# 2026-27 Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey: Survey Administration Timeline & Resources The months leading up to the administration of the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey are crucial to building campus buy-in and setting your institution up for a strong and representative response from faculty. As part of our research-practice partnership model, we have created a series of steps and processes that have shown over the years to improve institutional response rates. You will receive detailed instructions and reminders via email (please add [shabreena\_danzlopez@gse.harvard.edu](mailto:shabreena_danzlopez@gse.harvard.edu) and the domain [communications.gse.harvard.edu](mailto:communications.gse.harvard.edu) to your safe contacts list to ensure you receive them), but you can bookmark this page to access all supporting materials in one place. **The Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey Ramp-Up administration process is detailed in the tabs below**. You can also download the slides from the ramp-up information session. These materials provide an overview of each action item required for a successful launch and a roadmap for completing each step. [Ramping Up for Job Satisfaction Survey Administration \[PDF of presentation\]](/file_url/677) ## Survey Administration Tasks and Resources Open all sections Close all sections ### Starting July - Forming a Team expand\_more Building a dedicated team on campus is critical to dispersing the workload of administering the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey. Change management in any complex organization can be difficult, and we have found that adopting a distributed leadership model has helped our partners reach a broader audience and make better use of the data. As soon as possible, determine who your local team will be. Anyone receiving communications from COACHE related to survey administration should be added to your Survey Administration Portal under the "Contacts" tab. ### Resource: - [Module 1: Forming a Team](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum6791/files/2025-07/Forming-a-Team_2025-26.pdf) - [COACHE Team Configuration Webinar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUcJ41TqDhQ) ### Early September - Confirm Data Disclosure Preference expand\_more Any institution conducting the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey may receive a de-identified unit record data file in addition to the Chief Academic Officer’s Report and data tables. Your contract with COACHE stipulates that you cannot further disseminate the responses of any subgroup (e.g., rank, race, department, gender, or any combination of these subgroups) where the total number of respondents is fewer than five. Institutions are not bound to this level of data disclosure and may opt, instead, to forgo receipt of unit-level data. If you are unsure about whether your institution should receive unit-level data, here are some questions to consider: - In what ways must you analyze the data beyond what is already provided in COACHE’s institutional report? - With the knowledge that you cannot report subgroups of fewer than five, do you have enough faculty to disaggregate the data further than COACHE will? - Do you have the staff resources (both in number and skill set) to spend time running additional analyses? - Who would serve as your Data Administrator? - Is the climate on your campus one where faculty feel comfortable responding to surveys when the institution receives raw data back? **Please confirm your decision in the Survey Administration Portal.** If you have not done so already, you will need to upload a signed [Statement of Data Confidentiality](/file_url/355) and input the name of your designated Data Administrator. ### Summer and Fall - Strategy Workshops expand\_more Dates for our in-person strategy workshop are July 30-31st. The dates for our online strategy workshops will be released in September 2026. If you have any questions regarding COACHE strategy workshops, please contact, Deborah Ruiz ([Deborah\_Ruiz@gse.harvard.edu](mailto:Deborah_Ruiz@gse.harvard.edu)). \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ *\***2025** online strategy workshop presentation recordings:* [*https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLGZPs84NldQvSPMmm2A5h-sgrzpiyq-1&si=Yhd\_1H4ZXM432hPH*](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLGZPs84NldQvSPMmm2A5h-sgrzpiyq-1&si=Yhd_1H4ZXM432hPH) *\***2024** online strategy workshop presentation recordings:* [*https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLGZPs84NldQKEQEjCMwM1hDhqkoc9VmY&si=rf6e5rCaEtF9oUMJ*](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLGZPs84NldQKEQEjCMwM1hDhqkoc9VmY&si=rf6e5rCaEtF9oUMJ) ***\*2023** online strategy workshop presentation recordings:* [*https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLGZPs84NldRGiWFGrU3fXpVo\_ti8j89G&si=9FTQyZ5mRq8kWnr7*](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLGZPs84NldRGiWFGrU3fXpVo_ti8j89G&si=9FTQyZ5mRq8kWnr7) *\***2022** online strategy workshop presentation recordings:* [*https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLGZPs84NldRyz4YZosmWlIUEqQEnRLn9&si=Gj9Aaeb1vRVpBsmv*](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLGZPs84NldRyz4YZosmWlIUEqQEnRLn9&si=Gj9Aaeb1vRVpBsmv) ### Late September - Decide on Custom Questions expand\_more Participating institutions may add up to 15 custom questions to the end of the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey. If your institution would like to add custom questions, please update your decision in the Survey Administration Portal. If you decide that your institution would like to include custom questions, the next step will be to schedule a meeting with Shabreena to develop these questions. A link to schedule this meeting will be available in the Survey Administration Portal upon selecting "Decided - Yes" under the custom questions tab. COACHE has a custom question bank to which partners can refer, and COACHE will share it based on the discussed themes. ### Resources: - [Module 2: Considering Creating Custom Questions](/file_url/705) - [Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey Full Instrument](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum6791/files/2025-07/COACHE_2025-26_FacultySurvey_Partner%20Version.pdf) - [Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey Instrumentation Summary](/file_url/714) - [Case Study: Tailoring a Survey for Campus Change at the University of Denver](/file_url/546) ### Late September - Create Your Communications Plan expand\_more Consistent and effective communication from the administration to your faculty, chairs, and deans helps to ensure a successful survey administration. COACHE encourages your team to develop a communication plan ahead of the survey launch and encourages partners to submit these plans via the Survey Administration Portal. ### Resources: - [Module 3: Crafting Your Communications Plan](/sites/g/files/omnuum6791/files/2025-07/crafting-your-communications-plan-2025-26%20%281%29.pdf "Crafting Your Communication Plan 2025-26") - [CAO Pre and Post Launch Endorsement Letters](/sites/g/files/omnuum6791/files/2025-07/Pre%20and%20Post%20Launch%20Endorsement%20Letter%202025-26.pdf "Pre and Post Launch Endorsement Letter 2025-26") - [COACHE Survey Invitation and Reminder Email Templates](/sites/g/files/omnuum6791/files/2025-07/COACHE%20Survey%20Invitation%20and%20Reminder%20Email%20Templates.pdf "COACHE Survey Invitation and Reminder Emails 2025-26") - [Sample Communications Plan: Louisiana State University \[PDF\]](/file_url/554) - [Sample Email Outreach: CUNY Brooklyn College \[PDF\]](/file_url/675) - ### Mid-October - Obtain IRB Approval expand\_more COACHE has completed its IRB review through Harvard University’s Committee on the Use of Human Subjects. For most COACHE partner institutions, a copy of the [Harvard approval letter](/sites/g/files/omnuum6791/files/2026-06/IRB%20Renewal%202026-27.pdf "Harvard_IRB_26-27")[ ](/sites/g/files/omnuum6791/files/2025-06/IRB%20Renewal%202025-26%20%281%29.pdf "IRB_Renewal_2025-26")is adequate documentation of this project’s bona fides. However, some institutions demand more to approve this survey research on their campuses. Please get in touch with your local IRB office and let our team know if you need assistance obtaining approval. Any campus with a pending IRB application cannot begin survey administration with the full cohort and delayed starts typically result in lower response rates. Please confirm your IRB status in the Survey Administration Portal. ### Late October - Custom Questions Due expand\_more Custom questions are due at the end of October. ### Early November - Email Whitelisting expand\_more COACHE takes steps to ensure that solicitation emails are not blocked by spam filters, but filtering software still has the potential to block our attempts to reach your faculty. Contact your IT staff to have the following email addresses “whitelisted” on spam filters running on your institution’s email servers: - [coachefaculty@abtsurvey.com](mailto:coachefaculty@opinioncast.com) - Please update your email "whitelisting" status in the Survey Administration Portal. ### Early November - Pass Through Variables expand\_more Pass-through variables help institutions link COACHE data to other data sources. The data are appended to the original population file. Then, when a respondent completes the survey, the data in the pass-through variable are appended to the data set. Institutions have used this approach to link COACHE data to a host of other data sources, such as: - Results from other institutional surveys - Human Resources codes for ranks or appointment statuses unique to your institution - Faculty activity or productivity data (e.g., course loads, number of publications, presentations, teaching load, etc.) - Contract length (e.g., nine-month, ten-month, twelve-month) To decide if pass-through variables can be a valuable tool for your team, consider the following questions: - How will the pass-through variables change your approach to analyzing your results? - Does the addition of pass-through variables change your local IRB status? Check with your local IRB Office before proceeding. Up to five pass-through variables can be included for $100 per variable. To include pass-through variables, please submit your decision in the Survey Administration Portal. ### Mid-November - Submit Population File expand\_more The Population File is the most important deliverable of the Survey Administration process. This document allows COACHE to reach eligible faculty and gives us information critical to analyzing the results and understanding patterns of non-response. Be sure to review the resources below to prepare your file correctly. Please be aware that, once submitted, the COACHE team will review the population file and be in communication for file reconciliation. Population files must be uploaded to the "Documents" tab of the Survey Administration Portal. ### Resources: - [Module 4: Preparing Your Population File](/sites/g/files/omnuum6791/files/2025-07/Preparing-your-Population-File_2025-26.pdf "Preparing Your Population File") - [Population File Template \[Excel download\]](/sites/g/files/omnuum6791/files/2025-07/population_file_template_2025-26.xlsx "Population File Template") ### Early January - Spam Testing expand\_more COACHE will send a test solicitation email one to two weeks before survey administration to you and/or your IT staff. To participate in the spam filter test, please provide COACHE with the email address(es) of the person(s) who will receive the test message in the Survey Administration Portal. Consider including individuals across multiple divisions. Some divisions have different spam filtering systems (e.g., Schools of Medicine or Colleges of Computer Science) due to the types of data they handle. To ensure that the "whitelisting" covers all divisions, make sure that your list is representative. Please be aware that this is a collaborative process, and the COACHE team will be in communication to ensure successful email whitelisting and spam testing. ### Early February- Survey Launch! expand\_more Survey launches in February. Survey window is early February to mid-April. ### Early March - Peer Selection expand\_more Each institution must select 5 peer institutions from the cohort and update those selections in the survey administration portal. Before making your selections, review the Benchmarking Peer List and our [Truth About Peer Selection Blog Post.](/blog/truth-about-peer-selection-academy "The Truth About Peer Selection in Higher Education")"