The police department is having no problem attracting applicants for school safety agent positions this year, in contrast to its recent troubles recruiting police officers.

More than 2,700 people are vying to fill the 100 spots opening in November, and an additional 190 spots opening next year, for school safety agents.

The agents will start out with a salary that under a new contract jumps to nearly $4,000 more than a police officer’s this week, though the position requires fewer qualifications. About 5,000 people signed up to fill 2,800 available spots for police officers this summer. Of those, the department expects between 700 and 800 to stay in the job after successfully completing the academy.

With the pay increase for school safety agents comes a new requirement that applicants take a civil service exam, which was given for the first time on Saturday by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services.

Gregory Floyd, the president of the Teamsters Local 237, which represents the agents, said the changes have increased the stature of the position. “The civil service status gives it more prestige this year,” he said. “And I think they’re going to get better candidates.”

A school safety agent is required to have a high school diploma, while a police officer must have either 60 college credits or an honorable discharge after serving two years in the American military.

Mr. Floyd has suggested that the police department consider promoting some school safety agents to police officers to deal with its recruitment problems. Previously, the police department allowed school safety agents to substitute two years on the job for the college credits, but Commissioner Raymond Kelly abolished the policy.

Reinstating it is not an option, an NYPD spokesman, Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, said. “Commissioner Kelly is opposed to any reductions of educational requirements for police recruits,” Mr. Browne said. “He’s opposed to lowering department standards in any way.”

Mr. Kelly has attributed the NYPD’s recruiting problem to its low starting salary. Currently, a police officer’s starting salary is $25,100, a figure the patrolmen’s union and the mayor agreed to in contract talks. The starting salary for school safety agents rises to $28,901 this week, Mr. Floyd said.

A spokesman for the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, Albert O’Leary, said he did not believe the low starting pay has contributed to the recruiting problem. “Starting pay is irrelevant. Top pay is the key,” he said. “That’s why nearly 1,000 police officers a year quit the NYPD for better paying jobs, even when they have to start at the bottom with low starting pay.”

A police officer’s salary tops out at about $59,000, compared to $32,658 for a school safety agent.