Before Hannah Morrison (21Ox, 23C) graduated from Emory’s Oxford College, she valued her experience as a tour guide and was excited to continue this passion on the Atlanta campus. But when she started the job, she noticed one major difference: she was no longer getting paid.
“I was learning all this extra stuff and doing more work while not getting paid anymore,” Morrison said. “It just was frustrating to keep the same position essentially, but just stop getting paid in the middle.”
Tour guides at some other prominent universities are raising similar concerns about compensation. For instance, Vanderbilt University (Tenn.) students in 2019 petitioned the school to have the option of working, rather than volunteering, as student ambassadors. Additionally, the student newspaper at Washington University at St. Louis published an article arguing for the compensation of tour guides.
On both the Atlanta and Oxford campuses, tour guides lead families around their respective campuses, answer questions, promote Emory, and act as role models for prospective students and their families. The workload and responsibilities are similar, but Atlanta tour guides volunteer their time while their Oxford counterparts are paid $9-10 an hour depending on their year.
Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions Madeline Chappell told the Wheel that the Emory tour group has “historically been a volunteer based organization with varying levels of membership and responsibility.”
But the disparity has prompted many tour guides to raise concerns over campus equity.
Atlanta campus tours also take longer and include various tailored paths compared to the more impromptu Oxford routes. For instance, if leading a small group and a prospective student indicates interest in business, Morrison can diverge from the decided route and show the student the Goizueta Business School.
Hannah Kreuziger (21Ox, 23C), a former Student Admissions Association (SAA) Coordinator and current Emory Student Admissions (ESA) Fellow, said that she understands Atlanta tour guides’ frustration and is unsure why one group of tour guides is paid while the other is not.
“Both organizations have an incredibly high regard for their tour guides,” Kreuziger said. “Students that sign up to be tour guides for either SAA or ESA really do it because they love Emory.”
According to SAA advisor Jason Goodman, ambassadors in both the Emory and Oxford organizations both sit on panels, lead families around their respective campuses, and respond to student and parent questions.
In regards to why Oxford tour guides were paid while their Atlanta counterparts were not, Goodman said that many factors impact how tour guide programs are built.
“SAA is significantly smaller than ESA — less than 35 students as a whole — and has been developed as an opportunity that offers both leadership development and work experience,” Goodman said.
Emory’s group does offer paid fellowships and pays ambassadors during summer months and school breaks when tours are conducted more frequently, Chappell noted.
Still, students from both campuses want to see pay increases – or the existence of pay – for tour guides.
Michael Chan (22Ox), an Oxford tour guide since fall 2020, believes that tour guides are still not paid enough. In-person tour guides involve physical activity, social interaction and on-the-spot thinking not always expected by other work-study jobs, Chan explained.
“When we give tours, at least at Oxford, it's in one hour time slots, so you're only allowed to clock in for one hour for a high intensity job,” Chan said. “On average, tour guides have to invest more effort into their jobs, but receive less pay because they're not able to get as many hours of work in as other work study students are.”
Despite their concerns over compensation, both Morrison and Chan enjoy being Emory tour guides. Morrison continues to give tours on the Atlanta campus, while Chan is considering joining ESA when he graduates from Oxford this spring.
Chan emphasized the social, academic and professional opportunities of the role, as well as the opportunity for professional development and connection to prospective students.
“I'm someone who loves working with people and the community,” Chan said. “Campus tour guides are one of the most critically important aspects of campus marketing. The reputation of the school is on the line, and student ambassadors contribute a crucial, personalized touch to their interactions with students.”
