SMU (Southern Methodist University) reviews

-Extremely rare for them to consider anyone internally for promotion. -Limited vacation, with no increase until you begin your 6th year of employment -Must pay for parking and, due to constantly shrinking parking availability from the construction of new buildings, it's a toss-up if you will even have a parking spot available that you pay for. -No true concern for employee wellness. It is mandated you cannot work from home, and they will not work with you even if you have a child at home and need to occasionally work remote. -Professional Development is micromanaged and not relevant to all positions. You have to justify through 3 levels above you to be considered to be approved for your own professional development opportunity that is a nominal cost. -This department is run by fear and an old-school mindset. You better be in your chair from 8:30 to 5:00. Meetings are regularly scheduled at 4 pm on a Friday to ensure you are here all day. -Communication amongst the department is terrible. You get your hand slapped a lot because middle management didn't pass a message down, and there is a sense of upper management being delighted in the opportunity for gotcha moments for minor "offenses" that you weren't aware were even a problem -1 to 2% raises are terrible when coupled with the fact that you pay for parking, and your gas - seeing as most people who work here don't make enough to live anywhere near the campus -Limited opportunities to negotiate better pay and a confusing review process that does not coincide with the same time of year that supervisors submit compensation requests -Salaries - at least for mid to lower-level employees - are low. I make $15,000 less than the average compensation for my role in Dallas. They get away with this by offering tuition benefits.

The President, Provost, HR and other leadership have very antiquated stances on flexibility and work/life balance when it comes to staff. We were recently told working from home for personal reasons will basically never be allowed. It staff must work from home, that time should be reported as vacation or sick time (yes even if you are actually working from home). With more and more companies embracing technology and the flexibility it can give employees, SMU is digging it's heels into the 20th century when it comes to flexibility.