enrollment specialist

assistant director

director

academic advisor

associate professor

Saint Leo University

Saint Leo University is not the first institution to face financial turmoil, but it is one of the most horrid examples of hypocrisy that I have ever encountered. As a community of lions, SLU boasts a sense of loyalty, community, and pride (in more than one sense of the word). Employees are constantly reminded that we are more than just an institution of hard-working faculty and staff, we are a family. But when the chips are down and times are tough, that familial aspect is all but forgotten. Like most other businesses SLU puts its customers--its students and their families--first, all while the plight of its employees is steadfastly ignored. Not a single employee has received a raise in nearly a decade and some of the hardest working staff and their contributions go unrecognized. Many salaried positions are being dropped to an hourly status, and overtime is nonexistent. There is no transparency from upper management; each semester we are given the same "not out of the woods yet" speech touting our continued progression toward stability, and yet entire departments are still being abolished and many crucial employees being laid-off, leaving an unequipped skeleton crew to juggle the workload. I have worked for some seriously grim employers in the past, but I can honestly say now that my tenure at Saint Leo University has been the career that has crushed me the hardest. After a few spectacular early years on the job it is devastating to know that the "family" dynamic the university heralds is nothing more than an illusion. It is logical to put your students first, but how long can you continue to do so when you no longer have the faculty and staff to support them?

Saint Leo University gave me the opportunity to interact with current and future students like I experience while attending .  However, the team spirit that I felt at the Center in was attached to while I attended Saint Leo, was absent from the Center that I was employed at.  A typical day at work consisted of advising new and potential students to assist in completion of students goals and the retention goal of the University's strategic plan or planning/executing marketing activities.  The job description of the Advisor includes marketing, meaning that 30% of the Advisor's time must be devoted to marketing.  This was very stressful due to the Center Director's changing direction midstream.  Expectations changed often as priorities from above changed.  
My students were the most enjoyable part of the job.  To spend time with them, hear their stories and struggles, to help them accomplish their goals and bring them another step closer to new opportunities, is very rewarding and increased the desire to return to work every morning.
Benefits are good, especially the tuition reimbursement benefit.  Attending graduate school was a dream of mine.  This benefit allows employees to take classes without the cost.  However, the hostile work environment and the commute caused me to resign my position.
I would advise checking things out really well before accepting a position at a distance learning center.  The work atmosphere at all centers is not the same.  I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to attend classes through the center I did but it was another story in the center I worked at.

It's not the best.... It's not the worst!

When the university moved to permanently online the typical workday changed from face to face in an office environment to being on the phone and emailing all day completing tasks.  Tasks include registering students, calling students who have not shown up for class/logged into class, calling students who are failing at midterm/finals, calling new students for orientations, helping them order books, help with navigating the portal, graduation/program audits. Also, you will call students who you have not spoken to in a certain timeframe to touch base. You can speak to your students via Zoom if your students are able to download the technology to a device. You will hold a student load of no less than 200 students (some advisors had 400- 500) if you are working remotely so sometimes you will have over a hundred tasks to complete in a timely manner.

The university sometimes makes poor money management decisions without consulting the people it will affect. Personally, I would not work here again but also would not discourage an advisor who needs work experience from applying.  

I worked there for numerous years and I never saw a pay raise.  The courses you teach generally remain the same. The content repeats over and over again. After time, you start feeling like a factory worker on an assembly line. You are treated similarly as well.  I had full classes and years of excellent student reviews, however, when I needed some time off due to an emergency, it wasn't given. They made no accommodations.  Simply put, you are disposable. Time and effort and years of exemplary teaching doesn't matter. You're just a warm body. I am not kidding when I mention that after several years I began to feel like a worker on an assembly line, even with advanced degrees and education they treat you as disposable.  If you take the position, use it as a stepping stone to the next job and do it quickly, at least after a year and save yourself the aggravation. Honestly, it isn't worth it! They don't pay you what you deserve for all the work you'll be doing! Also, sometimes you have to wait for over two months to get paid. When you ask why, they give you a response that doesn't make sense. If you can survive not getting paid for 6 to 8 weeks, then go for it! Put money aside for a rainy day! As a part-time adjunct at St Leo University, you will need it sooner than you think! Rainy days come after every 8 week term. You'll be working hard, but the money won't be coming in to compensate your efforts! 

The current University President has pretty much made a clean sweep and ushered in all new management from other universities where they all had previously failed.  The end result is Saint Leo has all the failed managers in one place.  They are ridiculously "top heavy".  There are approximately 6 VPs. when only about 3 are needed. They seem to hire a new VP at a drop of a pin and never think to advance from within. 
 Advancement is non existent, morale is at an all time low - even amongst students.  A sure sign of a declining university is their failure to adhere to their mission statement and Saint Leo as a Catholic University, no longer understands what their mission or identity is.  A recent ruling by the National Labor Relations Board has agreed that Saint Leo is not a religious institution in any way.  They are pretty much like any other secular public university except you can expect private tuition costs. 

As an Enrollment Counselor, I was originally mislead into thinking I would build relationships with students that wanted to come to Saint Leo. Instead, I make at least a hundred calls a day to people who hang up on you and do not want you harassing them. On average only 1 in 600 calls are for students who want to attend the university..

The organizational culture in the Channelside office is awful. There is no room for advancement in the university, we are not treated nor respected like employees on campus. Management for the online centers treat us like drones and it is all about making calls and numbers, not the students. 

If you looking for job where you feel respected, want to advance your career, be in a professional environment, and truly help people than this is not the place for you.

Also, the cost of health care has increased hire than the cost of living raise each year. There are no bonuses or other raises.

I liked my position at athletics and recreation since it had to do with external operations as well. I did not have to sit on a desk all day since I would be moving around doing any task I was given. A typical day at work would be going up to my manager and ask her or other team members what where that day's tasks. In the case of a day where I had a sports event, I would either go to sell tickets or concessions. I learned more about organization, teamwork, and efficiency. The workplace culture was nice, everyone was inclusive and would offer to help if they were handy. The hardest part of the job would be having to do more than two hours outside when it was really cold (Eight-hour shift at a baseball game in 40-degree weather). Finally, the most enjoyable part of the job was being active, working with others and getting to know more about what happens behind the events; all the planning and organization that happens before it.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The ability to engage with students and empower them towards their predestined life through a virtual platform benefits all, allowing them to be able to attend courses without having to leave their jobs and other commitments. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Nothing. I love what I do and am most often able to pull students to a place of understanding this work is for their future goals and aspirations. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
I have been on the home campus, teaching at a satellite office, but working remotely.  I like all ways of engagement.  I find the face-to-face localities to be inviting.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I work remotely in my home so the typical day is however I choose to set.

The HR department at Leo is a Kafka-esque nightmare of incompetent bureaucracy. The school relies on slave labor-- an army of poorly paid adjuncts who are essentially pariahs and personae non grata among full-time staff and faculty. The library director is a cranky insomniac misanthropist dictator who is absolutely loathed by his terrified staff; he runs a pretty sloppy operation, as apparently some bored students filmed a hardcore adult movie in the university library on a late night in 2012. The school emphatically endorses broad egalitarian Catholic values, but don't be fooled; it's all about the money. If you can pay, your kid gets an A. The students are the absolute bottom of the barrel in terms of curiosity and motivation. Essentially, a Potemkin Village of a school run by a Stalinist regime of secrecy and paranoia.

A typical day at saint leo university was very interesting. I  would  finish up my classes; walk back to my dorm and put my work attire on and walk to work. Then there would be a stack of transcripts to scan. I learned a lot about  office/ business techniques and how important it is to finish the tasks given in order to have a successful outcome. Management was great every few minutes there was someone there to watch and see if every thing was going great. My  co- workers were positive and great helpers. The hardest part of the job was understanding different questionnaires. There were students from Haiti who sent there information and asked questions and we had to copy and submit there information in the computer and it was hard to read there hand writing, but we managed to understand them. The most enjoyable part of the job was just gaining office experience.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Enrollment specialist 3 salaries reported	$20.56 per hour
Assistant director 1 salary reported	$44,182 per year
Director 1 salary reported	$55,000 per year
Academic advisor 4 salaries reported	$44,375 per year
Associate professor 3 salaries reported	$87,000 per year

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