Dive Brief:
- Psychological assessments, or personality tests, seem to be gaining ground in the higher education presidential search process, though few colleges and universities have actually used them yet.
- Inside Higher Ed reports that the tests assess soft skills and find more support among trustees who hail from the corporate world than faculty members on search committees, who most often question their value.
- The tests can factor into a final hiring decision, and they can also be used to coach a new president, based on the skills the test identifies she or he as needing developed.
Dive Insight:
Psychological assessments are used by a range of companies in the corporate world, and not just for the top jobs. The hiring process for customer service positions often includes a personality test, and The Wall Street Journal reported in 2014 that 60% to 70% of prospective workers in the U.S. were asked to take the tests as part of the pre-employment process. There have, however, been concerns over whether employees with mental health problems that don’t interfere with their jobs are unfairly discriminated against by the tests. Higher education has so far stayed out of the fray but — at least for presidential searches, when trustees must fill ever-more-scrutinized positions — the tool seems to be gaining traction.