DeVry, Inc. is a publicly-traded company that owns many subsidiary organizations including DeVry University, Keller Graduate School of Management and the Becker CPA Review to name a few. Because of these multiple subsidiaries, it is important to analyze one of the specific organizations to determine the human resources compensation and job evaluation system within the company. For the purpose of this paper, DeVry University will be chosen and analyzed to determine the evaluation methods used. Human Resources manager John Alexander in Columbus, Ohio, was interviewed and provided a strong basis of understanding on the evaluation methods used to determine compensation within the company. It was determined that DeVry University utilizes an analytical evaluation scheme that uses a points system on several key job functions. The managers at each of the 90 different DeVry locations around the country are responsible for completing bi-annual evaluation summaries to be submitted to the human resources representatives within each geographical area. Alexander current oversees the Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton metropolitan areas in which there is one Center Dean at each location and one Regional Manager for Cincinnati and Dayton combined, and one for Columbus.

Alexander informed me that the overall structure of the company is separated by Admissions staff and Support staff. The Admissions staff is evaluated and supervised by the Regional Managers in each location. Likewise, the Support staff is evaluated and supervised directly by the Center Deans. The evaluation criteria for each of these staff groups are quite different, and therefore the compensation system is slightly skewed as well. First of all, the Admissions staff is directly responsible for bringing in specific numbers of students every eight weeks to attend the University. These positions are very much sales-based and require that each employee is held accountable for his or her specific admissions numbers. The analytical criteria involve work ethic, product knowledge, an average number of outbound calls made day and weekly, average interviews, applications and total deposits, and finally total start numbers for the entire session. It is clear that these evaluations are based primarily on actual production.
Alexander made it a point to emphasize that each employee is eligible for a bonus and increase in pay once each year, which usually comes during the Fall. Employees are usually required to bring in at least 10 students every eight weeks as official starts for new classes each session. However, each DeVry University location may have different required numbers that employees are expected to adhere to. Therefore, Regional Managers may evaluate employees based on national or regional requirements, which can often make the evaluation process very tricky. Nevertheless, if an employee performs above average, the employee receives an increase in pay. If the employee performs at the minimum level, the employee’s pay will stay the same and the employee will receive a small bonus in the range of $100 – $500 for the year. Finally, an employee that does not meet the minimum levels is placed on a letter of warning, then probation, and is finally relieved of his or her duties with the company altogether.

The Support staff is responsible for handling the administrative and academic duties of every DeVry University location, which is why the Center Dean supervises these employees. While the Admissions staff is held accountable and evaluated primarily for specific numbers and performance, the Support staff is evaluated more on work ethic, work style, attitude and what Alexander called “customer service.” The students are considered to be the “customers” at DeVry, and the Support staff must be professional, cordial and helpful to each customer. The Center Dean completes an analytical points-system evaluation on each employee. The difference is that the compensation format is slightly skewed for these staff employees. The Support staff is hired under hourly wages as opposed to a salaried contract like the Admissions staff. Therefore, the Support staff may only receive an increase in pay for strong point evaluations in the area of no more than $0.50 per hour each year. Therefore, the overall evaluations hold less clout to these staff members than they do for Admissions staff. According to Alexander, “a Support employee that receives strong evaluations for three years of work may only see an increase in pay of up to $1,000 in three years. On the other hand, an Admissions staff member with strong evaluation for three years may see an increase in tens of thousands of dollars in salary compensation and bonuses” (personal communication, April 3, 2010). The evaluation system is theoretically the same for all employees, but the criteria is much different, the supervisors evaluating the employees are different and the overall compensation increases can be drastically different at DeVry University.