sector seems to be on the mend, with the higher ed workforce swelling to 4.7 million people as of August, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. This was roughly the same level as early 2020.

But recovery is not complete, and the Great Resignation’s effects on admissions offices was noticeable at some institutions, as the pandemic further stressed workers charged with developing classes of students during a particularly turbulent time. Entry-level admissions workers are often already paid poorly, too, leading some to leave the field.

The new admissions survey offers a glimpse into a contingent of those professionals. Admissions officials who unveiled the survey at last month’s meeting of the National Association for College Admission Counseling said its results could be used to inform the creation of successful regional programs, as well as retain these workers.

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