The good people at bestcollegesonline.com that have been contacting me to comment on their articles for several months now, seem to know me pretty well. Especially since they sent me this
article. In less than a year I will be starting what I hope will be a long career of working for colleges and truly being a glorified PA with a few (maybe more than a few eventually) initials after my name. This article is titled, "The 10 Best Colleges to Work For" and should be a good guide for anyone looking to go into Student Affairs.
1. College of Saint Rose
This college's claim to fame is that they support college employees in lending them a down payment to buy a house near campus and if that employee stays in the house for five years they don't have to pay back the loan.
2. Southern New Hampshire University
I am very interested in eventually moving to the East Coast and New England area and thus this college is particularly intriguing. This school offers professional and personal-development grants to all employees. The grants can be used to travel, conduct research and even delve further into a hobby. The college boasts a very low turnover rate of under 4% of all employees leaving to work at other institutions.
3. Texas Christian University
This college awards a faculty or staff member each year with a $5,000 award for exemplary service or leadership qualities. This year a groundskeeper was given the award because of the program he created to help ready children of university employees for their college experience.
4. Gettysburg College
This college is quite proud of their benefits package for their employees and the strides they have made to keep their employees happy and healthy. As a result they have a very low turnover rate for employees with 3% for faculty and 5.5% for other staff members.
5. Panola College
This small two-year college has made great efforts to eliminate crime on the campus and has installed over 150 security cameras in all areas of the school.
6. California State University, Channel Islands
This campus is quite new and the current staff has all been hired within the past 10 years. Every employee is treated on an equal level and hierarchies are discouraged.
7. Blue Ridge Community College
What I liked most about this school is that employees receive a 100% tuition remission benefit for up to six units per semester. I feel like professionals in a higher education setting should always want to be students themselves and it seems as though this school strongly encourages that mindset. Like other schools on the list, this college has a stunningly low turnover rate of 0% for faculty and only 2.5% for other staff members.
Oh and its gorgeous!
8. University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
This large institution has integrated a program called, "Voice of the Staff" in which volunteers discuss how the university can be improved and those discussions are recounted with members of upper administration, including the president of the university.
9. Baylor University
This college has an extensive benefits package as well as incentives for various events on campus that can be enjoyed by faculty and staff members and their families.
10. New York Chiropractic College
This is a very small, specialized college with only 1,000 students. It is community-oriented and each year throws a "Unity Day" picnic.
