Job openings steady at USD
There are currently 56 job openings at USD, according to the South Dakota Board of Regents online employment system, “Your Future is Here.”
That number is pretty average, Emery Wasley, associate director for human resources, said.
Other than running positions for temporary roles such as teachers’ aides and ticket takers, the job postings list is constantly changing and includes every type of position at the university.
About 40 of those 56 positions are not temporary, Wasley said.
Spikes in job postings at USD usually occur during the months of Oct. through Nov. and April through May, Wasley said.
“There’s a lot of cycles involved here,” he said.
Wasley said 176 positions were posted in 2013, 239 in 2014 and 189 so far this year.
Generally, the only times that total varies is during times of recession, Wasley said.
“I imagine back in ‘13, that’s probably when we were having a little bit of the economic (recession) and we were just not hiring a lot of positions and then the economy turned around and we could fill a few more slots depending on what level,” he said.
Though some procedures vary when it comes to internal and external job postings, Wasley said the hiring process always involves a screening committee and a hiring manager.
“We try to make sure the screening committees represent the university with inclusiveness, the gender ratio, the diversity, trying to make sure the committees are reflective of our inclusive strategy,” he said.
Ethical practices are also a big part of the committees’ responsibility, Wasley added.
Other than HR, Wasley said the graduate school and financial aid office are the entities that do the most hiring at USD each year.
Julie Pier, director of financial aid, said close to 700 students qualify for work study each year. Because the funding mostly comes from the federal government, Pier said economic recession doesn’t affect the number of students eligible for work study.
“The work study jobs stay pretty steady every year,” she said.
Work study funding is right around $800,000, and 75 percent of that funding comes from the federal government, and the remaining 25 percent is provided by USD.
“So a department can have a job, they prefer to get work study students because then the money doesn’t have to come out of their budget, which is limited. It comes out of federal funding,” she said.
Roughly 500 graduate assistants are hired each year, Mandy Hanson, graduate registration coordinator, said in an email.
“Each hiring unit is given approximately the same number of graduate assistantships each academic year unless the needs of their department change,” she said.
Wasley said employment at USD generally reflects statewide trends, such as shortages in trade workers which include welders, plumbers and other specialists.
Relocations, retirements and other faculty turnover is a “natural” part of HR, Wasley said.
“That’s just the cycle,” he said.
