Press Release

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 13, 2024

More Than Half of Higher Education Financial Aid Employees Are Likely to Seek Other Employment Within the Next Year

A majority of those who work in financial aid at the nation’s colleges and universities are job hunting, according to new research from CUPA-HR and NASFAA. What are they looking for? Better pay, opportunities to work remotely, and a more flexible schedule.

A new report examining pay, pay equity, staffing, representation and retention in the higher ed financial aid workforce outlines several findings from analyses of data of financial aid employees from CUPA-HR’s 2022-23 higher ed workforce surveys and 2023 Higher Education Employee Retention Survey. Positions included in the analyses are chief student financial aid officers, deputy heads of financial aid, and student financial aid counselors.

The analyses found that more than half (56%) of financial aid employees are at least somewhat likely to seek other employment opportunities within the next 12 months, with 1 in 3 (33%) being likely or very likely to do so. Four in five (79%) rank a pay increase as one of the top three reasons they would seek other employment opportunities. Three in five (59%) rank an opportunity to work remotely as one of the top three reasons they would seek other employment opportunities. The desire for a flexible schedule is also ranked as a top reason for seeking other employment by nearly two in five (37%) financial aid employees.

Other Findings

  • Institutions with the highest number of FAFSA applications have far more student financial aid counselors than institutions with the lowest number of FAFSA applications. At each increase in FAFSA application quartile, the median number of student financial aid counselors per institution doubles (or nearly doubles). Institutions with the greatest number of FAFSA applications on median have 6 more student financial aid counselors than institutions with the least number of FAFSA applications.
  • On median, institutions have 4 financial aid employees working in one of the three examined positions. Thirteen percent of institutions have a 1-person financial aid office. Even the institutions that process the lowest number of FAFSA applications tend to have need for more than one person working in their office – over half of these institutions have at least 3 people in their financial aid office.
  • The representation of people of color declines as the level of financial aid position increases. The representation of people of color is almost 2 times higher among student financial aid counselors than among chief student financial aid officers. The representation of women overall among chief student financial aid officers is lower than the representation of women within the lower-level financial aid positions, but the difference is much smaller than the declines seen for people of color.
  • Pay equity is lower among chief student financial aid officers than among lower-level financial aid positions. Black women and Hispanic or Latino men are paid equitably within student financial aid counselor and deputy head of student financial aid positions, but not within the chief student financial aid officer position. At each increase in position level, White women’s pay relative to White men in the same position decreases. White women are paid equitably to White men in student financial aid counselor positions but are paid only $0.94 per $1.00 paid to White men in chief student financial aid officer positions.
  • Among financial aid employees, years in position is lowest among student financial aid counselors. Of all financial aid positions, student financial aid counselors have the highest concentration of people who have been in their position for fewer than 2 years (43%). Retention is better among deputy heads of student financial aid and chief student financial aid officers; one-third have been in their position for 10 years or longer.

Read the full report, The Higher Education Financial Aid Workforce: Pay, Representation, Pay Equity, and Retention, and explore the interactive graphics.

About CUPA-HR
CUPA-HR is the recognized authority on compensation surveys for higher education, with its workforce surveys designed by higher ed HR professionals for higher ed HR professionals and other campus leaders. CUPA-HR has been collecting data on the higher ed workforce for more than 50 years, and we maintain one of the largest workforce databases in existence. CUPA-HR also publishes numerous research publications and interactive graphics highlighting trends and issues around higher ed workforce planning, pay equity, representation of women and racial/ethnic minorities and more. Learn more about CUPA-HR research.

CUPA-HR is higher ed HR. We serve higher education by providing the knowledge, resources, advocacy and connections to achieve organizational and workforce excellence. Serving more than 33,000 HR professionals and other campus leaders at nearly 2,000 member institutions and organizations around the country and abroad, the association offers learning and professional development programs, higher education salary and benefits data, extensive online resources and just-in-time regulatory and legislative information.

Contact Information
Missy Kline
Project Manager – Communications and Marketing
[email protected]