Seattle University Reviews

4.2

84% would recommend to a friend

(536 total reviews)
avatar

Eduardo M. Peñalver

56% approve of CEO

54% positive business outlook

Seattle University has an employee rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, based on 536 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Seattle University employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

536 reviews
1.0
5 Apr 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Get the week between Christmas and New Year's off of work -Get Good Friday and Easter Monday off of work -Tuition remission -Great Transportation program -Students are great! -Faculty are very knowledgeable and loved by students

Cons

-Human Resources is a mess and no one seems to know which end up is up when it comes to their own handbook and policies -VERY paternalistic and sexist culture (Essentially it's a Catholic school stuck in the 70's) -Your success depends on the department that you end up working for. Some departments are just set up to fail and take down all the staff within them. -It's a revolving door. Someone is ALWAYS LEAVING and the entire school never seems to be fully staffed. -Salaries are LOW and there are no ways to change jobs, move up, get title changes, get salary increases. It's basically a dead-end job. -You are expected to work around the clock as "service to Seattle U" -Supervisors are deadwood and two-faced and will throw you under the bus to save themselves. -

1.0
27 Aug 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

* Central location in a major city * Some staff and faculty are mission-driven and genuinely committed to students

Cons

* Leadership is disorganized, and decision-making is opaque. * Structural changes are strategic but often appear retaliatory. * Pay is not competitive. Staff receive minimal raises despite growing workloads, while senior administrators receive large raises, create new executive roles, and alter benefits at staff expense. * Hiring and promotion lack transparency. Qualified internal candidates are often overlooked in favor of individuals with personal or institutional ties. In some cases, finalists were denied roles after rightfully pursuing legal claims against the university, raising equity concerns. * Leadership claims to value shared governance, but meaningful input is routinely dismissed. * Students, faculty, and staff who raise concerns about equity, misconduct, or accommodations are frequently ignored, marginalized, or in some cases terminated. * Public commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion are inconsistently applied. Leadership appears to prioritize certain demographic groups, while other communities—including Native Americans—experience persistent marginalization. * Complaints of harassment, discrimination, or inappropriate conduct are mishandled. Individuals with longstanding misconduct records remain in roles or quietly transition out, while those who report them face negative career consequences. * Oversight mechanisms, including Human Resources and ombuds services, lack independence and protect leadership rather than staff or faculty. * Turnover is high, morale is low, and many long-tenured employees leave due to disillusionment with leadership, inequity, and toxic culture.

2.0
10 Jun 2025

Nepotism

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Retirement Matching and Tuition Remission

Cons

Tuition Remission requires 1 year of service unless you are coming in from another university/college. Low salaries compared with most of the public colleges. Expectation to work beyond normal work hours with so much regularity.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 536 Reviews

Glassdoor has 598 Seattle University reviews submitted anonymously by Seattle University employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Seattle University is right for you.