“Understanding these hiring benchmarks helps institutions align their recruitment strategies with their values and operational needs.”

Mary DeNiro, ACUHO-I CEO

A new report from ACUHO-I reveals key insights into how institutions across the U.S. are setting educational standards for live-in housing staff. This comes at a time when institutions face ongoing staffing challenges and shifts in workforce expectations, providing a valuable benchmarking tool for campus housing professionals seeking to evaluate or revise their hiring practices. 

Drawing from Campus Housing Index (CHI) data form the 2023-2024 academic year, the report analyzes trends across institutional sectors, bed capacities, and enrollment sizes. 

The findings show that nearly half (49.6%) of participating institutions require a graduate degree in Student Affairs or Higher Education (SA/HE), while 28.1% accept any graduate degree. Only 12.4% do not require a graduate degree, and 9.9% prefer SA/HE degrees without requiring them. 

Other key findings include:

  • Institution Size Matters: Larger institutions and those with greater housing capacity are more likely to require or prefer SA/HE graduate degrees. Smaller institutions often prioritize experience or broader qualifications. 
  • Sector Differences: Public and private institutions show similar rates of requiring SA/HE degrees (around 50%), but private institutions are more likely to prefer them (15% vs. 7.4%). 
  • Bed Capacity Trends: Institutions with fewer than 3,000 beds are the most flexible, with 27.1% not requiring a graduate degree. In contrast, those with over 7,500 beds overwhelmingly prefer SA/HE degrees (67.9%). 
  • Enrollment Size: Institutions with more than 30,000 students show the highest preference for SA/HE degrees (61.9%), though only 4.8% require them. 
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About ACUHO-I

ACUHO-I is the leading association for campus housing and residence life staff members with more than 17,000 professionals representing 3.2 million on-campus student residents from around the globe. ACUHO-I offers educational events, authoritative publications, and credible data and research that demonstrates the positive effect that campus housing and residence life have on student recruitment, retention, growth, and achievement. 

About the Campus Housing Index

The Campus Housing Index (CHI) is a data benchmarking tool that allows campus-based professionals to compare their operations against customized groups of similar campuses. Data collection occurs each year; institutions that complete at least 50% of the questions receive free access to the results the following year. Premium subscriptions are also available for purchase. More details about the CHI are available at https://www.acuho-i.org/campus-housing-index.