Kent State is only Ohio institution to receive prestigious designation; employees give university high marks for compensation and benefits

Joe Murray, associate professor in Kent State University’s
School of Journalism and Mass Communication, mentors a
student during a Web design class in Franklin Hall. Kent State
has been selected as one of this year’s “Great Colleges to
Work For” by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Kent State University is being recognized again as one of the nation’s best. Kent State has been selected as one of this year’s “Great Colleges to Work For” by The Chronicle of Higher Education, the nation’s number one source of news, information and jobs for college and university faculty members and administrators. Based on a survey of more than 43,516 employees at 278 colleges and universities, The Chronicle’s 2014 “Great Colleges to Work For” program recognizes small, medium and large institutions for specific best practices and policies.

The Chronicle released its 2014 results last week, and Kent State is one of 92 colleges and universities to receive this prestigious designation. Kent State is the only Ohio university, public or private, on this year’s list. Kent State employees rated the institution highly enough to be recognized in the Compensation and Benefits category for large universities with 10,000 or more students. The other four-year large universities similarly rated include University of Southern California, Duke University, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, University of Notre Dame, Hofstra University, Baylor University, University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Saint Leo University and Southern New Hampshire University.

This is the fourth time the university has been honored as a “Great College to Work For” in the past five years.

“We are proud that Kent State University faculty and staff consistently recognize our distinctive employment brand and as such contributed to our selection for the fourth time as a ‘Great College to Work For,’” says Joseph Vitale Jr., Kent State’s interim vice president for human resources. “Being a student-centered organization means that students experience great things in the classroom and across the campus every day. These great daily experiences are made possible by dedicated and talented faculty and staff.”

The survey results are based on a two-part assessment process: a survey administered to faculty, administrators and professional support staff and an institutional audit that captured demographics and workplace policies from each institution. The primary factor in deciding whether an institution received recognition was the employee feedback.

Now in its seventh year, the “Great Colleges to Work For” program has become one of the largest and most respected workplace-recognition programs in the country.

“The institutions that the Great Colleges program recognizes provide innovative educational experiences – while also offering their employees outstanding workplace experiences – and we are eager to help readers learn more about them,” says Liz McMillen, The Chronicle’s editor. “In light of increasing public concern about the cost of higher education, The Chronicle is focused more than ever on proving the necessary information that helps our readers make informed choices.”

For more information and to view all the results of the survey, visit The Chronicle’s website at http://chronicle.com/article/Great-Colleges-To-Work-For/147387/#id=big-table. The survey results were published in The Chronicle’s Academic Workplace special report in the July 25 printed edition.

For more information about Kent State’s compensation and benefits, visit the Human Resources page at www.kent.edu/hr.