Student-Aid Administrators Are Proud of Their Work but Swamped, Survey Finds

Financial-aid administrators believe their work is important, but many find their budgets and staffing levels inadequate, according to a job-satisfaction survey released here today at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators’ national conference.

The Nasfaa 2008 Financial Aid Administrators’ Job Satisfaction Survey was designed to take the pulse of the profession as allegations that financial-aid employees were too close to lenders received national attention in 2007. The survey was conducted in the spring of 2008. A modified version of the questions is available for financial-aid directors to use in surveying their own staff members.

The national survey found that 98 percent of respondents consider their work important to students and their institutions, 96 percent are proud of their jobs, and 86 percent report high personal satisfaction in their professional roles. Respondents indicated that a proper workload influenced their job satisfaction more than salary, recognition, or appreciation.

Sixty percent of respondents said the financial-aid office was respected and valued by other campus offices. Less than half thought that senior administrators at their institutions understood and appreciated the complexity of financial aid. Sixty percent said their offices were understaffed, and 63 percent said their budgets were inadequate.

More than 2,000 financial-aid administrators responded to the survey. Nearly 58 percent of respondents were the chief financial-aid official at their institution, and about 68 percent had worked in financial aid for more than 10 years — two factors that probably skewed the results. That pattern also makes it difficult to compare the national results to those any one college may gather. –Beckie Supiano