Annual Surveys

Workplace Policies, Benefits and More

The Benefits, Employee Experience, and Structure Survey (BEES Survey) collects a wide range of non-salary data. The goals of the survey are to allow institutions to benchmark traditional benefits such as retirement and paid time off; show the big picture as to what institutions are doing with workplace flexibility, remote work, and professional development; and provide added details as to how HR departments function.

About Our Surveys How to Participate

The Data We Collect With This Survey

The BEES Survey collects data on standard benefits:

  • Healthcare and Wellness Programs
  • Paid Time Off
  • Dependent Care
  • Tuition Reimbursement and Student Loan Repayment Assistance
  • Retirement

It also collects data on:

Employee Experience Topics

  • Remote and Flexible Work (e.g., whether the institution allows hybrid or remote work arrangements; where those policies are determined at the institution; what percentage of the workforce is on campus at all times, has a hybrid work arrangement, and is remote at all times)
  • Performance Evaluations (e.g., how often they are conducted; whose feedback is included)
  • Professional Development (e.g., whether the institution provides on-campus professional development opportunities and professional development funds)
  • Volunteer and Community Engagement (e.g., whether the institution has a formal volunteer program)
  • Hiring Metrics (e.g., time to fill; time to hire)

Institutional Structure and Policies

  • HR Department Budget
  • Where HR-Related Functions Are Housed (or whether they are outsourced)
  • Adjunct Faculty Pay Policies

In 2025, we redesigned our BEES Survey reports to include charts for most variables, making it easier than ever to share the latest trends with leadership and colleagues.

Methodology
Survey Participation and Information Template (Word)
Participating Institutions (Excel)

How We Protect the Data

Protecting the data CUPA-HR survey participants provide is an essential part of the work we do. Our Data Use Agreement and Data Anonymity Statement outline the protections we’ve put in place for both collection and use of data.

How to Access the Data

CUPA-HR conducts analyses of this data to publish reports and interactive graphics that highlight important findings and trends for higher ed HR professionals. CUPA-HR members have access to even more in-depth information.

DataOnDemand (DOD) is CUPA-HR’s subscription-based data service, which provides not only access to the data, but also analysis and reporting tools for creating custom data comparisons. An important part of this tool is the ability to specify which peer institutions you want to include in your benchmarking. Institutions that contribute data during the data collection process receive a deep discount on the DOD subscription for the survey(s) in which they participate. CUPA-HR offers resources, tutorials and labs for those who want to use data and DOD more effectively. 

About DataOnDemand