University of Wisconsin System Sloan Project for Academic Career Advancement

1. University of Wisconsin System Sloan Project for Academic Career Advancement Contact Information: Address: 1220 Linden Drive, 1660 Van Hise Hall Madison, WI 53706 Phone: (608)262-6060, Fax: (608)263-2046 Email: sloanproject@uwsa.edu Website: http://sloan.uwsa.edu

2. University of Wisconsin System Sloan Project for Academic Career Advancement… Where? Who? What? Why? and How?

3. The University of Wisconsin System: Laboratory for Understanding Change in the Academic Workforce and Workplace      = Current UWS demonstration sites: Madison; La Crosse; Oshkosh; Parkside; Stout

4. Organization of the UW System Sloan Project for Academic Career Advancement UW System, President Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Program Director Katharine C. LyallKathleen E. Christensen UWS Staff Executive Director: Bernice Durand (25%) Director of Research/Administration: Louise Root-Robbins (100%) Institutional Liaison/Academic Planner: Fran Garb (50%) Administrative Specialist: Emily Gilbert (100%) External Advisory Council Cathy A. Trower, Harvard University Graduate School of Education Eugene Rice, American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) Internal (UW) Advisory Council Legal, Budget and Policy, Human Resources, Academic Affairs UW System Campus and Organization Representatives

5. Goals of UW System Sloan Project for Academic Career Advancement Increase flexibility & options for satisfying, successful academic career without sacrificing personal life by: Raising awareness of trends and the current situation of UWS faculty and academic staff Identifying policies & practices in need of improvement implementing changes to ensure equity

6. WHY is Change Needed? Research shows that “This generation of scholars is very different from previous cohorts,” says Dr. Cathy Trower. Trower’s Faculty Recruitment Study shows: • Young scholars weigh many factors as they consider academic employment • Doctoral candidates place increasing importance on balancing work and life obligations • When considering a job, new faculty say they consider a wide range of factors beyond tenure-track appointments. Consistently, where they will live and what work they will be expected to do weigh first and second in their decision. Salary typically comes in fifth and institutional prestige last.

7. Trends • The American Association of University Professors (2000) point out with grave concern that over 50% of the university and college tenure-track and non tenure-track teaching faculty and staff in the United States are part-time, and over 50% of the full-time instructional staff are employed in non tenure-track appointments. • As Finkelstein and Schuster state in the bulletin of the American Association of Higher Education (AAHE 2001), “In our radically decentralized non-system of higher education, no one is in charge. No sinister conspiracy orchestrates this change. It is truly a revolution driven from ‘below’ fueled by innumerable decisions on individual campuses and at the academic unit level as they develop strategies to engage in an uncertain future.”

8. WHY is Change Needed? Flexibility: • Significantly more part-time positions are held by academic staff than by faculty. Many more faculty would choose to work part-time or extend their tenure clocks for (e.g.) family purposes while many academic staff would prefer full-time Security: • Tenure-track positions are increasingly difficult to find and tenure more difficult to achieve; only ~ 10% of instructional academic staff have longer-term but not permanent appointments Equity: • There is a mismatch between what people want and what their “choices” are for a satisfying professional and personal life – there needs to be institutional support for individuals’ work and personal life F+S+E = Satisfaction = Recruitment and Retention

9. UW System Self-Examination Initiatives: Faculty and Staff • 1997 Study of the University of Wisconsin System in the 21st Century • 1998 Teaching Academic Staff Study • 1999 Systemwide IRAS Forum • 2000Faculty Recruitment & Retention Report and the Regent Staffing Principles • 2001IRAS Working Group Report • 2002 IRAS Integration Report

10. Related UWS Initiatives to Build Upon and to Form Collaborations UW System internally funded • Initiative on the Status of Women • Office of Professional & Instructional Development (OPID) UW-Madison externally funded • WISELI (Women in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute) NSF • WISCAPE (Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education) UWF • CIRTL (Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning) NSF

11. Distribution of 2002 UW System Employees (FTE)

12. Instructional, Research and Professional Academic Staff (FTE) 1987-2002

13. Why the Increase in Academic Staff? • Piecemeal solutions to pressures: state budget, class size, access to education • Complex professional community ---> need for specialization • More student services

14. 2 Academic Career Paths • UW SystemFaculty: significant decrease in the past 15 years, from 6604 in 1987 to 6057 in 2002 • UW SystemAcademic Staff: dramatic increase in 15 years -- diminished role of faculty in the academic enterprise • More dramatic at UW-Madison in a 25-year profile (students ~40K, faculty ~2K, academic staff 2.5K-->6K)

15. Academic Career Advancement Pressures • Dramatic growth in non tenure-track positions • Lack of career choices and integration of non-tenure staff into institutional life • Increased stresses related to the tenure track • Mismatch between workplace and workforce • Resistance to change

16. Focus of Needed Policy and Procedural Changes • Integration into department/school • Professional development opportunities • Inclusion in decision making • Spousal/partner hire/benefits • Appointment status • Orientation at all levels • Mentoring at all levels • Part-time appointments • Tenure-clock adjustments (w/o repercussions) • Expectations clearly delineated and uniformly applied • Flexibility in balance between teaching, research and service responsibilities • Advancement through title series • Movement to tenure track • Family leave, beyond legal requirement • On-site child care

17. Addressing Barriers to change • Faculty concerned with national ranking -- stigma of “lack of productivity” for faculty on part-time or extended clock • Faculty control use of academic titles, adhoc and inconsistent • Shared governance structure may not allow for constructive communication between administration, faculty, and academic staff • Mismatch between policies & procedures and modern academic career needs

18. Indicators of Successful Institutional Transformation • Policies and procedures are more straightforward than beliefs and attitudes. • The UWS Sloan Project is aiming for changes that are: • Systemic • Sustainable

19. HOW? • Department chairs are the point of intervention • Department chairs are change agents

20. Topics for Discussion • Issue 1: Integration of new tenure-track faculty and instructional academic staff. • Reflect on your own experience as you entered your first position. • What were the significant aspects of your experience? • Who played a significant role? • What do you think will be the important components of integration for the "new generation" of faculty and instructional academic staff?

21. Topics for Discussion • Issue 2: Facilitation of career advancement for new faculty, • post-tenure faculty and instructional academic staff • Reflect on your own career • What have been the significant aspects of your experience? • Who has played a significant role? • What do you think will be the significant issues in career • advancement for the "new generation" of faculty and instructional • academic staff?

22. Fitting People of the 2000’s into Institutions of the Mid-1900’s No choice: change has happened Structures, policies, procedures, practices are hand-me-downs from simpler times External pressures Not possible to turn back, to self-replicate

23. Fitting People of the 2000’s into Institutions of the Mid-1900’s Choice: re-design structures, policies, procedures, practices to be responsive to changes Chairs’ mandates: recruit, retain, manage more with less, … Internal flexibility Acknowledge, listen, analyze, consult, build consensus, do it!