US Talent Insights

Talent Opportunities in 2024

Faculty and Staff Shortages:

Number of vacant faculty positions: 12,600+ in STEM fields alone (2023)
Expected faculty retirements by 2030: 40% of current faculty
Average staff vacancy rate: 15% (2023)

Workloads and Burnout:

Average faculty teaching workload: 4.4 courses per semester (2023)
Percentage of faculty reporting high job stress: 51% (2022)
Percentage of staff reporting burnout: 44% (2022)

Diversity and Inclusion:

Percentage of full-time faculty who are women: 42% (2023)
Percentage of full-time faculty who are minorities: 25% (2023)
Percentage of non-white staff: 38% (2023)

Budgetary Pressures:

Average state funding per student: Declined by 12% since 2010
Average tuition increase: 3.4% per year (2020-22)
Number of institutions with hiring freezes: 38% (2023)

Technology Integration:

Percentage of faculty comfortable using new technologies in teaching: 53% (2022)
Percentage of institutions with adequate IT resources for faculty: 48% (2022)

Talent Challenges in 2024

Skilling and Upskilling:

Projected job growth in online learning: 33% by 2030
Projected job growth in data analysis: 25% by 2030
Number of institutions offering mental health training to faculty: 58% (2023)

Remote and Hybrid Work:

Percentage of faculty interested in remote work: 72% (2023)
Percentage of staff reporting improved work-life balance with remote work: 64% (2022)

Career Development:

Percentage of institutions offering professional development opportunities to faculty: 68% (2023)
Average number of professional development opportunities offered to faculty per year: 5 (2023)
Increase in employee engagement with career development programs: 23% (2023)

Technology Leverage:

Average cost savings from using technology for administrative tasks: 20% (2022)
Increase in student satisfaction with personalized learning tools: 18% (2022)

DE&I Initiatives:

Increase in applications from diverse candidates with active DE&I programs: 28% (2023)
Improvement in student outcomes at institutions with strong DE&I efforts: 14% (2023)

Demand for skilled professionals in Higher Education in certain areas

DE&I across Higher Education Industry

While the number of women serving in top leadership roles in the nation’s colleges and universities has steadily increased over the past two decades, they still are not paid equitably to men serving in the same roles.

Women currently make up half of the higher ed administrator workforce (compared to 43 percent in 2002), but they are paid only $0.93 per $1.00 paid to men administrators, representing a meager $0.03 increase in pay ratio from 2002.

Between 2012 and 2022, the representation of people of color in higher ed administration increased by 41 percent.
People of color comprised 13 percent of administrators in 2012 and 18 percent of administrators in 2022.

However, people of color are still woefully underrepresented among higher ed administrators in comparison to U.S. graduate degree holders (higher ed administrator positions typically require a graduate degree). To reach parity with U.S. graduate degree holders, the representation of people of color among higher ed administrators would need to increase by 69 percent.