Thread regarding DeVry Inc. layoffs

I would be shocked if there weren't more coming. They cut all the ones but the management who need to be cut. Most don't know what they are supposed to be doing, some are just outright useless, and we waste money on them. Need to trim some at the top first.

Facilities was hit this time. Fiscal year is closing, but it doesn't mean that there aren't more layoffs coming down the pike. It can happen at any time. They will continue to shed workers until there's nothing left--keep those resumes going out and get out of this place while you can

We all think that it's going to happen tomorrow. Please keep the board posted with news if you hear anything, there are a lot of suspicious signs from management about possible impact this week..,,and it's the end of the fiscal year

Annoying Google Ads blocking this site on a phone now. Might be time to find a better discussion board. The survey is administered by Korn Ferry's "Hay Group"....those would be the people to call to task if they fail to maintain confidentiality in the survey results

I think they just make up the numbers in the end.

Yes, they can figure out who you are and/or at least the work location. All companies can do it, I've done these surveys for years. Just answer 'Neutral' the company isn't worth caring about nor does the company care about you.

NCDzSDc-dinw Do you work for Registrar Services ?

Crazy they say engage or leave when it's the the mgmt causing people to want to leave with their behavior. Really should be the employees saying to management fix things or leave. They never want to look at themselves though. They are like children who want to blame everyone else but themselves for ongoing issues. Most of the managers don't even know what's happening on daily basis. I had the manager that I had to explain policy and procedures repeatedly to answer their questions. They just couldn't get what I was saying and it was a pretty process. They promote them to the level of incompetence.

Our scores were pretty dismal last time and we were called out on it. Management told us to engage or to look outside the company for other jobs. They don't realize that low numbers on the survey reflect what's been going on at national. It doesn't mean that we don't care about our jobs! We want things to get better so we let them know what was wrong. I'm sure they will figure out who's survey is whose from the particular comments just like we can sometimes with student evals. If they want to know what's broken, some of us certainly let them have it. I think that the prevailing feeling is that we all might get laid off anyway so we might as well tell the truth

Maybe they are making up the numbers? Wouldn't be the first time this place has done something like that.

How they get such high scores is a mystery. Of all the faculty and support people I know, I can't think of a single one that is happy about the way things are going or approves of the so-called "leadership". The upper executives seem to be the only ones who believe that things are going well and we will somehow pull out of the tailspin. Maybe their surveys carry more weight than ours.

I'm not sure. My answers are usually pretty negative. But I have also thought maybe this survey isn't as anonymous as they make it out to be. I'm trying to figure out how they get such good results because I know plenty of people who are not happy.

They can figure out who you are if they really want to.

I don't know if they're really private, but I know that I haven't yet been called out for any of my "negative" comments. I would think that our paranoid, thin-skinned management would have tried to deal with me somehow if they knew I was the observant one pointing out their nonsense and shenanigans.

Does anyone actually believe that the engagement surveys are actually private?

Now is the time to file a trumped up complaint to mgmt. about some ethics issue...then when you are let go, you can leverage for a much better severance package (or inform them you will file a claim for retaliatory dismissal). $100k for starters

Folks are speculating June 22nd. A big key metro colleague meeting was cancelled and replaced with a lower key meeting the following day

Agreed, no notice or fanfare when folks disappear in the night. Did you ever read Ninteen Eighty-Four by Orwell? It's like that. Article refs unpersons, ante sub before upfiling and correct immediately. No one knows or can keep track of who's in charge of what. Processes are permanently broken and it's impossible to keep track of who's responsible for what.

earlier on in the lay offs, you could go into the employee directory on the commons and see who was laid off because their profiles on there would disappear within minutes of us finding out that the layoff occurred. then they made it where you cannot search for yourself - guess they didn't want people having any kind of heads up that they were about to get the ax.

all the layoffs now are done in small amounts as to not alarm people. a few here, a couple there. only found that out when some colleagues names were missing from email lists and daily job assignment list. you had to figure out from there who was actually missing.

remember when this was a good place to work? seems so long ago.

It's true, layoffs have been happening but it's all hush-hush. The trick I use to tell who's gone is to search for names in Lync or Skype for Business. If their status comes up as "Presence Unknown", that seems to mean they were recently removed from the system. If their name doesn't come up at all, it means they have been gone for a while. It s---s because I depend on some of those people and then I have to figure out who else can do their job. Sometimes I don't know who's gone until I need them for something and then find out they're already out of the system.

Thanks for the heads up about the main office. I swear, I think every major company in America wants to reduce down to like 500 or less ees running the company. Its a freaking joke.

@NCDzSDc-6wvc I don't know where you work. Our layoffs they said yeah we need to cut staff and you are one of them. No going away lunches or parties or anything. In fact most of the layoffs management told people to leave immediately. They called some people at home to lay them off. It was ridiculous. They didn't even tell the people who are still there who got laid off. Only found out by the rumor mill and emails being bounced back.

To anyone applying for a job there, I would suggest you keep looking. They have laid off 50% of their employees in the last few years.

Reading these posts...I see a lot about faculty jobs affected, but is the Downers Grove main office a hot mess entirely? Just curious since I was interviewing for a recent position there.

You would know if there was a layoff---there would be a lot of going away lunches, people packing up their stuff, etc. Plus, you'd see the empty offices & cubicles for the staff & faculty.

There have already been lay offs this calendar year. They are just doing them in small quantities to avoid bad press or colleagues talking about them.

If you mean fiscal year, I guess one can dare to dream. They are just laying off and then hiring new people at lower salary. All the colleagues except the ones (managers) who actually should be laid off because they are incompetent.

Someone recently mentioned a rumor that there won't be any layoffs this year. I overheard the same thing in a conversation yesterday, and then today at a meeting my DAA said there are five open full time faculty positions. Could it be that there actually won't be any layoffs for the first time in five years? Dare we hope for growth in spite of the devastating loss of enrollments we suffered this session?

Uh-oh! Camden praising himself anonymously? Did he learn that from Donny Two-Scoops????

Camden is always right! This place should be bankrupt and closed! They are shutting the doors as we speak! There are so many employment contracts and tuition reimbursement contracts that they are all fraud and violations of liberties! Camden knows all and is always right! Hail Camden Kid! Hail Camden Kid!

For those who posted on the "contract" to stay if you get tuition reimbursement, keep in mind if you do decide to leave they would have to show that they go after EVERYONE for repayment...which I would bet they dont and their lawyers would probably advise them to avoid having to prove such.

However, I worked at a place that "said" they would demand repayment and when I left nothing happened. Want to know why? Because "When it comes to tuition reimbursement programs, companies get to reduce the amount they pay in employment taxes by taking advantage of the “educational assistance program” exclusion"...

...what that means is the company gets a huge tax break so if they go after YOU report THEM to the IRS and they will have to document and pay back applicable employment taxes.

Bottom line a LOSE/LOSE proposition and although these companies have deep pockets their lawyers are smart enough to advise to avoid the hassle and the attention.

Something to think about versus staying around in misery.

We've been calling it Best Facuity Fired.

"Best Faculty Forward" is beginning to look like "Only Faculty Left"

I've worked here a long time and never heard of any contracts for the tuition reimbursement

@NCDzSDc-3cbh I did! I actually volunteered for layoff last summer. I told my dean and the group president, and presented a list of reasons why it would make sense to pick me over the others. All they did was change some of my responsibilities to try to make me happier, completly mising my point. They fed me some sugarcoated lines about being "Best Faculty Forward" and wanting me to be excited about my role in leading us into the future of DeVry, as if there is one. So I decided to just wait it out until the doors close.

My Edcor tuition reimbursement contract says that I must stay for at least three years after completing my degree...

Tell the Deans they s---, call HQ & tell them that you told 50 students to drop out last term...you'll get out of your "contract" faster

If you are actively looking to get laid off, tell your manager! He or she would be happy to put you at the front of the line. Those of us who actually need to keep our positions would be thankful too.

@NCDzSDc-3zkv Yes, but it's not an employment contract. My Edcor tuition reimbursement contract says that I must stay for at least three years after completing my degree. If I leave early, or reduce my hours below full time, I have to pay it all back, and we're talking abut a lot of money here. It's a gilded cage of sorts. Since I haven't yet finished my Ph.D, that traps me here for at least four or five more years if I complete my degree. Or three more years if I drop out now. The only consolation I have is that I honestly don't think DVU can survive that long with the sharply-plummeting enrollment numbers. If they choose to get rid of me, the contract is nullified and I'm free, so I'm always hoping to be next on the layoff list but they keep skipping right over me.

Others have complained about this same trap in previous threads, so I know I'm not the only one affected like this.

NCDzSDc-1oze, what do you mean "escape my stupid contract?" We are all at will employees and can walk away anytime. Did you sign some sort of binding contract?

There is no whistle to be blown. Go away cammy

Anyone interested in blowing the whistle? I am particularly interested in how veterans are treated.

Did anyone write anything funny or interesting in their survey?