DHR report: Dropping bachelor’s degree requirement boosts recruitment for state jobs

A new report from the Delaware Department of Human Resources (DHR) suggests recruitment surged for numerous state-government occupations after college-degree requirements ended.

A year ago, Governor John Carney (D) nixed rules mandating bachelor’s degrees for 350 state positions, including family service specialist, human resource advisor, state human resource analyst, and probation and parole officer. A resolution passed by the General Assembly directed DHR to complete a comprehensive report on the progress of the policy change at the end of last year. The governor said he was pleased at what the report showed.

“This work shows that we can be smarter about filling important state jobs without lowering our standards,” Carney said in a statement. “I want to thank DHR for continuing to examine how we can expand state job opportunities to more people who want good paying jobs with great benefits, while contributing meaningfully to our state.”

In the DHR statement, Secretary Claire DeMatteis said ditching degree stipulations for some state jobs in favor of pertinent experience is part of the department’s greater effort over the last three years to increase recruitment. The requirements, she said, began about 25 years ago but are no longer regarded as crucial to determining qualification for many state positions. She expressed happiness with the talent Delaware government has attracted since dropping the old rules.

“At some point about 25 years ago, degree requirements were added to state job requirements,” DeMatteis said. “Times change and people’s life experiences change. With DHR’s thorough review of job degree requirements, a robust marketing campaign for state jobs, higher salaries, and innovative signing and retention bonuses for hard-to-fill jobs, the state has had record hiring years in 2022 and 2023. It is on track for another near-record hiring year for 2024.”

According to the study, of the 945 classes of jobs governed by Delaware’s Merit System Rules and Regulations, 159 continue to require a bachelor’s degree, 16 require graduate schooling, and six require an associate’s diploma.

After DHR eliminated the undergraduate diploma requirement for family service specialists, 575 percent more individuals applied for such positions. The percentage rise was nine percent for human resource advisors and human resource analysts. And applicants for parole and probation officer spots increased by 18 percent.

The department’s review also said the number of unqualified applicants in each of those categories declined, most dramatically for parole and probation officers — by 48 percent.

In loosening college degree mandates for state workers, Delaware follows a trend that has been popular on both sides of the political spectrum. Via an order executed last year, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) eliminated college degree requirements for all but 8 percent of his state’s jobs.

Other states that have recently rolled back college education stipulations include Maryland, Colorado, Utah, and Minnesota. Policy centers as diverse as the libertarian Cato Institute and the center-left Brookings Institution have supported these changes.