Online: Trending Now

Unique biweekly insights and news review
from Ray Schroeder, Senior Fellow at UPCEA

Longevity Declining Among Higher Ed Employees: What is There to Lose?

More than half of college employees say they are likely to leave their jobs in the next year as reported in a new survey by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, CUPA-HR. The most common reasons listed for seeking new employment were the prospect of higher pay, an opportunity to work remotely, and more flexible work hours. 

The CUPA-HR survey reported deep interest in “moving on” from positions in higher ed. Of the more than 3,800 higher education employees across nearly 950 institutions surveyed in May, most were White and women, with about half in supervisory positions. In total, 57.2% of survey participants said they were likely to leave their job in the next 12 months. Almost 70% of potential job-seekers said they wanted to find work at another institution. About half wanted to work with a nonprofit organization outside higher ed, and only 42% sought to remain at their current college. 

Education, as a broad field, appeared in the middle of all fields in “the great resignation.” While education figures may not be far out of line with the rest of the workforce, higher education has historically enjoyed greater institutional loyalty than other fields. Overall, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in the fall of 2020 that the median tenure (the point at which half of all workers had more tenure and half had less tenure) of all U.S. workers was 4.1 years

As someone who was employed for half a century on two campuses of universities within the state university system of Illinois, I was given pause to consider what may be gained by retaining employees in an institution. Admittedly, my half century at Illinois public universities may bias my view, but it also gives me some personal insight into the question.

First, here are some of the values I have seen that have been gained by turnover:

  • New employees bring new perspectives and new ideas to the workplace
  • New employees may bring new enthusiasm to the jobs that need to be done
  • New employees may come in at lower salaries, creating fiscal savings
  • New employees may stimulate their workgroup to reorganize and rethink needs and outcomes

Here, though, are some of the losses created by turnover:

  • Continuing employees command institutional history that can be beneficial in many ways
  • Continuing employees can deepen and extend the pre-existing university culture
  • Continuing employees maintain established connections and trusted relationships with stakeholders both within and outside the university
  • Continuing employees can help units to avoid repeating mistakes of the past

We must recognize that career paths are not always on a single track. I began as an instructor in the College of Communications on the Urbana campus of the University of Illinois and rose through the faculty ranks on the Springfield campus to full professor and professor emeritus. However, along the way, I served in various director and executive director positions; acquired and led many grant initiatives; and eventually served as associate vice chancellor of online learning. So, while my status and spheres of responsibility changed, I was still at the table to share experience, insight, and informed perspectives.

In the CUPA-HR study, more than 40% seeking to change positions did not want to stay at the same institution. Perhaps that is due to work climate, advancement/compensation opportunities in general, and/or benefits. These are all factors that need to be addressed by better institutional and departmental leadership. The quality of leadership may overcome many of the deficits, injuries and mis-directions that can befall a unit or university. Patrick Flesner writes in Inc:

Founders seem to believe the no. 1 reason for startup failure was running out of cash. In my experience as a growth capital investor, running out of cash is not a reason for failure, but a consequence of failure. It is the consequence of the founders’ failure to develop strong leadership skills, transition from founder to leader, and build a strong leadership team. If you want to lead your business from initial traction to sustainable high growth, you should start developing your leadership skills now. 

Gautam Tambay, CEO and co-founder of Springboard, a rapidly growing workforce development company focused on digital economy skills, writes, “Today, nearly half of American workers have some form of an alternative credential. Among those who don’t, nearly half have considered earning one. So the question now becomes: How do employers take advantage of the growing alternative credentials movement?” 

Increasingly, many universities are engaged in developing and offering alternative credentials aimed at those in the workforce seeking to enter a new field or move up the ladder into leadership positions. We, in higher ed, should be first in line to take advantage of these programs to upgrade knowledge, skills and abilities for our own employees. Perhaps with new credentials, our employees will be prepared to take on a new position at a higher salary with new challenges and team members. In short, we may be able to retain the institutional history, culture, and connections of employees while at the same time giving them the changes they are seeking.

Who is cultivating internal development, certification, and credentialing within your institution? Should this be part of your annual personnel evaluation process?  Is someone regularly meeting each employee at every level to consider professional development to meet their professional goals?

This article was originally published in Inside Higher Ed’s Transforming Teaching & Learning blog. 

A man (Ray Schroeder) is dressed in a suit with a blue tie and wearing glasses.

Ray Schroeder is Professor Emeritus, Associate Vice Chancellor for Online Learning at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) and Senior Fellow at UPCEA. Each year, Ray publishes and presents nationally on emerging topics in online and technology-enhanced learning. Ray’s social media publications daily reach more than 12,000 professionals. He is the inaugural recipient of the A. Frank Mayadas Online Leadership Award, recipient of the University of Illinois Distinguished Service Award, the United States Distance Learning Association Hall of Fame Award, and the American Journal of Distance Education/University of Wisconsin Wedemeyer Excellence in Distance Education Award 2016.

Other UPCEA Updates + Blogs

Department of Education Warns Institutions on Misleading Representations, Urges Compliance | Policy Matters (October 2024)

Major Updates Department of Education Warns Institutions on Misleading Representations, Urges Compliance The US Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid (FSA) recently released an announcement bulletin that highlights activities that could indicate institutions are engaging in substantial misrepresentations—such as misleading claims about program costs, job placement, or licensure—and as such, face serious penalties. The bulletin…

Read More

UPCEA Launches Virtual Week to Celebrate Membership and Expand Connections

Higher Education Institutions Invited to Join the Leading Association in Online and Professional Education Washington, D.C. (October 30, 2024) – UPCEA, the association for online and professional education, proudly announces its upcoming week-long virtual event celebrating the impact of membership and invites higher education institutions to become members. Taking place from Wednesday, November 13 through…

Read More

Beyond Degrees: How Credential Innovation is Closing the Gap for 42 Million Learners

A Movement, Not Just a Community Convergence is emerging as the place where the credential innovation community for higher ed comes together. But more than a community, it’s a movement. Not a movement to make degrees less valuable, let alone obsolete. Rather, it’s a movement to complement degrees by meeting the needs of those for…

Read More

Lessons Learned from Star Trek

I am part of Generation X. I was born in 1965 and which makes me one of the cohort’s older members. Although I am a part of Generation X, I at times align with the “Next Generation” … the Boomers. Growing up around Boomers and being an older Gen X’er meant watching I Dream of…

Read More

New Survey Explores Intersection of AI and Credentialing in Higher Ed

UPCEA and Instructure recently released the results of a survey on whether institutions are utilizing AI to enhance learner outcomes and records, and if so, how? Most survey respondents are heavily involved in developing learner experiences and tracking outcomes, though nearly half report that their institutions have yet to adopt AI-driven tools for these purposes.…

Read More

UPCEA Announces Selection of Peer Learning Leaders to Drive Innovation in Skills-Based Credentialing

Six individuals selected for grant-funded work helping advance University-to-Business credential innovation strategies WASHINGTON (October 23, 2024) – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, is thrilled to announce the selection of six individuals to be Peer Learning Leaders for the association’s grant-funded “Expanding Institutional Capacity for Employer Engagement in Credential Innovation” project. The project will…

Read More

Whether you need benchmarking studies, or market research for a new program, UPCEA Consulting is the right choice.

We know you. We know the challenges you face and we have the solutions you need. We speak your language and have been serving leaders like you for more than 100 years. UPCEA consultants are current or former continuing and online higher education professionals who are experts in the industry—put our expertise to work for you.


UPCEA is dedicated to advancing quality online learning at the institutional level. UPCEA is uniquely focused on excellence at the highest levels – leadership, administration, strategy – applying a macro lens to the online teaching and learning enterprise. Its engaged members include the stewards of online learning at most of the leading universities in the nation.

We offers a variety of custom research options through a variable pricing model.


Click here to learn more.

The Nation's Top Universities Choose UPCEA Consulting

Informed decisions. Ideas that work. The data you need. Trusted by the top universities in the nation.