NC State University
2006 Faculty Well-Being Survey
Introduction, Research Methods, and Response Rates

Appendix C: Survey Announcements and Invitations

Pre-Notification Letter (August 30, 2006 campus mail)

[Provost letterhead]

Welcome back to the start of a new academic year-one we hope will be rewarding and productive for you and NC State. We are writing to invite you to participate in a very important activity for faculty life improvement.

One of the Investment Priorities outlined in the University's new Strategic Plan is "to help attract, develop, and retain a faculty of the highest quality." We are serious about this priority, and we need your help to direct our efforts. In about a week you will be getting an email from us asking you to participate in the NC State Faculty Well-Being Survey. The questionnaire solicits your opinions on a wide range of topics, such as salary and benefits, campus leadership, working relationships, faculty support and professional development, diversity and multiculturalism, and campus infrastructure. Our goal is to use these results to help identify what we are doing well and where we need to make improvements to make NC State an even better place for you and your colleagues.

Your participation is completely voluntary, but we hope you take the time to share your opinions with us. In order for the results to be meaningful and useful, we need each of you to participate and give candid assessments.

NC State's Office of Office of Institutional Planning and Research (UPA) is administering the survey, analyzing the data, and preparing the reports. Please be assured that UPA routinely works with confidential data and will respect and protect your identity. The survey data will be stored in a secure location, and will not include any personally identifying information (e.g., your employee identification number, Unity ID, etc.). Results will only be reported in the aggregate --- in no case will it be possible to determine an individual's identity.

In appreciation for your time, you may enter a drawing for one of several prizes, including a paid University Club membership entrance fee, tickets to a Wolfpack football game, tickets to an ARTS NC STATE performance, and a University Bookstore gift certificate.

If you have any questions about the survey, please feel free to contact Dr. Nancy Whelchel at Office of Institutional Planning and Research (ncsu_surveys@ncsu.edu or 515-4184). Thank you in advance for sharing your opinions with us. We look forward to using the results in our continuous efforts to enhance faculty well-being at NC State.

Sincerely,
[signature]	[signature]

Larry A. Nielsen	NAME
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor	Dean, COLLEGE

First Announcement for Live Survey (September 6, 2006 email)

About a week ago we sent you a letter inviting you to participate in the NC State Faculty Well-Being Survey. The results of this survey will help identify what we are doing well and where we need to make improvements in our efforts to attract, develop and retain a faculty of the highest quality.

The survey is available online now until September 26 at http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/survey/NCSU.FacultySurvey.htm

It should take about 20 to 25 minutes to complete the entire survey. If necessary, you can complete part of the survey and then come back to finish the rest at a later time. However, in order for us to fully understand the well-being of our faculty, it is very important that you eventually complete all sections of the survey by the September 26 deadline.

You will need to use your Unity user ID to access the survey. This helps us administer the survey and link your responses with demographic information that help us to better understand issues facing particular groups of faculty and at the same time keep the questionnaire reasonably short.

Please be assured that your identity will be protected and your individual responses kept confidential. The survey data will be stored in a secure location, and will not include any personally identifying information (e.g., Unity ID, employee number). Results will only be reported in the aggregate --- in no case will it be possible to determine an individual's identity.

To show our appreciation, at the end of the survey you may enter a drawing for one of several prizes, including a paid University Club membership entrance fee, tickets to a Wolfpack football game, tickets to an ARTS NC STATE performance, and a University Bookstore gift certificate.

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Dr. Nancy Whelchel, Associate Director for Survey Research at 515-4184 or ncsu_surveys@ncsu.edu.

Thank you for sharing your opinions with us.

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Follow-Up 1: Non-Respondents (September 12, 2006 email)

Subject:

Last week Provost Nielsen and the dean of your college sent you an email inviting you to participate in the NC State Faculty Well-Being Survey. The survey is open to all on-campus fulltime tenure/tenure track faculty and lecturers who have been at NC State for at least one year. I am responsible for administering the survey, and see that as of 1:00 P.M. September 12 we had not yet gotten your survey. If you have completed it since then, thank you! If not, while your participation is completely voluntary, I encourage you to take some time to share your opinions with us.

The results of the survey will help the University identify what we are doing well and where we need to make improvements in our efforts to attract, develop and retain a faculty of the highest quality. In order for the results to be meaningful and useful, we need each of you to participate and give candid assessments.

The survey is available online until September 26 at http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/survey/NCSU.FacultySurvey.htm

It should take about 20 to 25 minutes to complete the entire survey. If necessary, you can complete part of the survey and then come back to finish the rest at a later time.

You will need to use your Unity user ID to access the survey, but please be assured that your identity will be protected and your individual responses kept confidential. The survey data are stored in a secure location, and will not include any personally identifying information. Results will only be reported in the aggregate --- in no case will it be possible to determine an individual's identity.

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact me at 515-4184 or ncsu_surveys@ncsu.edu.

Follow-Up 1: Partial-Respondents (September 12, 2006 email)

Subject:

Thank you for your participation in the NC State Faculty Well-Being Survey. I am responsible for administering the survey, and see that as of 1:00 P.M. September 12 you had not yet completed all of the sections in it. If you have completed the survey since then, thank you! If not, I encourage you return to the survey and finish the remaining sections. Again, participation in the survey is completely voluntary, but we are hoping that all on-campus fulltime tenure/tenure track faculty and lecturers who have been at NC State for at least one year share their opinions with us.

In order for the results to be meaningful and useful, we need your candid assessments on all topics included in the survey. Some of the sections you might not have answered yet cover such areas as performance review and the reappointment process, pay and compensation, and your work activities. The final section, looking at overall satisfaction, includes the opportunity for you to comment in your own words about the most positive aspects of working at NC State as well as the most serious challenges you face here and your suggestions for improvements.

When you return to the survey you will be directed to the next section you need to complete. Many of you are almost done! We appreciate you taking a few more minutes of your time to finish the survey.

The survey is available online until September 26 at http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/survey/NCSU.FacultySurvey.htm

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact me at 515-4184 or ncsu_surveys@ncsu.edu.

Follow-Up 2: Non-Respondents (September 19, 2006 campus mail)

[UPA letterhead]

Earlier this month Provost Nielsen and the Dean of your College sent you a letter inviting you to participate in the NC State Faculty Well-Being Survey. I am responsible for administering the survey, and want to make sure that you have the information you need to participate in this important activity. I've sent a couple of emails about the survey, but know that emails sometimes disappear into cyberspace, are grabbed by spam filters, or are simply lost in crowded in-boxes.

About 800 lecturers, tenure-track and tenured faculty - - almost 50 percent of those in the survey population - - have completed the survey in the past two weeks. However, as of about noon on Monday, September 18 we had not yet received your survey. If you have completed it since then, thank you! If not, while your participation is completely voluntary, I encourage you to take some time to share your opinions with us. The results of the survey will help the University identify what we are doing well and where we need to make improvements in our efforts to attract, develop and retain a faculty of the highest quality. In order for the results to be meaningful and useful, we need each of you to participate and give candid assessments.

The survey is available online until 6:00 PM September 26 at http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/survey/NCSU.FacultySurvey.htm

Because we want to collect information on a broad range of topics, it will take about 30 minutes to complete the entire survey. If necessary, you can complete part of the survey and then come back to finish the rest any time before the September 26 deadline.

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact me at 515-4184 or ncsu_surveys@ncsu.edu.

Follow-Up 2: Partial-Respondents [less than 50% of survey completed] (September 22, 2006 email)

Subject:

Thank you for your participation in the NC State Faculty Well-Being Survey. I am responsible for administering the survey, and see you had gotten started on the survey, but that as about 10:00 A.M. September 22 you had not yet completed it. While participation in the survey is completely voluntary, I'm writing to remind and encourage you to return to the survey and complete the remaining sections by the September 26 deadline. More than 800 lecturers, tenure-track and tenured faculty - - almost 55 percent of those in the survey population - - have completed the survey in the past two weeks. Adding your completed survey to those we already have will greatly enhance our understanding of the well-being of our faculty. If you have completed it since I last checked on Friday morning, thank you!

I understand that the survey is long, and that you have already spent a significant amount of your limited time on it. It has been more than 10 years since the University has done a broad-based faculty survey, so there was a lot of ground to cover with this one. Some of the sections you might not yet have answered cover such areas as performance review and the reappointment process, pay and compensation, and your work activities. The final section, looking at overall satisfaction, includes the opportunity for you to comment in your own words about the most positive aspects of working at NC State as well as the most serious challenges you face here and your suggestions for improvements.

When you return to the survey you will be directed to the next section you need to complete. After answering the questions in the final section, be sure to submit your responses and then, if you are interested, enter in the drawing for one of the several 'prizes' being offered.

The survey is available online until 6:00 P.M. September 26 at http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/survey/NCSU.FacultySurvey.htm

I appreciate you taking a few more minutes of your time to share your opinions. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact me at 515-4184 or ncsu_surveys@ncsu.edu.

Follow-Up 2: Partial-Respondents [50% or more of survey completed] (September 22, 2006 email)

Subject:

Thank you for your participation in the NC State Faculty Well-Being Survey. I am responsible for administering the survey, and see that as about 10:00 A.M. September 12 you had already completed more than half of the survey. While participation in the survey is completely voluntary, I'm writing to remind and encourage you to return to the survey and complete the remaining sections by the September 26 deadline. More than 800 lecturers, tenure-track and tenured faculty - - almost 55 percent of those in the survey population - - have completed the survey in the past two weeks. Adding your completed survey to those we already have will greatly enhance our understanding of the well-being of our faculty. If you have completed it since I last checked on Friday morning, thank you!

I understand that the survey is long, and that you have already spent a significant amount of your limited time on it. However, it has been more than 10 years since the University has done a broad-based faculty survey, so there was a lot of ground to cover with this one. Some of the sections you might not yet have answered cover such areas as performance review and the reappointment process, pay and compensation, and your work activities. The final section, looking at overall satisfaction, includes the opportunity for you to comment in your own words about the most positive aspects of working at NC State as well as the most serious challenges you face here and your suggestions for improvements.

The survey is available online until 6:00 P.M. September 26 at http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/survey/NCSU.FacultySurvey.htm

I appreciate you taking a few more minutes of your time to share your opinions. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact me at 515-4184 or ncsu_surveys@ncsu.edu.

Return to the 2006 Faculty Well-Being Survey: Introduction Methods, and Response Rates

For more information on the NC State University 2006 Faculty Well-Being Survey contact:
Dr. Nancy Whelchel, Associate Director for Survey Research
Office of Institutional Planning and Research
Box 7002
NCSU
Phone: (919) 515-4184
Email: ncsu_surveys@ncsu.edu

Posted: January, 2007

Return to 2006 Faculty Well-Being Survey Table of Contents Page

NC State University 2006 Faculty Well-Being SurveyIntroduction, Research Methods, and Response Rates

Appendix C: Survey Announcements and Invitations

NC State University
2006 Faculty Well-Being Survey
Introduction, Research Methods, and Response Rates