Abstract

The for-profit college industry has been plagued by harsh regulatory scrutiny. This has led to poor enrollment and decreased employee engagement. The skill and effectiveness of leaders has the potential to positively impact the industry through increased Leader Manager Exchange (LMX) quality. The purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to examine whether differences in employee engagement exist based on college employees’ perceived LMX quality. Demographic variables were gathered to identify moderating effects together with LMX. This study was conducted at a large for-profit university in the southwest United States. Four hundred and fifty-eight online surveys were collected. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to discern differences in engagement levels between groups of employees based on LMX quality and demographic variables. Results showed that in all instances, there were significant differences in employee engagement based on LMX quality. On average, higher levels of LMX quality corresponded with higher levels of employee engagement. Additional differences in employee engagement levels were related to gender and education levels. The results of this study may help to grow the field of knowledge on employee engagement and LMX in a population of for-profit college employees—a population that had not yet been specifically researched in this way. Implications and recommendations for college leaders and the future of the industry are also presented.