The State of Professional Development in Higher Education

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For twelve years, Academic Impressions has been assembling many of the leading experts in higher education to teach and facilitate webcasts, conferences, and workshops to develop critical skills and knowledge in the staff who are committed to helping change their institutions—to make higher education more sustainable for the future.

We believe passionately that professional development is key to helping higher-ed professionals prepare for both the threats and the opportunities of the years ahead.

Earlier this year, we surveyed higher-ed professionals to learn:

  • Do institutions, on the whole, regard professional development as mission-critical, or is it mostly “talk” with little “walk”?
  • Are investments in professional development proactive or reactive?
  • Is professional development tied to performance appraisal?
  • Who is responsible for identifying professional development opportunities—managers, or their employees?
  • Are there differences in how managers and their employees regard professional development in higher education?

We surveyed a random sampling of higher-ed professionals; 501 responded. In this report, we share our findings.