Report on COACHE Survey of Tenure-Track Faculty

Background

NC State participated in the COACHE Survey (Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education) along with other UNC campuses which award tenure (all but NC School of the Arts). The survey was administered November 2005-January 2006.

The principal purposes of the COACHE survey are

to further enlighten academic leaders about the experiences and concerns of fulltime, tenure-track junior faculty and
to provide data that lead to informed discussions and appropriate actions to improve the quality of work life for junior faculty.

The COACHE survey is organized around five themes:


I. Tenure
II. Nature of Work
III. Policies and Practices
IV. Climate, Culture, and Collegiality
V. Global Satisfaction

Eligibility: To be eligible to participate in the survey, faculty needed to meet the following criteria:

Full-time
Tenure-track
Pre-tenure
Hired prior to Summer 2005
Not clinical faculty in such areas as Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Veterinary Medicine
Not in terminal year after being denied tenure

Response Rates: A total of 8,308 full-time pre-tenure faculty members at 51 colleges and universities (including 31 doctoral universities) received the COACHE survey and 4,866 responded, for an overall response rate of 59%.

Among eligible NC State faculty, the response rate overall was 63% (with 150 of 238 eligible faculty responding). Response rates for specific NC State populations were as follows:


Males 61% (90/148)
Females 61% (60/90)
White Faculty 62% (108/173)
Faculty of Color 65% (42/65)

Peer Institutions: Each participating COACHE institution chose five "peers" among participating institutions with which to compare their own results. NC State's peers were


Iowa State University
Michigan State University
Ohio State University
University of Arizona
University of Minnesota
The response rate for NC State's peers was 57%.

Survey Results:

This report summarizes NC State faculty's responses on each theme of the survey compared to faculty at peer institutions, as well as differences between male and female faculty and white faculty and faculty of color. In addition, differences between responses by NC State female faculty and faculty of color compared to their counterparts at peer institutions are included for some items. Additional reports provided by COACHE, including survey results by academic area, have not been included in this summary but are available for further study.

The following definitions have been used in reporting statistically significant differences:

"higher"/"more satisfied": more than one standard deviation above the mean.
"no difference": less than or equal to one standard deviation from the mean.
"lower"/"less satisfied": more than one standard deviation below the mean.

A. Overview of survey results compared to peer institutions:
I. Tenure
NC State faculty responses were higher than those at peer institutions on most items related to tenure; there were no items on which NC State faculty responses were lower than those at peer institutions. In fact, NC State rated among the top four among 31 doctoral universities in the 2005-6 survey on the tenure dimension. Responses by NC State faculty of color were higher than those of white faculty on a number of items related to tenure.

II. Nature of Work
The survey asked about respondent's satisfaction with a number of areas related to the nature of their work as faculty members. NC State faculty responses on most items in this section were not significantly different from those at peer institutions. NC State faculty were more satisfied than peers with what is expected of them as researchers, although male faculty were less satisfied on several items related to research than female faculty.

III. Policies and Practices
This section includes an analysis of the gap between policies and practices that NC State faculty rated as important to them and their rating of the effectiveness of these policies and practices at NC State. The items for which such an effectiveness gap was most often reported were


childcare
spousal/partner hiring program
professional assistance in obtaining externally funded grants
NC State ratings were lower than those of peer institutions on compensation and on several items related to support for having and raising children. Male and female faculty responses differed significantly on some items in this section of the survey.

IV. Climate, Culture, and Collegiality
The survey asked about respondents' level of satisfaction or agreement with a number of items related to the climate, culture and collegiality of their workplace. NC State faculty responses were not significantly different from those of peer institutions on most items in this section, although NC State faculty members were less satisfied than peers with their interaction with junior colleagues, the intellectual vitality of senior colleagues, and a feeling of unity and cohesion among the faculty in their college. Male NC State faculty were more satisfied than female faculty with a feeling of unity and cohesion among the faculty in their college, while NC State faculty of color were more satisfied than white faculty with the feeling of unity and cohesion in their department.

V. Global Satisfaction.
Respondents were asked to choose from a list the two best and two worst aspects about working at their institution as opposed to a comparable institution. They were also asked about several aspects of their satisfaction with NC State as a workplace.

NC State faculty cited the following as the best things about working at NC State:


geographic location

support of colleagues

sense of "fit"

quality of colleagues

They cited the following as the worst aspects about working at NC State:

compensation

lack of support for research

quality of facilities

lack of "fit"

quality of graduate students

too much service

NC State faculty were less satisfied with the institution as a place to work than their peers. However, 65% of faculty expect to remain at NC State either for rest of my career (14%) or for foreseeable future (51%), responses which are higher than comparable responses at four of NC State's five peers. NC State faculty were less likely than peers to report that if they had it to do over again they would accept their current position. Forty percent of NC State faculty would strongly recommend their department as a place to work for tenure-track faculty, although most others would recommend it with reservations. NC State received a lower overall rating as a workplace than peer institutions, although over 70% of NC State faculty rated the institution as a "great" or "good" place to work.

B. Detailed report of survey results compared to peer institutions:
I. Tenure:
(Survey items 19-23, 24 a-f, 25 a-f, 26-27)

Overall Results: NC State faculty responded significantly higher than faculty at peer institutions on a number of survey items related to tenure, including the following:


clarity of the tenure process, criteria, and standards in the department, the body of evidence that will be considered in making the tenure decision, and their own prospects for earning tenure.

clarity of what's expected to earn tenure regarding their performance as a scholar (e.g., research and creative work), teacher, and student advisor.

reasonableness of what's expected in order to earn tenure regarding their performance as a scholar, teacher, student advisor, department colleague, and campus citizen (e.g., service, committees)

not having received mixed messages about the requirements for tenure from senior colleagues.

There were no differences between responses of NC State and peer faculty on the following items:


clarity of expectations as a department colleague, campus citizen, and member of the broader community.

reasonableness of expectations as a member of the broader community.

perception that tenure decisions are based primarily on performance rather than politics, relationships, or demographics.

There were no questions related to tenure on which NC State faculty's responses were lower than those of faculty at peer institutions.

Gender Differences:
At NC State, there were no significant differences based on gender for any of the survey items related to tenure. Female faculty at NC State rated most items in this section higher than did female faculty at peer institutions.

Racial Differences:
NC State faculty of color (a group which was not broken down by specific racial or ethnic categories to protect the anonymity of respondents) responded significantly higher on several items related to tenure:


clarity of the tenure process and standards and of expectations for performance as a scholar, teacher, student advisor, department colleague, campus citizen, and community member.

reasonableness of expectations for performance as a scholar.

NC State faculty of color consistently rated items in this section higher than did faculty of color at peer institutions.

II. Nature of Work:
(Survey items 28, 29 a-g, 30 a-d, 31-32, 33 a-d)

Overall Results:
NC State faculty were more satisfied than faculty at peer institutions on one survey item in this section: what is expected of them as researchers.

There were no significant differences in the satisfaction of NC State faculty members and faculty at peer institutions with the following items:


way they spend their time as faculty members.

level of the courses they teach.

number of courses they teach.

influence they have over which courses they teach.

discretion they have over the content of the courses they teach.

number of students they teach.

quality of undergraduate students with whom they interact.

quality of graduate students with whom they interact.

amount of research funding they are expected to find.

quality of research services.

quality of computing services.

NC State faculty were less satisfied than peers on the following items:


amount of time they have to conduct research.

influence they have over the focus of their research.

quality of facilities.

access they have to Teaching Fellows, Graduate Assistants, etc.

quality of clerical/administrative services.

quality of teaching services.

Gender Differences:
Among NC State faculty, males were significantly more satisfied than females on the following items:


what is expected of them as researchers.

amount of time they have to conduct research.

amount of research funding they are expected to find.

However, females at NC State gave higher ratings than female faculty at peer institutions for satisfaction with the level of courses, number of students, and quality of undergraduate students, as well as the expectations for their work as researchers and the quality of research and computing services.

Racial Differences:
There were no significant racial differences between white faculty and faculty of color at NC State on items in this section. However, NC State faculty of color gave higher ratings than faculty of color at peer institutions on the way they spend their time, expectations for their work as researchers, and amount of research funding they are expected to find.

III. Policies and Practices
(Survey items 34 a-b, 35 a-d, 36-37)

Gap Analysis:
The survey attempted to identify the "effectiveness gap" between policies and practices that faculty rated as important to their success and their rating of the effectiveness of these policies and procedures at their institutions. From a list of 16 common policies and practices, below are those items which respondents identified as "Very important" or "Somewhat important" to their success but as "Very ineffective" or "Somewhat ineffective" at NC State.

The following items were most frequently rated by NC State faculty as important to their success, but ineffective at NC State:
Overall:
1. Childcare
2. Spousal/partner hiring program
3. Professional assistance in obtaining externally funded grants

Males:
1. Professional assistance in obtaining externally funded grants
2. Spousal/partner hiring program
3. Financial assistance with housing
3. Childcare

Females:
1. Childcare
2. Paid or unpaid research leave during the probationary period
3. Spousal/partner hiring program

White faculty:
1. Professional assistance in obtaining externally funded grants
2. Childcare
3. Spousal/partner hiring program

Faculty of color:
1. Childcare
2. Spousal/partner hiring program
3. Financial assistance with housing

Overall Results:
There were no questions related to policies and practices on which NC State faculty's responses were higher than those of faculty at peer institutions.

NC State faculty members were less satisfied than peers on the following items:


that their institution does what it can to make having children and the tenure-track compatible.

that their institution does what it can to make raising children and the tenure-track compatible.

that their departmental colleagues do what they can to make having children and the tenure-track compatible.

satisfaction with their compensation.

There was no difference between NC State faculty members' and peers' satisfaction on the following items:


that their departmental colleagues do what they can to make raising children and the tenure-track compatible.

the balance they are able to strike between professional time and personal or family time.

Gender Differences:
Male NC State faculty were significantly more satisfied than female faculty on the following items:


that their institution does what it can to make having children and the tenure-track compatible.

that their institution does what it can to make raising children and the tenure-track compatible.

the balance they are able to strike between professional time and personal or family time.

Female faculty members were significantly more satisfied than were male faculty with their compensation.

Racial Differences:
There were no significant differences in responses between faculty of color and white faculty in satisfaction with NC State policies and practices. However, faculty of color at NC State were more satisfied than peers with what the department does to make having and raising children and what the institution does to make raising children compatible with being on the tenure-track.

IV. Climate, Culture, and Collegiality
(Survey items 38 a-c, 39 a-d, 40-41, 42 a-b, 43)

Overall Results:
NC State faculty were more satisfied or more likely to agree than peers on the following items:


fairness of their immediate supervisor's evaluation of their work.

interest senior faculty take in their professional development.

feeling of unity and cohesion among the faculty in their department.

There were no differences in satisfaction or agreement between NC State faculty and peers on the following items:


opportunities to collaborate with senior faculty.

amount of professional interaction with senior colleagues in their department.

amount of personal interaction with senior colleagues in their department.

feeling of fit (e.g., of belonging, comfort level).

feeling that their department treats junior faculty fairly compared to one another.

NC State faculty members were less satisfied or less likely to agree than peers on the following items:


amount of professional interaction they have with junior colleagues in their department.

amount of personal interaction they have with junior colleagues in their department.

intellectual vitality of the senior colleagues in their department.

feeling of unity and cohesion among the faculty in their School.

Gender Differences:
Male NC State faculty were significantly more satisfied than female faculty with a feeling of unity and cohesion among the faculty in their college. However, NC State female faculty were more satisfied than female faculty at peer institutions with the interest senior faculty take in their professional development, amount of professional interaction they have with junior colleagues, and feeling that their department treats junior faculty fairly compared to one another.

Racial Differences:
NC State faculty of color were significantly more satisfied than white faculty that there is a feeling of unity and cohesion among the faculty in their department. They also gave higher ratings than faculty of color at peer institutions for the fairness of supervisors' evaluation of their work, interest senior faculty take in their professional development, opportunities to collaborate with senior colleagues, amount of personal interaction with senior colleagues, amount of personal interaction with junior colleagues, feeling of "fit," unity and cohesion in their college, and feeling that their department treats junior faculty fairly compared to one another.

V. Global Satisfaction
(Survey items 44 a-b, 45 a-b, 46 a-b, 47-50)

The survey asked respondents to select from a list the best and worst aspects of working at their institution.

Best and Worst Aspects about Working at NC State:
Overall:

Best:	Worst:
1. Geographic location	1. Compensation
2. Support of colleagues	2. Lack of support for research
3. My sense of "fit" here	3. Quality of facilities
4. Quality of colleagues	4. My lack of "fit" here
	4. Quality of graduate students
	4. Too much service/too many assignments

Male:

Best:	Worst:
1. Geographic location	1. Compensation
2. My sense of "fit" here	2. Lack of support for research
3. Quality of colleagues	3. Quality of facilities
4. Cost of living	4. Quality of graduate students

Female:

Best:	Worst:
1. Support of colleagues	1. Quality of facilities
2. Geographic location	2. Too much service/too many assignments
3. Teaching load	3. Compensation
4. Opportunities to collaborate with colleagues	4. Lack of support for research
	4. Childcare policies/practices (or lack thereof)

White faculty:

Best:	Worst:
1. Geographic location	1. Lack of support for research
2. Support of colleagues	2. Quality of facilities
3. My sense of "fit" here	3. Compensation
4. Quality of colleagues	4. My lack of "fit" here

Faculty of color:

Best:	Worst:
1. Geographic location	1. Compensation
2. Support of colleagues	2. Childcare policies/practices (or lack thereof)
3. Teaching load	3. Quality of graduate students
4. Opportunities to collaborate with colleagues	4. Lack of diversity
4. Cost of living

Satisfaction with department and institution:
There were no significant differences between NC State faculty and faculty at peer institutions on their satisfaction with their department as a place to work, but NC State faculty were less satisfied with the institution as a place to work. There were no significant gender or racial differences in NC State faculty's satisfaction with their department or their institution as a place to work.

Chief Academic Officer:
Forty-six percent of NC State faculty identified the Provost as the chief academic officer (CAO) compared to smaller percentages who identified the chancellor, dean, or president as the CAO or who said they did not know. There were no differences between NC State and peer faculty reporting that the chief academic officer at their institution seems to care about the quality of life for junior faculty. There were no significant gender or race differences on this question, although faculty of color rated the CAO higher than faculty of color at peer institutions as caring about the quality of life for junior faculty.

Satisfaction with institution as a workplace:
The survey included several questions designed to measure respondents' perceptions of their institution as a place to work:


Assuming you achieve tenure, how long do you plan to remain at your institution? For the rest of my career (RC); For the foreseeable future (FF); For no more than 5 years after earning tenure (5Y); I haven't thought that far ahead (DK).

Overall, 65% of faculty expected to remain at NC State either "for rest of my career" (14%) or "or foreseeable future" (51%). This total was higher than four of five NC State peers. Expectations for remaining at NC State "for rest of my career" or "foreseeable future" for subgroups of faculty were as follows:

Males: 69% (18% and 51%)
Females: 61% (8% and 53%)
White Faculty: 71% (17% and 54%)
Faculty of Color: 53% (8% and 45%)

NC State faculty of color's ratings on this item were higher than those of faculty of color at peer institutions.

If I had to do it over again, I would accept my current position.

Compared to faculty at peer institutions, NC State faculty were less likely than peers to report that if they had it to do over again, they would accept their current position. There were no significant gender or racial differences in responses to this question.

If a candidate for a tenure-track faculty position asked you about your department as a place to work, would you: Strongly recommend your department as a place to work; Recommend your department with reservations; Not recommend your department as a place to work.

Over 40% of overall respondents from NC State would strongly recommend their department to a candidate for a tenure-track position. Most others would recommend it with reservations, while less than 10% would not recommend their department as a workplace. There were no significant gender or racial differences in junior faculty's recommendations of their department as a workplace, although more than 50% of faculty of color would strongly recommend NC State.

How do you rate your institution as a place for junior faculty to work? Great (5); Good (4); So-so (3); Bad (2); Awful (1).

Compared to faculty at peer institutions, NC State faculty gave a lower rating to their institution as a place for junior faculty to work. There were no significant gender or racial differences on rating NC State as a place for junior faculty to work.

Suggestions for Further Action:

COACHE researchers have made the following suggestions for further action, "to derive the greatest impact and value" from the survey results:


Share the report, especially the Executive Summary, with deans, department chairs, and faculty leaders, and then convene the group to discuss major findings, implications, and action steps.

Ask leaders of academic areas with especially high scores to share "best practices" with other department chairs and deans.

Share the report with the Chief Diversity/Affirmative Action Officer and other administrators to discuss major findings, implications, and action steps.

Share the Executive Summary or the entire report with junior faculty. Invite them to meet in plenary sessions or in academic or demographic sub-groups, with no others present, to discuss the major findings and to recommend changes in policy and practice.

Share this report with relevant committees on campus (e.g., Committee on the Status of Minorities/Women) to discuss findings and implications.

Discuss highlights from the report and policy or strategy implications with the institution's governing board.

Organize a meeting and debriefing, or at least a conference call, among counterparts at the peer institutions that you have selected. Discuss best practices and common problems.

Organize a workshop for department chairs that distills what the institution has learned from the report and from conversations with COACHE peers.

Identify aspects of the report that could be used to bolster recruitment of new faculty.

Ask institutional research and human resources staff to analyze the relationship (or disconnects) between reported results and institutional policies and practices.

Instruct institutional research staff to consider the detailed results in the frequency tables [provided to each participating institution] to provide a more in-depth, locally-relevant analysis for academic leaders.

Contact COACHE staff about our follow-up services, such as an on-site visit or additional statistical analyses.

Contacts:

Dr. Cathy A. Trower
The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE)
Harvard Graduate School of Education
8 Story Street, 5th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
Email: coache@gse.harvard.edu
URL: http://www.coache.org
Phone: 617-496-9344
Fax: 617-496-9350

Dr. Betsy E. Brown
Special Assistant to the Provost
North Carolina State University
206 Ricks Hall
Campus Box 7112
Raleigh NC 27695-7112
Phone: 919-513-7741
Fax: 919-515-6835
Email: betsy_brown@ncsu.edu

Dr. Nancy Whelchel
Associate Director for Survey Research
Office of Institutional Planning and Research
North Carolina State University
Campus Box 7002
Raleigh, NC 27695-7002
Phone: 919-515-4184
Email: nancy_whelchel@ncsu.edu

BEB/January 27, 2007




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Posted: May, 2007

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