Annual Surveys

Professionals in Higher Education

CUPA-HR began collecting data on higher ed professionals in 1997. It is now our largest survey. Currently, the Professionals in Higher Education Survey collects salary and demographic data on 319,507 professionals in 408 positions from 988 higher ed institutions.

Positions in the Professionals Survey typically require a college degree and/or multiple years of training or experience. They represent all areas of higher ed, including:

  • Academic Affairs
  • Student Affairs
  • Human Resources
  • Information Technology
  • Institutional Research
  • Fiscal Affairs
  • Communications and Marketing
  • Facilities Management
  • External Affairs
  • Athletics
  • Research Support and Development

Protecting the data CUPA-HR survey participants provide is an essential part of the work we do. Our Data Use Agreement and Data Anonymity Statement outline the protections we’ve put in place for both collection and use of data.

CUPA-HR conducts analyses of this data to publish reports and interactive graphics that highlight important findings and trends for higher ed HR professionals. CUPA-HR members have access to even more in-depth information.

DataOnDemand (DOD) is CUPA-HR’s subscription-based data service, which provides not only access to the data, but also analysis and reporting tools for creating custom data comparisons. An important part of this tool is the ability to specify which peer institutions you want to include in your benchmarking. Institutions that contribute data during the data collection process receive a deep discount on the DOD subscription for the survey(s) in which they participate. CUPA-HR offers resources, tutorials and labs for those who want to use data and DOD more effectively.