Higher Education ESP --
Building a Quality Workforce

Building a quality workforce in private and public higher education institutions does not happen by accident or luck, but rather when school campus ESP are included and recognized as part of the college or university basic mission -- enhancing student achievement.

To achieve this goal, trustees, administrations, faculty, and ESP members must join in a comprehensive effort that includes results-oriented job descriptions, new employee orientation programs, ongoing in-service training programs, and career-enhancing professional development programs for all Higher Education ESP.

This booklet highlights some of the challenges Higher Ed Support Professionals encounter as they endeavor to build a Higher Education ESP Quality Workforce.

Who We Really Are and What We Really Do

"I impact, in a positive and long term way, the careers and futures of the students whose lives I touch each day, " says Julie Stevenson, NEA-ESP member and Secretary to the Associate Dean for Liberal Arts, Jefferson Community College, Watertown, New York. "I feel as if I'm the gatekeeper to the Liberal Arts Department. I work every day to help our college students by nudging them toward independence as adults and toward fulfillment of their careers." (ESP Extra, March 1999)

Our Job Descriptions

NEA Education Support Professionals who work in Higher Education (any public or private education facility beyond 12th grade) are important skilled members of the team of employees who interact daily with students, faculty, and campus visitors; conscientiously work to make the campus infrastructure function; protect and secure the physical campus as well as its people; and transport students, staff, equipment, and supplies.

Job groups encompassing more than 300 categories of Education Support Professionals positions are included in the Higher Ed ESP job family:

• Clerical Services (secretarial, clerical, & administrative support)
• Custodial & Maintenance Services (building & grounds maintenance and repair)
• Transportation Services (transportation and delivery services and vehicle maintenance)
• Food Services (food planning, preparation, and service)
• Health & Student Services (nursing, health, and therapy support)
• Skilled Trades Services (trades, crafts, and machine operators)
• Security Services (guards, police, and security specialties)
• Technical Services (computer operation, audiovisual, language, technical support, media, public relations, writing and art specialties)

An accurate, comprehensive and meaningful job description for Higher Ed ESP is essential in order for these employees to achieve recognition and improved terms and conditions of employment. Without being included in the job description writing process, Higher Ed ESP are unable to affect their employment conditions, such as salary, job security, grievance adjudication, task allocation, time management, skill training, or career-enhancing professional development. In these areas, Higher Ed ESP Locals have many of the same problems and difficulties as ESP Locals in K-12 public schools.

Since approximately 96% of all Higher Ed ESP work in publicly-funded two or four year colleges or universities, they face similar funding challenges as well. However, decisions by state legislatures and Congress often have a greater impact on terms and conditions of employment for Higher Ed ESP. Accurate and meaningful job descriptions are essential to gaining the respect and attention of those involved in decisions about funding for salaries and ESP job security.

Clerical Services Higher Ed ESP make up the largest segment of NEA's higher ed membership. They are the liaisons between a variety of groups on campus and are the front line for public relations with students, parents, and the college community. Their workloads include being front office ambassadors, financial aid and funding records experts, student aid programs administrators, bill collectors, confidential records protectors, financial services experts, dispatchers, student services resources, and general college curriculum information banks. They process and maintain a mountain of paperwork and computer data and in general are considered to be the institution's chief information officers. They perform this variety of tasks with great discretion, competence, and grace on a daily basis while endeavoring to maintain a professional and collegial atmosphere.

Some of the actual daily tasks and duties performed by Custodial and Maintenance Higher Ed ESP would probably astound some administrators and boards of trustees. Higher Ed Custodial ESP are a combination of guardians of the campus environment, landscapers, machinists, first line of defense in bad weather, air quality experts, carpet and flooring specialists, environmental safety officers, heating and ventilation experts, repair personnel, and overall campus infrastructure officers at large. Custodial and Maintenance Higher Ed ESP meet all these challenges and many more, and care for and maintain the entire campus environment with skill and attention.

The bus or transport environment for Higher Ed ESP in Transportation is a "mirror of the community" and reflects all the aspects of the community at large, good and bad.

Food Services Higher Ed ESP are responsible for providing nutritious meals. The immediate by-product of their daily work is enhanced student performance. Only in recent years has it been acknowledged that without proper nutrition, no one can learn and thrive in an educational environment. The valuable contribution these Higher Ed ESP in Food Services make to students and the campus environment is generally not recognized by boards of trustees and administrations.

Health & Student Services Higher Ed ESP are vital to nearly every aspect of student health and welfare on campus. Members of this job group enable many students with special health needs to succeed in the academic arena. Occupational, speech and language, and physical therapy assistants work with individuals to help them surmount physical obstacles to their learning. Nurses, nurses' aides, and licensed practical nurses help keep students healthy, and by providing students with health education, teach them to maintain their health independently.

The Skilled Trades Higher Ed ESP are essential members of the team of employees responsible for aesthetically and safely maintaining the campus buildings and structures. The good news is that Higher Ed Skilled Trades ESP generally benefit from the recognition by administrations and boards of trustees that the aesthetic condition of the college campus is crucial to garnering community and endowment support. The bad news is however, that over 70% of the Skilled Trades ESP have absolutely no input into the writing or changing of their job descriptions, and as many as 14% of members have no job descriptions at all.

Security Services Higher Ed ESP are primarily responsible for the safety and security of students, faculty, staff, campus visitors and campus property. They actively participate in creating and enforcing safety policies and security and intruder action plans. They safeguard confidential information about students, faculty, and staff. Security Services ESP must stay up-to-date on information and laws in order to troubleshoot problems and maintain security. New and dangerous situations involving guns, bombs, and intruders on campus have raised the level of stress and violence on college campuses, and Security Services ESP continue to rise to the challenges with courage and competence.

Technical Services Higher Ed ESP work at a variety of locations throughout the campus. They are in central offices, administrative centers, maintenance facilities, transportation centers, audio-visual and language departments, distance education and media centers, art departments, writing and word processing centers, supply and storage facilities, and security and medical campus offices. They perform support services for many different individuals and departments. As a result they struggle constantly with a lack of clear lines of supervision in order to deal with scheduling, work priorities, and use of overtime, just to name a few. Technical Services ESP must also cope with the blizzard of new technology that confronts them. Despite inadequate training and professional development programs, they rise to these challenges with skill and over-the-top dedication to their positions and the students they serve.

The actual job tasks for many Higher Ed ESP change often throughout a day because of the variety of areas for which they are responsible. Many of them in several of the categories not only know and perform their jobs as specified, but must also be informed regarding the college curriculum and student assistance services.

Your written job description matters a great deal! To the administration, your job description is your work identity. It should be an accurate, results-oriented, current description of who you really are and what you really do as part of the education team on a higher education campus, and as part of the Higher Ed ESP Quality Workforce.

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