Career Articles

The number of jobs in higher education decreased in Q3 2013 for the third quarter in a row. At the same time, the number of advertisements for job openings in higher education continued to grow at a faster pace according to a just released report from HigherEdJobs®, the leading source for jobs and career information in academia. The full report can be viewed here: http://www.higheredjobs.com/career/quarterly-report.cfm.

Improving the success of students on campus, especially Native American students, is Karen Francis-Begay's passion. Our guest expert this month who is Assistant Vice President for Tribal Relations at The University of Arizona explores topics related to the Native American student in higher education such the importance of the recruitment, retention, and graduation of these students. She advises what campus administrators can do to help the Native population become more visible on campus.

In October the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) hosted a webinar, "Six Minutes in Our Shoes: Finding the Right Job Fit." The panelists were representatives from the partner associations of The Placement Exchange, including HigherEdJobs. We also sought advice from higher education professionals from HigherEdJobs' social media networks on tools related to a successful career in student affairs.

There was a time when employers could expect their staff to "stay put" until retirement. Those days, along with the guaranteed pension and loyalty to employees that came with them, are gone. Today's employers face higher turnover rates than at any other time in history. What happens to an organization when it's best, brightest, most experienced and knowledgeable employees are walking out the door? What do they take with them, and what does the employer lose?

Digital applications give students a sense of mastery over their lives. Never getting lost on the road trip, always knowing instantly where to get gas or find a good place to eat, having instant access to banking services and never losing your car in a vast university parking lot make a person feel secure. Instant access to study guides, reference materials, wellness tips, planners and organizers makes a person feel efficient and in control.

We all know that the demographic make-up of the United States and the world population is changing. According to the Pew Research Center, starting on January 1, 2011, and each day for the next 19 years, 10,000 baby boomers will turn 65 years old. A review of your school's data will likely show that because of the baby boom generation, a significant number of the faculty and staff members on your campus are eligible to retire and have been retiring in record numbers.

There are two kinds of harmful gaps in a job search. They are a lack of experience and a lack of skills. Both seem like insurmountable barriers because you can't gain experience without work and it takes time to acquire skills. And yet, there is a way to bridge the gaps so long as you are willing to take off your fuzzy slippers.

Is a sabbatical just paid "time off?" As we continue to discuss important faculty issues in our next HigherEdCareers interview, Dr. Edwin Dove explains the purpose of sabbatical leaves, also called professional development awards, at the University of Iowa. He discusses the award process as well as the benefits received on behalf of the faculty, university and the community from these professional development awards.

Today's traditional undergraduates are the first generation of digital natives. Born after the digital revolution, they have always known the presence of what adults consider "new" information-digital communication, computing, and entertainment technologies. The ubiquity of these technologies has molded their expectations for how they will learn, work, socialize, recreate and live.

For many institutions, HR is the designated office for addressing workplace bullying. Yet, as reflected in comments in the recent article posted on HigherEdJobs, Workplace Bullying at Colleges and Universities, some perceive HR as the office of last resort to seek help. Reasons vary, but generally boil down to perceptions that HR's role is to protect the institution from liability rather than to support the target, as though these two interests are mutually exclusive.

This month we explore the topic of tenure in higher education and ideas surrounding it. Why was the tenure system created, what purpose does it hold and in what direction is it headed? Dr. Gregory Scholtz from the American Association of University Professors discusses these questions and shares enlightening information on the sometimes controversial subject.

Please join us for a free webinar led by Anthony Walesby to explore and explain the legal, ethical, educational, and commercial issues surrounding diversity initiatives and goals. Whether you are looking for a job or looking for job candidates, a solid understanding of the realities of diversity initiatives will help you in your goals.

In terms of media attention, general interest, and awareness, it’s safe to say that competitive athletics, for better or worse, is the public face of higher education today. Every day thousands of pages are published on the subject in assorted local, regional, and national print and online venues, along with hours upon hours of television coverage. That coverage has only proliferated with the multiplication of sports networks and the rise of television channels devoted exclusively to major collegiate athletic conferences.

"College athlete" is a frequently misunderstood term full of preconceived notions and stereotypes. Our lives are different than those of non-athlete students, but not always in the ways others imagine. As I enter my senior year I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to clear up some of the misconceptions and share the experience.

Charles T. Clotfelter. Big-Time Sports in American Universities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2011.

Rather than attempt a survey of college athletics on all scales large and small, Charles Clotfelter, in Big-Time Sports in American Universities, restricts his focus to the narrower realm of what he calls “big-time athletics”: the highly-commercialized competition concentrated in football and basketball and engaged in by several hundred American universities. It's a fair choice; after all, that slice of college athletics seems to attract the most attention: the most competition, the most fan interest, the most money, and the most criticism. Underlying much of that criticism--that it cheapens otherwise great educational institutions, that it is overly commercial, and that it attracts fanaticism, greed, and hypocrisy--is an unspoken assumption that things with college sports weren't always this bad. After all, why else would the criticism be so impassioned and moralizing unless some set of principles and tradition was being violated?

In terms of media attention, general interest, and awareness, it's safe to say that competitive athletics, for better or worse, is the public face of higher education today. Every day thousands of pages are published on the subject in assorted local, regional, and national print and online venues, along with hours upon hours of television coverage. That coverage has only proliferated with the multiplication of sports networks and the rise of television channels devoted exclusively to major collegiate athletic conferences.

The broadcasting of college athletics has changed enormously over the years. Expanding from the traditionally viewed men's basketball and football games, various other events, in addition to a higher number of women's sports, are now accessible because of stations such as the Big Ten Network. We were fortunate to have a brief Q & A session with Elizabeth Conlisk, Vice President, Communications & University Relations, who explains the role and purpose of the Big Ten Network, the audience it reaches, and the opportunities it allows students.

Imagine your first day of college as a student-athlete. As you approach the entrance to university property, you’re met by an athletic department official. "Please hand over your social networking password and username to the appropriate monitoring company or coach." "We will now proceed to monitor your social media account 24/7, if you object to this action; we will renounce your scholarship and you will not participate in intercollegiate athletics at Huxley University."

The Fall season of college sports is off and running (literally in some cases).

As our review of Charles Clotfelter's Big Time Sports in American Universities points out, college sports have been an integral and controversial part of higher education since the 1800s.

We recently took a survey of your opinions about college sports and the impact sports have on your campus. The results of our poll point to a deeply felt connection between college athletics and our schools.

Recently we read a passionate and compelling report on the challenges facing higher education in the United States: shifting economies, changing student populations, and the demands of emergent technologies and knowledge. According to the report, higher education is not adequately serving the needs of students or the country, and must adapt or be displaced by new providers.

Fifty years ago - on Wednesday, Aug., 28, 1963 - hundreds of thousands converged in Washington, D.C., at the Lincoln Memorial in support of civil and economic rights for African Americans at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was at this gathering that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the historic "I Have a Dream" speech, urging the nation to open "the great vaults of opportunity" for all. Dr. King's speech was a defining moment in the Civil Rights movement, which helped to set the tone for subsequent passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The number of jobs in higher education decreased incrementally in Q2 2013 for the second consecutive quarter. Meanwhile, the number of advertisements for job openings in higher education continued to grow, but more slowly, according to findings from the just released HigherEdJobs Employment Report, (/career/quarterly-report.cfm).

Although I did turn off my cell phone, I attended the recent ACUHO-I conference session eating my yogurt and drinking a cup of coffee as I was taking notes on why most people are not efficient at multi-tasking. This is why I'm sharing tips from the presentation: "I'm Really Good at Multi-tasking" - No You Are Not!

Many people feel that if they multi-task, they can be more efficient and effective. However, the truth is that most people don't do it well and often times the quality of each task completed may decrease.

There is an abundance of information that is necessary to successfully prepare and ultimately manage university budgets. Each college may approach the process differently but with the proper questions asked, appropriate forecasting completed, and institutional support provided the process is manageable. Our expert this month, George S. McClellan, Ph.D., Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment at Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne discusses the intricacies of the budgeting process.

Experts have long urged job seekers to practice active listening. It's a critical habit to develop because it helps you understand, interpret and respond effectively to the questions posed in an interview. However, since most pre-interview communications now occur in writing and those interactions are the key to getting an interview, it's now also important to learn the technique of "active reading."