American University Reviews
64% would recommend to a friend
(1046 total reviews)
Sylvia M. Burwell
56% approve of CEO
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Found 1,046 of over 1K reviews
Updated Dec 6, 2023
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Top Review Highlights by Sentiment
Excerpts from user reviews, not authored by Glassdoor
- "many poor administrators who are not held accountable for bad management and poor decisions" (in 21 reviews)
Ratings by Demographics
This rating reflects the overall rating of American University and is not affected by filters.
- 5.0Dec 4, 2023Dean's FellowFormer Employee, less than 1 yearWashington, DC
Pros
Made great connections with supervising attorneys and professors.
Cons
It can sometimes be a lot of work, more than advertised but so is the legal realm.
- 5.0Dec 1, 2023Graduate Teaching AssistantFormer Employee, less than 1 yearWashington, DC
Pros
Being a graduate teaching assistant was a lot of work but it gave me lots of skills that I could add to my resume (classroom facilitation, data management, lesson creation)
Cons
Some professors will give more work than others, yet everyone is paid the same. That being said, you should make the most out of your assistantship and take on as much responsibility as you're able to.
- 4.0Dec 1, 2023Assistant DirectorFormer Employee, more than 3 yearsWashington, DC
Pros
Retirement and health benefits are good. Great people, great community, and trying their best to be responsive to the students and staff but...
Cons
Salaries don't match the workload. Huge turnover is happening and those left behind and expected to pick up the slack without any compensation. And staff are asked to volunteer their time at work...
- 5.0Dec 1, 2023Assistant Athletic TrainerFormer Employee, more than 1 yearWashington, DC
Pros
Great location, great institution with lots of recourse
Cons
living expense is quite high in the area, relatively far from public transportation access
- 3.0Dec 6, 2023Associate Director, Financial ManagementCurrent Employee
Pros
Wonderful, friendly environment with caring people
Cons
Easy to get stuck in a place with no mobility based on supervisor or department.
- 2.0Aug 11, 2023Administrative AssistantCurrent Employee
Pros
The community, some of the best people work here
Cons
The pay is embarrassing. Let me repeat that. The pay I receive at AU to do the job I need to do at this institution is demoralizingly embarrassing. It’s embarrassing to me, and it should be embarrassing to AU, but since payroll, HR, Lit, Provost, etc is so scattered, there is no central force to feel embarrassed. AU does not see the individual. AU sees a very cheap line they allocated that is easily interchangeable. I once had a meeting when I was a student with graduate services about serious concerns I had about food insecurity (when I was on tuition remission my pay came out to 300 a week) and she suggested I take canned beans from the pantry.
5 - 2.0Oct 13, 2023ProfessorCurrent Employee, more than 8 yearsWashington, DC
Pros
Plenty of work, professional development opportunities, and opportunities to do more more more for AU!
Cons
HR is unresponsive and not effective. The incompetence is unparalleled, especially for a major university. Paychecks are often wrong, reimbursements take months (if they happen), and stipends or payments for specific events often take months to issue and often lead to more errors. It’s frustrating to work at a place that demands so much from their employees but cannot pay their workers correctly or correct payment errors without negative impacts on the employee.
- 5.0Nov 8, 2023Graduate Research AssistantFormer Employee, more than 1 year
Pros
Great way to gain professional experience in academia and make connections based on interests beyond coursework
Cons
Hourly pay is not enough to live on, but a nice supplement to other earnings
- 5.0Nov 12, 2023Research AssistantCurrent Employee
Pros
Awesome , I love the work environment
Cons
You get very bored as the the work is very less
- 5.0Oct 26, 2023Associate DirectorCurrent Employee, more than 1 yearWashington, DC
Pros
Laid back work environment Hardworking and intelligent student body Committed coworkers Excellent 401k match Lots of time off over Winter Break
Cons
Lots of bureaucratic hoops to jump through Many areas are under resourced Lack of strategic focus and buy-in
American University Reviews FAQs
American University has an overall rating of 4.0 out of 5, based on over 1,119 reviews left anonymously by employees. 64% of employees would recommend working at American University to a friend and 51% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has improved by 2% over the last 12 months.
64% of American University employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews. Employees also rated American University 4.0 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.9 for culture and values and 3.5 for career opportunities.
According to reviews on Glassdoor, employees commonly mention the pros of working at American University to be culture, career development, benefits and the cons to be management, compensation.
