Pros
- Lots of opportunities for training through HR certificate programs and university trainings (customer service, advising students, working with undocumented students and dreamers, mental health first aid, etc.). - Wellness university encourages work-life balance by offering lunchtime activities - soup cooking, yoga, brown bag lectures, Who's Walking Wednesdays, etc. - Diverse student body and staff (many international students). - University offers excellent benefits for full-time workers - healthcare, a variety of leave options and opportunities, a set number of free university classes per semester/year.
Cons
- Student involvement and school spirit is pretty low. - University has grown quickly and doesn't know how to compensate to meet all student's needs. - Major problem with the "Mason shuffle" - students, and even other faculty and staff, often get pushed from one department to another because few people seem to understand who is in charge of certain processes. Financial aid, student accounts, meal plans, registrar, and housing all try to direct students to other departments when they themselves are in charge of fixing the problems. As a staff member taking classes, I had to go to three different departments to get an answer to a simple class registration question. - Students pay a lot of money to go to school and have a sense of entitlement - they demand that they should get things their way and threaten to go straight to President Cabrera if they don't get what they want. - Hiring for faculty and staff vacancies takes FOREVER. Positions often go unfilled for long periods of time, making work more stressful for the individuals that have to complete more than one job for months at a time.