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Naropa University

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Naropa University Reviews

2.8

43% would recommend to a friend

(62 total reviews)
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Charles Lief

28% approve of CEO

26% positive business outlook

Naropa University has an employee rating of 2.8 out of 5 stars, based on 62 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Naropa University employee rating is 25% below average for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

62 reviews
1.0
10 Feb 2019

Nice idea, Poorly executed.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good values and mission in theory. Some wonderful, creative, caring, out-of-the-box people. Reasonable access to outside teachers, authors, artists etc. in the contemplative traditions and arts. Being close to the rocky mountains.

Cons

Poor pay. Faculty-centric and driven, rather than process and institution driven; too many individual agendas operating. Toxic work culture at times esp at staff lines. Anti-functional hierarchy. Lack of diversity staff, students, faculty and administration - culture is warped. Minorities don't go there - they are not ready for you.

1.0
21 June 2017

PLEASE think twice about working here!! It is a dead-end!

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Community Practice day is nice...

Cons

You will NEVER get a pay raise...ever. Please don't think you are an exception to this - it doesn't matter who you are, or what you do. You will NOT get one cent of a raise. Also, in agreement with one of the other reviewers, this is a VERY toxic work environment. You are overworked, underpaid, expected to go above and beyond with no appreciation whatsoever. You will frequently have more duties added to your job description without more pay, you will be expected to work over 40hrs per week on a regular basis, and you will continually feel as though your benefits are decreasing (example: retirement match was cut, health benefits are HORRENDOUS/extremely expensive and don't cover much). Additionally, when you feel stressed and you try to bring up the above mentioned points, you will be told that you need to "focus more on self-care". No one in any management position cares about you or how much they will overwork you, they just tell you to do "self-care" more. This is considered "mindful". Most of the upper administration are passive aggressive, and tout themselves as being "mindfulness practitioners" when in reality, they are using these terms to manipulate and keep employees feeling as though there is something wrong with THEMSELVES. In terms of the school itself - it's a great idea, but there is too much hand-holding of students. Most students come to Naropa because they felt as though they didn't fit in to "mainstream" education. Due to this, the majority of these students have MAJOR behavioral problems. It's a bit incredible to see 18+ year olds with such extensive behavioral challenges, as though you were working with k-12, or a psychiatric inpatient hospital. Additionally, once you've realized you have made a mistake in taking a job here, you may find yourself searching for other employment for 1+ years. In the education industry, it seems as though Naropa is not looked upon very highly (perhaps this is my anecdotal perspective...), and it becomes hard for other employers to take you seriously. Many former co-workers, including myself, have a strong background in what we do and it ended up taking about 1-2 years to finally be offered a position elsewhere. Also, if you think you will be able to "get your foot in the door" and "move up" at Naropa, you won't. There are very few promotional opportunities (I would bet to see more layoffs than promotions at this point...), and if you do apply for one of those rare opportunities, you will likely be passed over because Naropa likes to bring in new-and-shiny and cast a savior-like cloud over outsiders, as if they're going to solve all of their financial and enrollment issues.

2.0
18 May 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Autonomy, environment for massive amounts of learning, leaning towards the best solutions for the university cost

Cons

Horrendous pay non-commensurate with required responsibilities. And diminishing benefits

Viewing 1 - 3 of 62 Reviews

Glassdoor has 74 Naropa University reviews submitted anonymously by Naropa University employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Naropa University is right for you.