Staffing in Professional, Continuing, and Online Education Units
Recently, we identified gross revenue per employee increasing from $278K in 2014 to $311K in 2018. While the revenue side of equation decreased by almost 10%, the staffing part of the equation also decreased. A number of factors could be at play regarding staffing decreases during this time, such as: 
- A shifting in some cases to a decentralized professional, continuing and online (PCO) education model where resources are placed in an academic college, as opposed to a centralized unit.
- A shifting of some positions to the institution’s centralized services, such as marketing and IT.
- A shifting of some positions away from the established PCO unit to other areas of the institution, such as instructional design. Instructional designers appear to be in high demand in the higher education community, yet the study shows that they have decreased within the PCO structure. We have concluded that their reporting lines may not necessarily reside in PCO, but elsewhere at the institution.
- Outsourcing of some functions, such as the use of OPMs, intake or inquiry management, or contract marketing services may also mask increased activities, but not within the PCO organization.
- The other factor could be a true reduction in PCO operations, although given market conditions, we would hope that these revenues or portfolio diversification opportunities would have shifted elsewhere at the institution.
The last four years have shown a great deal of change for PCO education and while there are resources within the unit and in other places at or outside of the institution; continued competition, technology and industry advances and shifting demographics are likely to further challenge and provide new opportunities for colleges and universities. Strategic staffing and resource management are critical parts of the equation. Click here to read the full report.
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