190 likes | 320 Views
Benchmarks from the Harvard Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey. University Faculty Meeting October 10, 2013. What is COACHE?. A collaborative project at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University initiated in 2002
E N D
Benchmarks from the Harvard Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey University Faculty Meeting October 10, 2013
What is COACHE? A collaborative project at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University initiated in 2002 Purpose: Developed for provosts and academic leaders to identify ways to improve the academic workplace in order to increase faculty recruitment and retention
The Survey Designed to answer the following questions: • How do faculty of different career stages experience academic work life at my institution? • How do their experiences compare to those of faculty at peer institutions? • What policies or practices are associated with high levels of faculty satisfaction and vitality?
UR Participation • Survey is administered every three years • UR participated in the 2006, 2009 and 2012 Surveys • Originally focused only on pre-tenure faculty • Now includes tenured faculty as well • 2012 also included non-tenure-track faculty but national response rate was insufficient for benchmarking
Survey Results • UR Response Rate: 43% • Confidentiality • COACHE administers the survey and does not provide UR with individual results (data file), a list of respondents or non-respondents, or with any personal identifiers • UR only receives a summary report • Benchmarks • This presentation focuses on the benchmark scores that COACHE uses to assess faculty job satisfaction • Includes 21,000 faculty respondents nationwide
What is a Benchmark Score? • Rather than looking at each individual question on the survey separately, COACHE aggregates responses to questions that are related to develop a benchmark score • Each benchmark score represents the average score of several questions that share a common theme • The advantage of using a benchmark score is that it provides an overall sense of how faculty feel about a particular aspect of their work/life • Using a benchmark score also makes it easier to compare across institutions
COACHE Benchmarks UR Respondents Compared to Respondents from All Institutions Participating in the 2012 COACHE Survey
Nature of Work Lowest Score
Interdisciplinary, Collaboration, Mentoring Lowest Score Highest Score
Tenure and Promotion Lowest Score Highest Score
Resources, Policies, Benefits Highest Score Lowest Score
Leadership Highest Score Lowest Score
Department Lowest Score Highest Score
Appreciation and Recognition Lowest Score Highest Score
Changes Made • Parental leave policy and sick child care service added • Increased starting salaries by rank and reduced salary compression through significant Spring 2012 faculty salary market adjustment • Continued benchmarking of faculty salaries to ensure that we stay competitive • Created the Faculty Enrichment Advisory Group with Mellon Foundation Grant support • Support for cross-school, interdisciplinary and team teaching through FYS, University Seminars, and new majors • Support for faculty research, including research incentive accounts
Continued Focus • Faculty mentoring and development • Clarity of tenure and promotion expectations • Interdisciplinary and cross-school opportunities • Diversity
Next COACHE Administration • Fall 2015 • Will include full-time pre-tenure and tenured faculty • One tool, but an important one in assessing faculty satisfaction and concerns