2023 is here. What are your priorities?
It’s a brand new year and the start of a new semester, which means your team should be thinking about creative ways to tackle the challenges ahead for HigherEd. Here at PeopleAdmin, we’ve been preparing to help your institution take on what’s next. Below are the trends we’re focusing on for 2023.
Simplify, streamline, and clarify the application processes
In our December webinar, Navigating HigherEd Hiring and Retention, PeopleAdmin Solution Engineer Ircka West, a former adjunct professor, spoke about her experience applying for roles in HigherEd.
“When I was applying for positions, it was daunting to not know if I would be able to work remotely at all,” said Ircka. “The application process itself was also daunting. A lot of the application processes were long and the systems made it difficult to get through the application, by not saving or requiring you to re-enter tons of information. It became a full-time job to find a job.”
HigherEd institutions are still facing a huge deficit in applicants. For instance, in 2018, the University of Memphis received 15,400 applications for staff roles—but in 2022, UM received only 5,900 applications. In response, their team is getting creative to attract and retain applicants.
There are some action steps you can take to improve your candidate experience. The first is to simply go through your own application process. Note how long it takes, if it feels outdated, if there are steps that could be removed or combined—there’s a good chance the process is a lot more complicated than you realize!
Optimize faculty workload
Faculty burnout continues to be a challenge for HigherEd institutions, and it’s often hard to see it coming because most colleges and universities have little insight into faculty workload. It’s difficult to ensure equitable faculty workloads when your team doesn’t have a full understanding of what faculty workload encompasses, and current course assignment processes only exacerbate issues of burnout, increase distrust between faculty and academic affairs, and contribute to budget problems.
Take action to improve the course assignment process and tackle faculty burnout with Teaching Assignment Management System and Faculty Information System, designed to give your team a comprehensive view of all aspects of faculty activity. Together, these systems help you increase faculty productivity, save budget dollars, and build the best possible course schedule to support students.
When faculty have a balanced workload and feel heard during the course assignment process, you can impact retention across campus.
Leverage data for strategic planning
With so much changing for HigherEd—from drops in enrollment to decreased funding—planning for an uncertain future should be a top priority for your entire
campus. The best way to dive into strategic planning is by leveraging and analyzing data. Every department should have access to the data they need to make decisions and back them up to leadership.
Make the most of your analytic tools and reporting to get the most out of information from every corner of campus, and break down data silos to find key insights in every area, from student success to application rates to DEI and more.
Dive into 2023 with PeopleAdmin
If you’re ready to tackle some of these challenges (and more) in the coming year, reach out to the experts at PeopleAdmin to learn how our HigherEd Platform can make a difference on your campus.