journal_vol51no1 - 76
Balancing Priorities
THE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF RESIDENCE LIFE STAFF has
become increasingly difficult for many colleges and universities throughout
the U.S. Back in 2008, a report supported by the ACUHO-I Commissioned
Research Program, Recruitment and Retention of Entry-Level Staff in Housing
and Residence Life, indicated that the problem was perceived as being worse
than it was at that point, since compensation and qualifications were not
significant issues. The average entry-level salary was $24,213, with 83% of
positions being live-on. Thirty-one percent of entry-level staff had a master's
degree, and 11% were enrolled in a master's program. The report also
highlighted a study examining various aspects of the hall director position in an
effort to foresee career commitment to housing and residence life, and results
indicated that job burnout, workload dissatisfaction, promotion opportunities,
role ambiguity, and professional development impacted career resilience
and identity. At present, housing departments are again facing a similar issue,
but this does not seem to be a case of perception being worse than reality.
Housing and residence life departments appear to be struggling to fill their
entry-level vacancies, and many are faced with the dilemma of either increasing
compensation or relaxing qualifications for these positions. This article explores
the current state of housing and residence life recruitment and retention
of entry-level hall directors, provides a critical analysis of potential issues
contributing to the current state of affairs, and identifies possible solutions by
revisiting the measures and best practices outlined in the 2008 ACUHO-I report.
ight around the fall of 2015, there appeared to have been a gradual efflux of
entry-level professionals who chose to leave the field of campus housing, or
student affairs altogether, due to various personal and/or professional reasons.
A quick search for vacant entry-level residence hall director (or equivalent) positions on
higheredjobs.com in August 2023 revealed approximately 300 open positions, some
of which appear to have been vacant for over a year. These results shed light on an
ongoing problem for campus housing, which seems to have been catalyzed by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Since 2020, housing departments have witnessed a mass exodus of entry-level
housing professionals, which created a vacuum (often referred to as the " Great Resignation "
or the " Big Quit " ), part of a national phenomenon affecting various job industries
across the U.S. Although economists now assert that the Great Resignation is
over (Morgan, 2023), resignation and recruitment issues seem to be far from over for
campus housing.
Volume 51, No. 1 * 2024 73
R
http://www.higheredjobs.com
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