2011-2012 COACHEFaculty Job Satisfaction Survey

Vice Provosts MeetingNovember 5, 2012

Betsy Brown and Nancy Whelchel

Why?

To systematically collect information from our faculty to help NC State assess (and improve!) the quality of work life

– Nature of work in research, teaching, and service– Resources to support faculty work– Tenure and promotion policies and practices– Leadership and governance– Department collegiality, quality, and engagement– Benefits, compensation, and work/life– Interdisciplinary work and collaboration– Mentoring– Appreciation and recognition

Who? • Developed by Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (Harvard

Graduate School of Education)• Over 75 participating colleges/universities • NC State COACHE peers

– Clemson University– Kansas State University– Purdue University– SUNY-Albany– University of Tennessee

• Population:– Pre-tenure and tenured faculty– Non-tenure track faculty (part of pilot study; no COACHE peer comparisons)– Full-time– Hired prior to July 1, 2011– Not in terminal year after being denied tenure

• What about staff? Planning for NCSU Staff Well-Being Survey, Spring 2014

When, How and What?

• October 2011 – January 2012– NC State also participated in 2005-2006 and 2008-2009 surveys (pre-tenure

faculty only)

• Online survey• Results are/will be available for

– Faculty overall (pre-tenure, tenured, non-tenure track)– Pre-tenure/tenured faculty

• Overall & by gender, race/ethnicity, tenure status, rank, college• Compared to COACHE peers• Compared to results from previous COACHE surveys (pre-tenured only)

– Non-tenure track faculty• Overall & by gender, race/ethnicity, college• Compared to pre-tenure/tenured faculty• Note: Current reports exclude Librarians (will be provided separately)

Response Rates:Pre-Tenure/Tenured Faculty

ffPre-Tenure/Tenured

Faculty 

NC State COACHE PeersAll COACHE Institutions

Pop RespsResp Rate Pop Resps

Resp Rate Pop Resps

Resp Rate

Overall 1,362 800 59% 5,113 2,631 51% 27,660 13,634 49%

Tenure Status                  

Pre-Tenure 247 145 59% 1,170 653 56% 7,772 3,973 51%

Tenured 1,115 655 59% 3,943 1,978 50% 19,888 9,661 49%

Rank                  

Associate 426 247 58% 1,690 856 51% 9,711 4,689 48%

Full 702 416 59% 2,300 1,138 49% 10,618 5,117 48%

Gender                  

Male 1,014 571 56% 3,588 1,729 48% 17,710 8,151 46%

Female 348 229 66% 1,525 902 59% 9,950 5,483 55%

Race/Ethnicity                  

White 1,096 669 61% 4,041 2,159 53% 21,332 10,897 51%

Faculty of Color 264 130 49% 1,071 471 44% 6,269 2,725 43%

Response Rates:Non-Tenure Track Faculty

ffNC State Non-Tenure Track Faculty

Pop RespResp Rate

Overall 432 197 46%Gender       Male 231 94 44% Female 219 103 47%Race/Ethnicty       White 370 175 47% Faculty of Color 53 22 42%

Presentation of Results

• Focus on– Global satisfaction– NC State pre-tenure/tenured faculty compared to COACHE peers– NC State pre-tenured/tenured faculty

• Overall• Sub-group comparisons

– Gender– Race/ethnicity– Tenure status– Rank

– NC State NTT faculty • Overall• Compared to pre-tenure/tenured faculty• Gender comparisons• Note: No race/ethnicity comparisons due to no notable differences in responses• Note: Not reporting on comparisons to results from previous COACHE surveys

(limited trend data due to changes in population and questions)

Presentation of Results cont.

• Methods– COACHE items typically ask for ‘agreement’ or ‘satisfaction’ with a

particular statement or area of work– COACHE uses a 5-point response scale– Higher numbers represent more positive or favorable opinions– Reporting on average ratings– “Notable difference” between groups exist when the difference in

averages rating is +/- 0.25. – Within reports for a sub-group, “higher” = 4.0 and above, “lower” =

2.75 or below

Global Satisfaction:NC State Faculty Overall

Overall, faculty are satisfied working at NC State

– 74% are “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with their department as a place to work

– 67% would choose to work at NC State again if starting over– 65% are “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with NC State as a place to

work– 51% would “strongly recommend” their department as a place to

work to someone of their same rank– 60% of pre-tenured & 70% of NTTs plan to stay at NC State for

“ten years or more”• Most common reasons contributing to thinking about leaving?

– To retire (23%)– To improve salary/benefits (22%)

Global Satisfaction:NC State Faculty Overall

Out of a list of 30 possible aspects of work…

•Most commonly cited “best aspects” about working at NC State?– Geographic location (40% NTT, 32% pre-tenure, 42% tenured)– Quality of colleagues (28%, 34%, 32% respectively)– Academic freedom (18%, 14%, 19%)– Support of colleagues (16%, 15%,13%)– My sense of fit here (13%, 21%, 15%)

•Most commonly cited “worst aspects” about working at NC State?– Compensation (49% NTT, 40% pre-tenure, and 40% tenured)– Lack of support for research/creative work (8%, 12%,18% respectively)– Quality of graduate students (1%, 14%, 10%)– Quality of facilities (9%, 10%, 12%)

NC State / COACHE Peer Comparisons

(Pre-Tenured/Tenured Faculty Combined)

• NC State faculty have ratings similar to our COACHE peers for almost all items

• Bragging rights…– NC State has notably more favorable ratings than

peers for• Classrooms (3.71 NC State vs 3.23 Peers)• Library resources (4.17 vs 3.76)• Department culture encourages promotion (3.97 vs 3.68)• Mentoring of associate faculty (2.69 vs 2.42)• Offices (3.95 vs 3.69)

 

NC State / COACHE Peer Comparisons

(Pre-Tenured/Tenured Faculty Combined)

• Areas of relative weakness– NC State has notably less favorable ratings than

peers for• Health benefits for family (2.25 NC State vs 3.46 Peers)• Health benefits for employee (2.78 vs 3.58)• Tuition waivers, remission or exchange (2.16 vs 2.70)• Retirement benefits (3.06 vs 3.44)• Clerical/administrative support (2.98 vs 3.31)

 

Pre-Tenure/Tenured Faculty:Most Favorably Rated Aspects of Work

(Average = 4.0 or higher)

• Nature of Work– Discretion over courses taught

(4.40)– Influence on focus of research

(4.34)– Level of courses taught (4.10)

• Resources– Library resources (4.17)

• Mentoring– Importance of mentoring w/in

dept (4.18)– Being a mentor is fulfilling

(4.10)

• Tenure/Promotion– Tenure: Reasonableness of

teaching expectations (4.15)– Tenure: Reasonableness of

scholarship expectations (4.01)– Promotion: Clarity of process

(4.05)– Promotion: Clarity of body of

evidence (4.00)

• Department Life– Meeting times compatible w/

personal needs (4.13)– Intellectual vitality of pre-tenure

faculty (4.09)

Pre-Tenure/Tenured Faculty:Least Favorably Rated Aspects of Work

(Average = 2.75 or lower)

• Compensation/Benefits– Tuition

wavers/remission/exchange (2.16)

– Housing benefits (2.20)– Health benefits for family (2.25)– Childcare (2.33)– Eldercare (2.59)

• Governance/Leadership– Priorities are acted on

consistently (2.50)– Dean’s support in adapting to

change (2.56)– Priorities are stated consistently

(2.68)

• Interdisciplinary Work– Budgets encourage interdisc work

(2.52)– Facilities are conducive to interdisc

work (2.59)– Interdisc work is rewarded in merit

(2.61)– Interdisc work is rewarded in

promotion (2.66)

• Mentoring– Support for faculty to be good

mentors (2.37)– Mentoring of associate faculty (2.69)

• Nature of Work– Support for research (2.72)

Pre-Tenure/Tenured Faculty:Comparisons by Gender

• Women gave notably more favorable ratings than men in just a few areas– Personal and family policies

• Housing benefits• Tuition waivers, remission, exchange

– Mentoring• Effectiveness of mentoring from outside the department / outside the

university• Importance of mentoring from outside the department / outside the

university

Pre-Tenure/Tenured Faculty:Comparisons by Gender

Women gave notably less favorable ratings than men on most items, especially for*:

•Promotion and Tenure– Department culture encourages promotion (3.56

vs 4.11) – Clarity of promotion process (3.70 vs 4.17)– Clarity of time frame for promotion (3.31 vs 3.78)– Clarity of promotion criteria (3.64 vs 4.04)– Tenure decisions are performance based (3.44 vs

3.89)– Clarity of expectations as an advisor (3.07 vs 3.47)

•Nature of work – Ability to balance teaching/research/service (3.11

vs 3.53)– Equity of committee assignments 2.06 vs 3.37

• Mentoring– Support for faculty to be good mentors

(2.06 vs 2.47)– Mentoring of associate faculty (2.32 vs

2.82)

• Other– Right balance between

professional/personal (3.02 vs 3.50)– College is valued by Provost (3.01 vs 3.49)– Department is valued by Provost (2.77 vs

3.21)– Colleagues committed to

diversity/inclusion (3.68 vs 4.08)

* Items with at least a 0.40 difference (rather than 0.25) in average ratings given by women and men

Pre-Tenure/Tenured Faculty:Comparisons by Race/Ethnicity

• Faculty of color gave notably more favorable ratings than white faculty for– Nature of work

• Support for travel to present/conduct research (3.23 vs2.97)• Support for faculty in leadership roles (3.22 vs 2.81)• Ability to balance teaching/research/service (3.66 vs 3.36)

– Interdisciplinary work• Interdisciplinary work is rewarded in tenure (3.11 vs 2.80)

– Tenure policies, clarity, reasonableness• Clarity of body of evidence for deciding tenure (4.00 vs 3.70)• Clarity of expectations: advisor (3.56 vs 3.23)

– Retention• Decision to remain here is based on promotion (3.64 vs 3.24)

Pre-Tenure/Tenured Faculty:Comparisons by Race/Ethnicity

Faculty of color gave notably less favorable ratings than white faculty for:

•Promotion: Clarity of– Promotion process (3.81 vs 4.09)– Promotion criteria (3.68 vs 3.99)– Promotion standards (3.41 vs 3.68)– Time frame for promotion (3.39 vs 3.71)– Whether I will be promoted (3.08 vs

3.34)

•Overall satisfaction– Visible leadership for support of

diversity/inclusion (3.44 vs 4.05)– I would again choose this institution

(3.51 vs 3.76)

• Department collegiality, engagement, and quality

– Colleagues are committed to diversity/inclusion (3.58 vs 4.03)

– Department is successful at faculty retention (3.21 vs 3.49)

• Personal and family policies– Stop-the-clock policies (3.42 vs

3.71)– Salary (2.48 vs 2.83)

• Collaboration– Opportunities for collaboration

within the department (3.42 vs 3.84)

Pre-Tenure/Tenured Faculty:Comparisons by Tenure Status

Pre-tenure faculty gave notably more favorable ratings than tenured faculty for:

•Nature of work– Support for travel to present/conduct

research (3.26 vs 2.96)– Support for faculty in leadership roles (3.13

vs 2.83)

•Facilities and work resources– Clerical/administrative support (3.21 vs 2.93)

•Personal and family policies

– Tuition waivers/remission/exchange (2.43 vs 2.10)

•Health and retirement benefits– Retirement benefits (3.35 vs 3.00)

• Mentoring– Effectiveness of mentoring from

outside the institution (3.92 vs 3.64)

– Importance of mentoring• Within department (4.41 vs

4.13)• Outside department (3.53 vs

3.26)• Outside the institution (3.93 vs

3.49)

• Leadership and Governance– Dean: support in adapting to

change (2.78 vs 2.52)– Head: fairness in evaluating work

(4.17 vs 3.86)

Pre-Tenure/Tenured Faculty:Comparisons by Tenure Status

• Pre-tenure faculty gave notably less favorable ratings than tenured faculty on only one item– Right balance between professional/personal (3.02 vs 3.43)

Pre-Tenure/Tenured Faculty:Comparisons by Rank

• Associate professors gave notably more favorable ratings than full professors on only a few items

• Eldercare (2.87 vs 2.51)• Importance of mentoring outside department (3.46 vs 3.17)• Importance of mentoring outside the institution (3.67 vs 3.40)

Pre-Tenure/Tenured Faculty:Comparisons by Rank

Associate professors gave notably less favorable ratings than full professors on most items, especially for*:

•Promotion– Reasonableness of expectations for

promotion (3.46 vs 4.14)– Department culture encourages promotion

(3.45 vs 4.26)– Clarity of

• Time frame for promotion (3.06 vs 4.00)

• Promotion process (3.56 vs 4.33)• Body of evidence for promotion (3.56

vs 4.24)• Promotion criteria (3.54 vs 4.17)• Promotion standards (3.28 vs 3.84)

• Nature of work– Ability to balance

teaching/research/service (3.15 vs 3.59)

• Mentoring/Collaboration– Mentoring of associate faculty (2.28 vs

2.94)– Support for faculty to be good mentors

(2.10 vs 2.51)– Opportunities for collaboration within

department (3.65 vs 3.91)

* Items with at least a 0.40 difference (rather than 0.25) in average ratings given by associate and full professors

Non-Tenure Track Faculty:Most Favorably Rated Aspects of Work

(Average = 4.0 or higher)

• Nature of Work– Discretion over courses content (4.30)– Time spent on teaching (4.24)

• Resources– Library resources (4.30)

• Mentoring– Importance of mentoring w/in dept (4.33)– Being a mentor is fulfilling (4.06)

Non-Tenure Track Faculty:Least Favorably Rated Aspects of Work

(Average = 2.75 or lower)

• Promotion– Clarity of NTT promotion process (2.58)– Clarity of NTT promotion standards

(2.59)– Clarity of NTT promotion criteria (2.64)– Clarity of body of evidence for

promotion for NTTs (2.69)– Clarity of whether will be promoted

(2.69)

• Department life– Dept addresses sub-standard

performance (2.42)– Discussions of grad student learning

(2.56)

• Nature of Work– Availability of course release for

research (2.73)

• Mentoring– Mentoring of non-tenure track faculty

in department (2.56)– Support for faculty to be good mentors

(2.64)

• Interdisciplinary Work– Interdisc work is rewarded in merit

(2.68)– Interdisc work is rewarded in

promotion (2.71)

• Compensation/Benefits– Childcare (2.45)– Housing benefits (2.63)– Spousal/partner hiring programs (2.63)– Salary (2.65)– Health benefits for family (2.75)

Non-Tenure Track Faculty:Compared to Tenure Track Faculty

(Pre-tenured/Tenured Combined)

• NTT faculty gave notably more favorable ratings than pre-tenure/tenured faculty for many (most) items, especially those related to….– Nature of work: Support for research, teaching, etc. – Personal and family policies (incl balance, flexible workload/duties,)– Health and retirement benefits– Leadership and governance

Non-Tenure Track Faculty:Compared to Tenure Track Faculty

(Pre-tenured/Tenured Combined)

NTTs gave notably less favorable ratings than pre-tenure/tenured faculty for:

•Department life– Discussions of graduate student learning (2.56 vs 3.59)– Discussions of current research methods (2.93 vs 3.40)– Amount of professional interaction with tenured faculty

(3.36 vs 3.76)– How well you fit (3.28 vs 3.67)– Teaching effectiveness of tenured faculty (3.37 vs 3.76)– Amount of professional interaction with pre-tenure faculty

(3.43 vs 3.82)– Department addresses sub-standard performance (2.42

vs 2.79)– Amount of person interaction have w/ pre-tenure faculty

(3.34 vs 3.64)– Teaching effectiveness of pre-tenure faculty (3.67 vs

3.96)

• Appreciation and recognition– Recognition for scholarship (3.16 vs

3.41)

• Nature of work– Influence over focus of research (3.99

vs 4.34)

• Collaboration– Opportunities for collaboration outside

the institution (3.39 vs 3.86)

• Mentoring– Effectiveness of mentoring from outside

the institution (3.44 vs 3.70)

Non-Tenure Track Faculty:Comparisons by Gender

NTT females gave notably more favorable ratings than NTT males for:

•Facilities and work resources – Office (3.98 vs 3.69)– Laboratory, research, studio space (3.71

vs 3.36)– Equipment (3.98 vs 3.68)

•Personal and family policies– Tuition waivers, remission, or exchange

(3.68 vs 3.20)

•Health and retirement benefits– Retirement benefits (3.66 vs 3.38)– Phased retirement options (3.38 vs 3.05)

• Mentoring– Importance of mentoring within

the department (4.48 vs 4.17)– Importance of mentoring outside

the department (3.54 vs 3.29)

• Departmental life– Discussions of effective

technology practices (3.77 vs 4.46)

• Global satisfaction– I would again choose this

institution (4.13 vs 3.79)

Non-Tenure Track Faculty:Comparisons by Gender

NTT females gave notably less favorable ratings than NTT males for:

•Promotion of NTT faculty– Clarity of promotion process (2.42 vs

2.76)– Clarity of promotion criteria (2.49 vs2.81)– Clarity of promotion standards (2.40 vs

2.80)

•Mentoring– Mentoring of NTT faculty (2.41 vs 2.73)– Support for faculty to be good mentors

(2.43 vs 2.86)

•Nature of work– Expectations for finding external funding

(3.25 vs 3.58)

• Department life– Amount of personally interaction

with tenured faculty (3.11 vs 3.44)

– Amount of professional interaction with tenured faculty (2.23 vs 3.51)

– Department address sub-standard performance (2.17 vs 2.67)

• Leadership– Head/chair: support in adapting to

change (3.13 vs 3.62)

• Personal and family policies– Childcare (2.14 vs 2.69)

Implications and Areas for Discussion:

Overall

• Some of the good…– Overall, faculty feel positive about NC State– Faculty believe academic freedom is supported (e.g., in research, teaching)– Faculty like the physical environment (e.g., office, classrooms)

• Some of the not so good…– NC State health and retirement benefits get among the lowest ratings of

institutions participating in COACHE– “Compensation” (including benefits and salary) is the top reason (other

than “retirement”) faculty say they would leave NC State – Interdisciplinary work is important to faculty, but not seen as

supported/rewarded– Women and associate professors are notably less satisfied than men and

full professors, respectively, on a wide range of issues

Implications and Areas for Discussion:

Pre-Tenured Faculty Pre-tenure faculty rated several areas higher than tenured

faculty (+.25) – Support for research, clerical/administrative support– Personal and family policies: tuition waivers, health

benefits, retirement – Mentoring within and outside the department

or lower (-.25) – Support for leadership roles– Balance between professional and personal realms

Implications and Areas for Discussion:

Female Faculty Female faculty rated several areas higher than male faculty(+.25) such as

– Personal and family policies: housing, tuition waivers, spousal/partner hiring – Mentoring: importance and effectiveness outside the department

or lower (-.25) such as – Nature of work: time and support for teaching and research, leadership roles– Balance among teaching/research/service and professional/personal roles– Interdisciplinary work: facilities, evaluation, rewards in merit pay and promotion– Mentoring of pre-tenure and associate faculty – Tenure and promotion: clarity of expectations and process, reasonableness of

expectations; “whether I will be promoted’ (tenured women)– Leadership: pace and fairness of decisions, department collegiality and support for

work/life balance, visible departmental and institutional support for diversity

Implications and Areas for Discussion:

Faculty of Color Faculty of color rated several areas higher than white faculty(+.25) such as

– Support for travel, leadership roles, balance of teaching, research, service

– Tenure: clarity of evidence– Interdisciplinary work : Rewarded in tenure decisions

or lower (-.25) such as – Personal and family benefits: stop-the-clock policies, salary– Opportunities for collaboration in department– Promotion: clarity of process, criteria, standards, time frame, “whether

I will be promoted” (tenured FOC)– Department: commitment to diversity, success at retention of faculty– Leadership: institutional support for diversity

Implications and Areas for Discussion:

Associate Professors

Associate professors rated several areas higher than white faculty(+.25) such as – Mentoring: importance of mentoring outside the department and institution

or lower (-.25) such as– Time for research, support for teaching (TAs), number of students, choice

of committees– Ability to balance teaching/research/service, balance between professional

and personal roles– Opportunities for collaboration inside and outside the department– Mentoring for pre-tenure and associate faculty, support for mentors– Promotion: clarity of process, criteria, standards, body of evidence, time

frame– Collegiality/departmental fit – Appreciation/recognition for scholarship, service, outreach

Implications and Areas for Discussion:

Non-Tenure Track FacultyNon-tenure Track (NTT) faculty rated several areas higher (4.0 or higher)

– Importance of mentoring– Discretion over course content– Time spent teaching

or lower (2.75 or lower) such as– Promotion: clarity of process, criteria, standards, body of evidence,

“whether I will be promoted”– Personal and family benefits: childcare, spousal/partner hiring, salary,

health benefits – Interdisciplinary work: reward in merit and promotion– Mentoring of NTT faculty in department

Implications and Areas for Discussion:

Non-Tenure Track Faculty NTT faculty rated several areas higher than tenured/tenure track (T/TT) faculty

(+.25) – Support: for research, grants, travel, leadership roles

clerical/administrative support– Time: service, teaching– Personal and family policies: tuition waivers, flexible workloads, work/life

compatibility, health benefits, retirement – Leadership: clear and consistent priorities, communication of priorities,

faculty input

or lower (-.25) – Department: personal and professional interaction with T/TT faculty,

feeling of fit, teaching effectiveness of T/TT faculty, collegiality – Recognition for scholarship

Implications and Areas for Discussion:

Female NTT Faculty Female NTT faculty rated several areas higher (+25) than male NTT faculty:

– Facilities and equipment– Health and retirement benefits– Importance of mentoring– Would choose NC State again

or lower (-.25) – Childcare– Mentoring and support for mentors– Promotion: clarity of process, criteria, standards– Personal and professional interaction with tenured faculty

Important Areas for Discussion and Action

Benefits: Health benefits for employees and families, tuition waivers, remission or exchange, retirement benefits, compensation

Support: Clerical/administrative support, support for research, interdisciplinary work, leadership roles

Work/life policies and support: Balance between professional and personal realms, childcare, spousal/partner hiring

Mentoring: outside but especially inside departments (female, FOC, associate profs), support for mentors

Interdisciplinarity: support, administrative structures, rewards Tenure and promotion: clarity of expectations and process, reasonableness of expectations;

“whether I will be promoted” (women, FOC, NTT faculty, )Leadership: Clarity of priorities, clarity and pace of decision making, department collegiality,

support for work/life balance, visible departmental and institutional support for diversityLower general satisfaction of women and associate professors compared to men and full professors

–

Next Steps

• Presentation to the Deans Council this week• Discuss results with Faculty Well Being Advisory

Committee• Presentation to the Faculty Senate• Post reports on UPA website• Presentations to other groups on campus as

appropriate• Participate in COACHE every 3 years (next in 2014-

2015

VOTE OBAMA TOMORROW