1 Professionalizing the Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Salaries & Workload Project Sarah E. Spencer, U. of St. Thomas, Minnesota Kim Kreutzer, U. of Colorado at Boulder David Shallenberger, SIT Graduate Institute Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

2 CIEE: Nashville Overview on-site/provider challenges Workload:  24/7 – 365 aspect of on-site work  Student/staff ratio on-site  Holidays and vacation accrual – on what basis are they offered?  Driven by two key forces: passion and expectations Compensation:  Perception of higher salaries on the provider side – is it valid? Can we test it? Can benchmarking come from the provider side?  Exchange rate fluctuations and overseas staff salaries – is there a currency normalization plan for staff?  Variations in the standard and cost of living depending on program site  From the employer perspective, you should understand compensation laws regarding employment of host country nationals and expatriates Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

3 CIEE: Nashville Overview on-site/provider challenges Workload: Student/staff ratio on-site How do we measure on-site/provider workload beyond ratios?  By program type?  By program design?  By provider philosophy?  Depending on host institution staff/support structures in place?  By the characteristics of your program site: Health Safety Other factors Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

4 CIEE: Nashville Overview campus common challenges Providing solutions that allow institutions to ignore our requests for additional assistance or “We are our own worst enemies.”  “The financial work is done by my husband, because it is impossible to be done all the task by one person. He does it to help me keep the job, of course without any payment. They have two in one.”  “…job description of first year does not really fit anymore - conditions I work under now have significantly changed while additional workloads/responsibilities are added without clear indications of how to account for those financially.”  “…the hours I am now required to work in order to deal with the increasing workload is inappropriate. Either my salary should increase or the workload should be lessened.” Message from the field or “If we don’t believe it, how can we convince them?”  “Obviously, we aren't in it for the money or we would have moved on to another field/sector.”  “You can't work in it and have a family.”  “It has been essential to be married to a woman earning much more.” Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

5 CIEE: Nashville Overview potential solutions Increase in fees and creative accounting  “A slight increase in the administrative fee charged to study abroad participants has paid for the salary of an additional advisor.”  “Evaluate budget to see if funds could be shifted from one budget line to the next.”  Demonstrate new growth and revenue to off-set new staff or increased compensation: “We show the budget implications - both that we can afford the increase in staff and why if we don't increase staff we jeopardize our increase in enrollments which equals an increase in income” Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

6 CIEE: Nashville Overview potential solutions Advocacy and education  Be data driven. “We were able to measure and report on increased activity in a number of areas of our operations, including: the number of student applications received, enrollments, the number of bank transfers & other financial transactions, legal and taxation issues, requests for budget information and financial projections, visa and work permit activity, etc. Strategic planning and repeated requests – understand funding structure and who makes the decision.”  Advanced planning – ask before you need it. “We have gotten new staff only when we're at a breaking point and the professional staff are talking about leaving because they are so overworked. Only then can I convince the powers that be that we need another staff person.” “Educating the administration as to the needs in order to maintain current levels and encourage additional growth. Internationalization is a large focus of the university.”  Toot your own horn! “broadcast of increase in participation, raise awareness of execs of complexity of field (risks, academic quality, financial management, student issues)” Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

7 CIEE: Nashville Overview potential solutions No new staff/compensation– what now? What doesn’t work:  business as usual: “Work longer, harder, and smarter.”  shut down: “…abandonment of all efforts to function pro-actively or strategically. Reduced time away from office for site visits, program evaluation and professional development. Neglected website and publications.”  “More students = more work = more work = less employee satisfaction = more turnover” = long- term problems Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

8 CIEE: Nashville Overview potential solutions What might work… Establish efficiencies.  “More central support for functions that don't require education abroad expertise (i.e., finance and billing, some marketing, information technology).” Set limits.  “Student "caseloads" get taken care of, but bigger picture work such as developing an internationalization plan for the college and providing training and support to faculty gets short shrift.”  “…advocate to limit participation/programs” Utilize technology where possible.  “We implemented an on-line system for accepting student applications. This change permits staff to spend more time on higher-level tasks (as opposed to data entry, filing and reception duties). System is integrated with our web site and study abroad database.” Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

9 Pathways Bonus Tracks Further analysis of the Pathways data

10 Part 1: Organizational Respondents Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

11 Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

12 Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

13 Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

14 Student to Staff Ratios (all FTE’s) Private Institutions Public Institutions Mean Min 6.26 Max Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

15 Part 2: Individual Respondents Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

16 Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

17 Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

18 Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

19 Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

20 Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

21 Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

22 Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

23 Now the hard part begins… Analyzing the deceptiveness of job titles

24 Main Qualifications Sought ADVISOR 1. Communication Skills (writing, speaking) 2. International Experience (study, work, living abroad) 3. Computer-related Competence 4. Advising Experience 5. Organizational Skills (including multi-task, prioritizing) Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

25 Main Qualifications Sought COORDINATOR 1. International Experience 2. Communication Skills 3. Computer-related Competence 4. Interpersonal Skills (ability to work with multiple constituencies) 5. Organizational Skills Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

26 Main Qualifications Sought DIRECTOR 1. Supervision Ability/Experience 2. Communication Skills 3. Interpersonal Skills 4. Budgeting Experience 5. International Experience Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

27 Comparison of IE-specific qualifications QualificationAdvisorCoord’rDirec’r International Experience68% (24%) 78% (5%) 50% (13%) IE Professional Experience 32% (12%) 48% (5%) 72% (9%) Foreign Language Profic. 4% (28%) 18% (38%) 28% (38%) Intercultural skills24%8%19% Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

28 Synthesis of SECUSS-L Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

29 Making Sense? Clearly, all positions require high levels of communication and interpersonal competency. BUT  Where does foreign language proficiency fit?  Why isn’t intercultural competency higher in the postings?  Why is crisis management not even in the top 10? Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

30 Making Sense?  What are the core competencies of these positions?  Why do we ask for different competencies than we use?  Why might they be different from institution to institution? Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

31 Discussion  Each group will take on the role of advisor, director or coordinator.  We will give you three questions to discuss. Take 20 minutes in your group to explore them.  Select someone to take notes (to submit to session leader) and report back. Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

32 Discussion Questions  Describe a bit about your institution  Describe the job of “X.” What do they do and what are the core competencies required to be minimally successful? Are there differences across the institutions represented at the table and if so, why? Is it because of some aspect of your particular context?  How is this job different from a similarly titled one elsewhere in your institution? Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009

33 Areas for future work  Gender and ethnicity  Salary breakdowns  Levels of responsibility  Better ways to determine workload Professionalizing Our Field: A Report on the Forum Data Committee’s Workload & Salaries Project Forum on Education Abroad  Portland, OR  20 February 2009