Pandemic Exacerbated Financial Aid Office Staffing Problems, Survey Says

"Higher education has not been immune to what’s being dubbed the Great Resignation. It describes a mass exodus of workers from many industries amid the pandemic, although it is somewhat of a misnomer, as in many cases employees are jumping ship to work in better-paying jobs," Education Dive reports.

..."NASFAA’s surveys attempt to capture the pandemic’s influence on employment at financial aid offices. The association found a 30% increase in the number of institutions that reported at least one vacant position in financial aid departments from the 2019-20 to 2020-21 academic years.

Full-time equivalent employees who transferred or resigned from those offices cited three major reasons for doing so. Nearly 70% said they had higher pay or better benefits in their new positions, 35% said they didn’t want to work in financial aid administration anymore, and almost 30% reported moving to a different department at the same college. 

'We are sounding the alarm bells that many financial aid offices are critically short staffed, which could create cascading issues for those colleges and universities, both in their ability to adequately serve students while also remaining compliant with federal and state rules,' NASFAA President Justin Draeger said in a statement."

NASFAA's "Notable Headlines" section highlights media coverage of financial aid to help members stay up to date with the latest news. Articles included under the notable headlines section are not written by NASFAA, but rather by external sources. Inclusion in Today's News does not imply endorsement of the material or guarantee the accuracy of information presented.

 

Publication Date: 5/24/2022

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