Research
Infographic
Recognizing Faculty with Disabilities: Data and Considerations from the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey
Drawing upon Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey data from 2019 and 2020, this piece examines meaningful differences in perception of the academic workplace between faculty with visible disabilities, invisible disabilities, and no reported disabilities.
Case Study
Supporting the Next Generation of Faculty at Georgia State University
In this partner spotlight, Georgia State University shares how the institution applied its data-driven approach to student success to the faculty experience through the administration and rollout of the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey.
Webinar
Success After Tenure: Lessons in Engaging Mid-Career Faculty
Based on the 2018 book, Success After Tenure: Supporting Mid-Career Faculty (Stylus), this webinar highlights the impetus behind compiling the volume, as well as the successful practices put in place by COACHE partners at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Browse Resources By Topic
- Faculty Development & Support
- Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
- Higher Education Leadership
- Recruitment & Retention
- Work Life Balance
Faculty Leadership and Institutional Resilience: Indicators, Promising Practices, and Key Questions
Citation:
![Faculty Leadership and Institutional Resilience: Indicators, Promising Practices, and Key Questions Faculty Leadership and Institutional Resilience: Indicators, Promising Practices, and Key Questions](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/changemag_jul2019.jpg?m=1562698102&itok=xqKnj1rn)
Abstract:
There is renewed interest in shared governance in American higher education. This evidence-based, exploratory study of faculty leadership identifies promising practices for shared stewardship and provides follow-up questions for senior leaders to assess the state of faculty leadership and shared governance on their own campuses. The findings are based on interviews with chief academic officers or faculty officers and chief elected faculty leaders at baccalaureate, masters, and research institutions identified as exemplars through the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey. The author argues for an expansive view of faculty leadership as a key component of institutional resilience.
The Academic Environment and Faculty Well-Being: The Role of Psychological Needs
Citation:
![The Academic Environment and Faculty Well-Being: The Role of Psychological Needs The Academic Environment and Faculty Well-Being: The Role of Psychological Needs](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/career-assessment.png?m=1557248302&itok=O73iBuQu)
Abstract:
In response to recent research on the well-being of higher education faculty, which has lacked a theoretical model, this study used self-determination theory to model the well-being of 581 tenured and tenure-eligible faculty members at a large midwestern university. The study looked at the relationships between environmental factors (e.g., administrative support, research support, promotion and tenure support) and faculty well-being (i.e., teaching/service satisfaction and global satisfaction), hypothesizing that volitional autonomy, perceived competence, and perceived relatedness would partially mediate these relationships. Results of path analysis indicated that all relations between the environment and teaching/service satisfaction were fully mediated by volitional autonomy and perceived competence, whereas all relations between the environment and global satisfaction were partially mediated by perceived relatedness. These findings highlight that psychological needs are central in understanding the relations between the environment and faculty well-being. The study discusses additional implications and future directions for research.
Success After Tenure: Lessons in Engaging Midcareer Faculty
Citation:
Abstract:
Mid-career faculty actively seek professional satisfaction and personal well-being in their careers at the departmental and institutional level. However, a growing body of research tells us that the policies and practices in place at colleges and universities do not always support this goal. This webinar, “Success After Tenure: Lessons in Engaging Mid-Career Faculty,” offers an inside take on the themes of the book Success After Tenure: Supporting Mid-Career Faculty and provide real-world best practices from practitioners in the field.
Full Text
Watch the Recording
Download the presentation slides
Faculty Leadership and Institutional Resilience: Indicators, Promising Practices, and Key Questions
Citation:
![Faculty Leadership and Institutional Resilience: Indicators, Promising Practices, and Key Questions Faculty Leadership and Institutional Resilience: Indicators, Promising Practices, and Key Questions](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/changemag_jul2019.jpg?m=1562698102&itok=xqKnj1rn)
Abstract:
There is renewed interest in shared governance in American higher education. This evidence-based, exploratory study of faculty leadership identifies promising practices for shared stewardship and provides follow-up questions for senior leaders to assess the state of faculty leadership and shared governance on their own campuses. The findings are based on interviews with chief academic officers or faculty officers and chief elected faculty leaders at baccalaureate, masters, and research institutions identified as exemplars through the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey. The author argues for an expansive view of faculty leadership as a key component of institutional resilience.
Growing Our Own: Cultivating Faculty Leadership
Citation:
![Growing Our Own: Cultivating Faculty Leadership Growing Our Own: Cultivating Faculty Leadership](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/change50_0.png?m=1540323656&itok=YJNQ57le)
Abstract:
To overcome the pressures pulling the academy apart, presidents and provosts, governing boards and legislatures, foundations and associations should commit to the cultivation of leadership from faculty members and by them. As the faculty profession and population become increasingly complex, leaders will need skills in relating, sensemaking, visioning, and inventing. A skills inventory conducted among provosts, deans, and senior faculty development administrators revealed that while most had strengths in the first two categories, their visioning and inventing skills were less developed. Institutions can cultivate these skills in faculty and invite faculty into the leadership process—and they must do so in order to effectively develop the faculties of the future.
Climate Change: Creating Space for Interdepartmental Problem Solving at Skidmore College
Citation:
![Climate Change: Creating Space for Interdepartmental Problem Solving at Skidmore College Climate Change: Creating Space for Interdepartmental Problem Solving at Skidmore College](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/screen_shot_2020-10-09_at_2.09.36_pm.png?m=1602267222&itok=uWaH027T)
Abstract:
Historically, academic departments at Skidmore College operated with large degrees of autonomy from one another. Groups rarely collaborated, which made it difficult for faculty and administrators to address climate and leadership challenges across divisions. In the absence of a centralized group equipped with the tools and resources needed to address these issues, Skidmore partnered with the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) and conducted the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey to identify ways to improve departmental climates.
Using Skidmore’s survey results as a baseline for their first meeting, the team, which Skidmore leaders dubbed the ‘COACHE Collaborators’, worked together to identify three areas of departmental climate in need of attention: collegiality, diversity and inclusion, and work-life balance.
Faculty Departure and Retention at Small Liberal Arts Colleges
Citation:
![Faculty Departure and Retention at Small Liberal Arts Colleges Faculty Departure and Retention at Small Liberal Arts Colleges](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/pub_image_faculty_departure.png?m=1621526516&itok=k3CKzhnI)
Abstract:
Voluntary faculty departures can often be prevented, but a lack of common exit procedures have hindered institutions’ ability to create proactive practices of faculty retention and instead harbor reactive tendencies with little positive outcome. Through interviews with 22 CAOs at liberal arts colleges, Patrick D. Reynolds, former Visiting Practitioner to COACHE, discovered partner employment and career choice were the two most prominent reasons for departures. Outliers also revealed that work and social environments, especially for faculty members of minority groups, often played a role in dissatisfaction.
Success After Tenure: Lessons in Engaging Midcareer Faculty
Citation:
Abstract:
Mid-career faculty actively seek professional satisfaction and personal well-being in their careers at the departmental and institutional level. However, a growing body of research tells us that the policies and practices in place at colleges and universities do not always support this goal. This webinar, “Success After Tenure: Lessons in Engaging Mid-Career Faculty,” offers an inside take on the themes of the book Success After Tenure: Supporting Mid-Career Faculty and provide real-world best practices from practitioners in the field.
Full Text
Watch the Recording
Download the presentation slides
Building a Better Exit Study: A National Effort to Understand Faculty Retention & Turnover
Citation:
Abstract:
In 2016, COACHE partnered with the University of California System to pilot our newest undertaking -- the Faculty Retenion and Exit Survey. This survey is the only multi-institutional study of faculty retention and exit, and examines the costs, conduct, and causes of faculty turnover.
In this webinar, Kiernan Mathews and Todd Benson describe how the survey came to be, and outline some of the initial findings from the pilot study along with some practical recommendations for Academic Affairs administrators.
Family policies and institutional satisfaction: An intersectional analysis of tenure-track faculty
Citation:
Thesis Type:
DissertationAbstract:
Guided by an intersectional perspective, this study compares responses to the 2008 and 2009 Tenure-Track Faculty Job Satisfaction survey provided by four groups of faculty: African American women, African American men as well as white women and white men. The study examines faculty perceptions regarding the importance of family policies as related to career success, the effectiveness of family policies at the institution, and the level of satisfaction with work-life balance. The findings indicate that there are significant differences in policy perceptions and work-life satisfaction. African American women overwhelmingly indicate that eldercare policy is important to career success, while white women are more concerned with childcare policy. Significant group differences emerge in faculty assessment of childcare policy. The analysis reveals institutional-level support for care work influences overall satisfaction with the institution more than departmental support. The findings suggest care work still matters in relation to a faculty member's career advancement.
Work life balance and job satisfaction among faculty at Iowa State University
Citation:
Thesis Type:
DissertationAbstract:
This study utilized the existing database from the Iowa State University 2009-2010 Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey to explore faculty work life balance and job satisfaction among academic disciplines. This research sought to determine if (a) work life differs by academic discipline group: (b) job satisfaction differs by academic discipline, and (c) there is a relationship between faculty work life and job satisfaction and whether this relationship differs by academic discipline group, and (d) if academic discipline has a unique effect on faculty work and life balance.
The results indicated that there is a significant relationship between work life and job satisfaction. When controlling for demographic and professional experience, the result also indicated that age and climate, and culture were significant predicators for work life balance. The results also showed that female faculty have lower job satisfaction, and indicated that the level of job satisfaction was lower for hard pure disciplines than soft pure disciplines.
Success on the Tenure Track: Five Keys to Faculty Job Satisfaction
Citation:
![Success on the Tenure Track: Five Keys to Faculty Job Satisfaction Success on the Tenure Track: Five Keys to Faculty Job Satisfaction](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/cathybook.png?m=1524855839&itok=PqjfMNyM)
Abstract:
Landing a tenure-track position is no easy task. Achieving tenure is even more difficult. Under what policies and practices do faculty find greater clarity about tenure and experience higher levels of job satisfaction? What makes an institution a great place to work?
In 2005–2006, the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education surveyed more than 15,000 tenure-track faculty at 200 institutions. The survey was designed around five key themes: tenure clarity, work-life balance, support for research, collegiality, and leadership.
Success on the Tenure Track positions the survey data in the context of actual colleges and universities. Best practices at the highest-rated institutions in the survey—Auburn, Ohio State, North Carolina State, Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Iowa, Kansas, and North Carolina at Pembroke—give administrators practical, proven advice on increasing employee satisfaction. Additional chapters discuss faculty demographics, trends in employment practices, creating a great workplace for faculty, and the future of tenure.
Gender and Race Differences in Faculty Assessment of Tenure Clarity: The Influence of Departmental Relationships and Practices
Citation:
![Gender and Race Differences in Faculty Assessment of Tenure Clarity: The Influence of Departmental Relationships and Practices Gender and Race Differences in Faculty Assessment of Tenure Clarity: The Influence of Departmental Relationships and Practices](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/srea_4_3.cover_.png?m=1536339919&itok=G_wmgOMB)
Abstract:
The authors look at how the intersection of gender and race influences pre-tenure faculty members’ perceptions of the clarity of tenure expectations. The authors also seek to identify potential predictors (assessment of mentoring, relationships with peers, feedback on progress toward tenure, and fairness in tenure decision making and evaluation) of perceptions of tenure clarity for four intersectionally defined groups, including historically underrepresented minority women (URMW). The authors use an intersectional perspective and the gendered and racialized organizations’ theoretical lens to interpret the results. The data set comes from the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey. Findings show that compared with white men, URMW are less satisfied with their relationships with peers and with the fairness in the evaluation of their work. They are also less likely to agree that mentoring is effective, that tenure decisions are fair, and that messages about tenure are consistent.International Faculty Perceptions of Departmental Climate and Workplace Satisfaction
Citation:
![International Faculty Perceptions of Departmental Climate and Workplace Satisfaction International Faculty Perceptions of Departmental Climate and Workplace Satisfaction](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/5.jpg?m=1536336037&itok=pcyRM_9N)
Abstract:
Although the variability in the definitions and immigration status of international academics makes it challenging to provide the exact number of foreign-born faculty members teaching and conducting research in U.S. postsecondary institutions, all data accounts have pointed to a steady growth in this segment of the professoriate. This study used data from the 2011-2014 Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey to examine international faculty members’ satisfaction with autonomy, interactions with colleagues, departmental climate, and recognition and the effect of these elements upon the overall workplace satisfaction of international faculty members relative to their U.S. citizen peers.
This study helps identify factors that can enhance international faculty members’ satisfaction in order to aid institutions in their efforts not only to recruit the best talent but also to support and retain such talent.
Climate Change: Creating Space for Interdepartmental Problem Solving at Skidmore College
Citation:
![Climate Change: Creating Space for Interdepartmental Problem Solving at Skidmore College Climate Change: Creating Space for Interdepartmental Problem Solving at Skidmore College](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/screen_shot_2020-10-09_at_2.09.36_pm.png?m=1602267222&itok=uWaH027T)
Abstract:
Historically, academic departments at Skidmore College operated with large degrees of autonomy from one another. Groups rarely collaborated, which made it difficult for faculty and administrators to address climate and leadership challenges across divisions. In the absence of a centralized group equipped with the tools and resources needed to address these issues, Skidmore partnered with the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) and conducted the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey to identify ways to improve departmental climates.
Using Skidmore’s survey results as a baseline for their first meeting, the team, which Skidmore leaders dubbed the ‘COACHE Collaborators’, worked together to identify three areas of departmental climate in need of attention: collegiality, diversity and inclusion, and work-life balance.
Browse Resources by Faculty Type
Family policies and institutional satisfaction: An intersectional analysis of tenure-track faculty
Citation:
Thesis Type:
DissertationAbstract:
Guided by an intersectional perspective, this study compares responses to the 2008 and 2009 Tenure-Track Faculty Job Satisfaction survey provided by four groups of faculty: African American women, African American men as well as white women and white men. The study examines faculty perceptions regarding the importance of family policies as related to career success, the effectiveness of family policies at the institution, and the level of satisfaction with work-life balance. The findings indicate that there are significant differences in policy perceptions and work-life satisfaction. African American women overwhelmingly indicate that eldercare policy is important to career success, while white women are more concerned with childcare policy. Significant group differences emerge in faculty assessment of childcare policy. The analysis reveals institutional-level support for care work influences overall satisfaction with the institution more than departmental support. The findings suggest care work still matters in relation to a faculty member's career advancement.
Intent to leave the professoriate: The relationship between race/ethnicity and job satisfaction for pre-tenured professors in doctorate-granting universities
Citation:
Thesis Type:
DissertationAbstract:
This study investigated pre-tenure faculty satisfaction and intent to leave their institution using 2005–2008 data from the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey. The purpose of this study is to identify salient variables influencing faculty of color retention and to explain the lack of progress in diversifying the professoriate by exploring the relationship between racial/ethnic group membership and pre-tenure faculty job satisfaction and the relationship these variables have with departure intentions. The study was limited to faculty working at doctorate-granting U.S. universities.
Results of the study suggest faculty of color are more likely to intend to leave their institutions than their White (non-Hispanic) counterparts. Specifically, the study's findings suggest satisfaction with tenure processes and procedures, teaching, advising, service, and research expectations, and collegiality negatively influenced departure intentions of pre-tenure faculty overall and for specific racial/ethnic groups. The study offers ideas for expanded research on pre-tenure faculty job satisfaction and intent to leave.
Career Stage Differences in Pre-Tenure Track Faculty Perceptions of Professional and Personal Relationships with Colleagues
Citation:
![Career Stage Differences in Pre-Tenure Track Faculty Perceptions of Professional and Personal Relationships with Colleagues Career Stage Differences in Pre-Tenure Track Faculty Perceptions of Professional and Personal Relationships with Colleagues](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/journalhighered_0.png?m=1524854742&itok=nEZ6LM7G)
Abstract:
Despite a steady decline in available faculty tenure-track positions, future vacancies in tenure-track positions provide opportunities to diversify faculty ranks with new female faculty and faculty of color. This impending employment shift in faculty demographics may change departmental climates, pre-tenure faculty socialization processes, and professional and personal relationships between pre-tenure female faculty and faculty of color and their colleagues.
This study examines pre-tenure faculty members' perception of collegial relationships with colleagues. We primarily focus on the organizational socialization of female faculty and faculty of color, and faculty in different pre-tenure career stages. We found differences in satisfaction with collegial relationships between faculty by gender, race, and pre-tenure career stages.
Career Stage Differences in Pre-Tenure Track Faculty Perceptions of Professional and Personal Relationships with Colleagues
Citation:
![Career Stage Differences in Pre-Tenure Track Faculty Perceptions of Professional and Personal Relationships with Colleagues Career Stage Differences in Pre-Tenure Track Faculty Perceptions of Professional and Personal Relationships with Colleagues](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/journalhighered_0.png?m=1524854742&itok=nEZ6LM7G)
Abstract:
Despite a steady decline in available faculty tenure-track positions, future vacancies in tenure-track positions provide opportunities to diversify faculty ranks with new female faculty and faculty of color. This impending employment shift in faculty demographics may change departmental climates, pre-tenure faculty socialization processes, and professional and personal relationships between pre-tenure female faculty and faculty of color and their colleagues.
This study examines pre-tenure faculty members' perception of collegial relationships with colleagues. We primarily focus on the organizational socialization of female faculty and faculty of color, and faculty in different pre-tenure career stages. We found differences in satisfaction with collegial relationships between faculty by gender, race, and pre-tenure career stages.
The Experience of Tenure-Track Faculty at Research Universities: Analysis of COACHE Survey Results by Academic Area and Gender
Citation:
Abstract:
The COACHE Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey is organized around five themes: tenure, nature of the work, policies and practices, climate, culture, and collegiality, and global satisfaction. This analysis looks at survey data for pre-tenure faculty at research universities. In particular, the analysis examined gender differences across twelve academic areas. Mean scores for each of the 83 survey dimension were ranked across all 12 academic areas.
New Challenges, New Priorities: The Experience of Generation X Faculty
Citation:
![New Challenges, New Priorities: The Experience of Generation X Faculty New Challenges, New Priorities: The Experience of Generation X Faculty](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/newchallengesnewpriorities.png?m=1525465004&itok=JyvCeVtB)
Abstract:
This study explores how Generation X (born 1964-1980) faculty are approaching their jobs, long-term careers, and work-life balance, and examines if and how the generational “clashes” reportedly arising in the workforce are being manifested in the academic environment. The study was designed to complement and build upon the coache Tenure-Track Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey by using qualitative interviews to explore many of the same themes in greater depth with a limited number of participants, and provide insights into how those themes play out in the day-to-day lives of individual faculty members. While the survey provides a snapshot of how tenure-track faculty are feeling about their current job situation, this study examines the broader context of faculty members’ long-term careers, and the interplay between their work and non-work lives.
Gender Differences in Faculty Member Job Satisfaction: Equity Forestalled?
Citation:
![Gender Differences in Faculty Member Job Satisfaction: Equity Forestalled? Gender Differences in Faculty Member Job Satisfaction: Equity Forestalled?](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/researchinhgihered_0.png?m=1524858016&itok=kOCJjVmR)
Abstract:
Guided by Hagedorn’s (2000) theory of faculty job satisfaction, mindful of social and organizational structures of higher education, and acknowledging recent changes in the academic labor market, this study examines satisfaction for approximately 30,000 tenured and tenure-track faculty members in 100 US colleges and universities. Findings revealed similarity between female and male faculty members in some aspects of work satisfaction, but difference in other areas in which women reported lower satisfaction. Findings also revealed that perceptions of department fit, recognition, work role balance, and mentoring are more important to women faculty’s satisfaction than male peers. These findings have implications for policy and practice.
Beyond Teaching and Research: Faculty Perceptions of Service Roles at Research Universities
Citation:
![Beyond Teaching and Research: Faculty Perceptions of Service Roles at Research Universities Beyond Teaching and Research: Faculty Perceptions of Service Roles at Research Universities](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/innovation_0.png?m=1522441791&itok=u3BLeh7V)
Abstract:
Faculty members in higher education institutions frequently have the responsibility of providing service activities to their institutions, professional societies, and external communities. This responsibility, however, generally carries little reward in the workplace and does not play a major role in promotion criteria. This study drew upon a sample of 4,400 research university faculty members surveyed through the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey to explore their satisfaction with service roles by academic rank. Findings showed that mid-career faculty members at the associate professor rank were significantly less satisfied with their service functions, including workload, equity, work balance, recognition, and institutional support, when compared with both assistant and full professors.
Understanding the changing faculty workforce in higher education: A comparison of non-tenure track and tenure line experiences
Citation:
![Understanding the changing faculty workforce in higher education: A comparison of non-tenure track and tenure line experiences Understanding the changing faculty workforce in higher education: A comparison of non-tenure track and tenure line experiences](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/eppa.png?m=1524854443&itok=JJ5wT2jA)
Abstract:
Non-tenure track faculty are a growing majority in American higher education, but research examining their work lives is limited. Moreover, the theoretical frameworks commonly used by scholars have been critiqued for reliance on ideologically charged assumptions. Using a conceptual model developed from Hackman and Oldham’s (1980) Job Characteristics Model (JCM) and prior research on faculty workplace experiences, this study considers the extent to which full-time non-tenure track and tenure line faculty share a professionalized approach to their jobs, working conditions, and how this is associated with their organizational commitment.
Satisfaction with resources, rewards, autonomy and feedback had a significant positive relationship with odds of organizational commitment for all faculty groups. Overall, the results suggest being removed from the tenure track is not associated with faculty viewing their jobs in a substantially different way than those in tenure line positions, which underscores the importance of conceptualizing full-time faculty work as an integrated whole.
Clear as Mud: Promotion Clarity by Gender and BIPOC Status Across the Associate Professor Lifespan
Citation:
![Clear as Mud: Promotion Clarity by Gender and BIPOC Status Across the Associate Professor Lifespan Clear as Mud: Promotion Clarity by Gender and BIPOC Status Across the Associate Professor Lifespan](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/innovative_higher_ed.png?m=1631550388&itok=qNXI2I2P)
Abstract:
Mid-career faculty members often seek to advance to the highest faculty rank of full professor, but research suggests women and Black, Indigenous and Other People of Color (BIPOC) faculty face inequitable patterns in advancement to the full professor rank. This study focuses on associate professors’ perceptions of promotion clarity, or the degree to which they are clear about the processes and criteria for advancing to the full professor rank.Women Faculty in STEM Disciplines: Experiences with the Tenure Process and Departmental Practices
Citation:
![Women Faculty in STEM Disciplines: Experiences with the Tenure Process and Departmental Practices Women Faculty in STEM Disciplines: Experiences with the Tenure Process and Departmental Practices](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/hasa_45_1.cover_.png?m=1610657767&itok=OPHJxYSc)
Abstract:
Using Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey data, the purpose of the study is to explore predictors of perceptions of tenure clarity for faculty in STEM and non-STEM fields. We use the gendered organization framework to examine whether for four groups of faculty (women and men in STEM and women and men in non-STEM), assessment of fairness in tenure decisions and evaluations, messages about tenure requirements, mentoring, and relationships with peers have a similar effect on their assessment of tenure clarity. Women in STEM fields are less likely to perceive the expectations for tenure as clear or to assess tenure decisions and evaluations as fair, mentoring as effective, and relationships with peers as satisfactory.Work–Family Balance and Tenure Reasonableness: Gender Differences in Faculty Assessment
Citation:
![Work–Family Balance and Tenure Reasonableness: Gender Differences in Faculty Assessment Work–Family Balance and Tenure Reasonableness: Gender Differences in Faculty Assessment](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/sociological-spectrum.jpg?m=1582125963&itok=1amg9ws8)
Abstract:
Perceptions of work–family balance and of the reasonableness of tenure expectations are key faculty retention factors. Using the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey, which includes data from 2,438 tenure-track assistant professors, Rodica Lisnic, Anna Zajicek, and Brinck Kerr explore whether faculty assessment of departmental and institutional support for family influences their perceptions of the reasonableness of tenure expectations.
Results reveal that women are less likely than men to report tenure expectations as scholars are reasonable and that departments and institutions are supportive of family-work balance. Departmental support for family-work balance, caring for an ill family member, satisfaction with family-friendly policies, and workload have the strongest association with reasonableness. Satisfaction with family-friendly policies has a significant relationship with reasonableness of tenure expectations only for faculty with family care responsibilities. These results have implications for family-friendly policies and practices in academia.
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- Year in Review
2019 Year in Review: The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education
Citation:
![2019 Year in Review: The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education 2019 Year in Review: The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/2019_annualreport_cover.png?m=1601669704&itok=cEmCDETZ)
Abstract:
COACHE’s 2019 work focused on two types of faculty members: those who leave and those who lead. This work incorporated a larger number of faculty members than in 2018, with 41 colleges, universities, and specialized programs in the 2019 Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey cohort, a total of more than 28,000 faculty participants, and an average institutional response rate of 54 percent.
Institutional reports for the Faculty Retention and Exit Survey indicate why faculty leave—or remain—at their institutions, and where inequities arise in retention negotiations. COACHE’s work also examined how we define faculty leadership, and which faculty leaders—women and humanities faculty among them—are less likely to receive institutional support in sustaining other aspects of their work.
2018 Year in Review: The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education
Citation:
![2018 Year in Review: The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education 2018 Year in Review: The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/2018_annual-report-cover.png?m=1601669809&itok=PhCsstw6)
Abstract:
In 2018, the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education collaborated with the Harvard Institutes for Higher Education (HIHE) to launch the first ever Seminar on Leadership of the Faculty, a three-day workshop for academic leadership. An introduction between Harvard Club of New York, HIHE, and COACHE partners in the CUNY system led to a $100,000 grant for CUNY to invest in developing diverse faculty leadership. Data from the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey yielded an exploration of mid-career faculty, an ongoing pursuit to prevent mid-career malaise and provide support. The Faculty Retention and Exit Survey revealed the risk that a “counteroffer culture” poses to faculties’ home institutions during salary negotiations. Finally, an overhaul of our data dissemination process has made it easier for researchers to access our data in order to implement institutional changes.
2017 Year in Review: The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education
Citation:
![2017 Year in Review: The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education 2017 Year in Review: The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/screen_shot_2020-10-09_at_10.39.31_am.png?m=1602254405&itok=eeaZjwH-)
Abstract:
In the 2016-2017 academic year, the Collaborative welcomed our largest and most diverse cohort of Faculty Job Satisfaction partners to date with over 60 higher education institutions—public and private, two- and four-year—joining our ranks. After a successful pilot, we launched the first ever multi-institutional study of Faculty Retention and Exit to 12 institutions nationwide in the spring and 22 in the fall. And to complement our survey offerings, we adapted our reporting platform to be more robust than ever, with additional race and ethnicity categories and academic area analyses.
Recognizing Faculty with Disabilities: Data and Considerations from the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey
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![Recognizing Faculty with Disabilities: Data and Considerations from the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey Recognizing Faculty with Disabilities: Data and Considerations from the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/disabilitycoversnip.png?m=1602551360&itok=BCPpLnT5)
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In 2019, COACHE added a series of questions about disability status to our flagship Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey. Two years of data were examined to understand how faculty's experience of the academic workplace might vary depending on their disability type and disclosure status. Review the infographic below to understand how attitudes and disclosure differ across types of disabilities and how administration can create inclusive policies to address these key insights. Click here for an accessible version of the document.Revealing Data on Faculty Retention & Departure
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![Revealing Data on Faculty Retention & Departure Revealing Data on Faculty Retention & Departure](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/screen_shot_2020-10-09_at_2.54.51_pm.png?m=1602270035&itok=zA5NPTLz)
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In 2017, after a successful pilot with several campuses of a large public university system, COACHE launched the Faculty Retention and Exit Survey nationwide. This study represents the first multi-institutional survey of faculty retentions (among those with outside offers) and departures. Until now, there was no coordinated effort for universities to develop a common understanding of the causes, costs, and conduct of faculty mobility.
Among the takeaways: More than half of faculty ranked salary as a secondary factor or not a factor in their decision to stay or leave. But 67% selected quality of colleagues as a compelling factor. The study also found that faculty are expected to cultivate outside offers before they can ask for a better deal at home, and that this requirement pushes them out the door: nearly 1 in 3 faculty who left originally sought the offer only to renegotiate the terms of their employment.
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![Infographic: Revealing Data on Faculty Retention and Departure Faculty Retention and Exit Survey - Infographic](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/os_files_xxlarge/public/exit_infographic_09.15.17_v6-01.png?m=1524243615&itok=4ZnxGAtf)
Using the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey to Improve Equity for Texas Tech Faculty
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![Using the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey to Improve Equity for Texas Tech Faculty Using the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey to Improve Equity for Texas Tech Faculty](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/ttcase_thumbnail.png?m=1640024719&itok=xLVOrrfr)
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Upon receiving their Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey results, Texas Tech University set to work addressing some of the equity gaps brought to light. Among their priorities was departmental collegiality, diversity and equity across divisions, and department chair training. By creating two faculty fellow positions and a team Faculty Equity Advocates, Texas Tech is set to make meaningful changes on their campus.Tailoring a Survey for Campus Change at the University of Denver
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![Tailoring a Survey for Campus Change at the University of Denver Tailoring a Survey for Campus Change at the University of Denver](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/udenvercase.png?m=1632494859&itok=o1qXmZ2x)
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The University of Denver was changing on several fronts at the start of their partnership with the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE). A new vice chancellor for diversity, equity, and inclusion was coming on board, a new initiative on community and values needed information to guide it, and concerns about the departmental decision-making processes were awaiting a solution.
By adapting COACHE’s Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey with carefully tailored custom questions, DU’s leaders realized that one tool could in fact support many changes.
Building Trust, Engaging Faculty, Taking Action: Supporting the Next Generation of Faculty at Georgia State University
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![Building Trust, Engaging Faculty, Taking Action: Supporting the Next Generation of Faculty at Georgia State University Building Trust, Engaging Faculty, Taking Action: Supporting the Next Generation of Faculty at Georgia State University](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/gsu_snip.png?m=1612801825&itok=V1AYEtS8)
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Georgia State University decided to partner with COACHE after the university’s Commission on the Next Generation of Faculty urged the institution to gather more robust data on diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus. The provost’s office made three guarantees to faculty about the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey: the administration wanted to hear from every full-time faculty member, they would not receive data that would allow them to identify any individual faculty member, and they would use the results for campus improvement. This transparancy has already borne fruit. With a higher response rate than peer institutions and a renewed sense of trust, GSU administrators are moving forward in unpacking the results collaboratively with their faculty.- 1 of 2
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The Art of Diversity: A Chronicle of Advancing the University of California Faculty through Efforts in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, 2010–2022
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![The Art of Diversity: A Chronicle of Advancing the University of California Faculty through Efforts in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, 2010–2022 The Art of Diversity: A Chronicle of Advancing the University of California Faculty through Efforts in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, 2010–2022](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/art_of_diversity_book_cover.jpg?m=1705613745&itok=-Be0UZsH)
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In The Art of Diversity: A Chronicle of Advancing the University of California Faculty through Efforts in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, 2010–2022, Susan Carlson details the University of California’s systemwide efforts to increase the diversity of its faculty during her tenure as Vice Provost, UC Office of the President. It tells the story of a remarkable alignment of California stakeholders—from the UC Regents and University leaders to the Academic Senate and the California legislature, from small faculty teams to multicampus coalitions—and how they worked to create a 21st-century faculty that reflects the diversity of California. This chronicle’s central focus is on a community of practice dedicated to excellence and equity. Efforts began with a program focused on finding new ways to collect data on faculty recruitment and create multicampus discussions on key topics like mentoring, intersectional racial and gender identities, workplace climate, and statements on diversity, equity, and inclusion. These efforts continued with a novel interactive theater program for department chairs and deans. The capstone effort, Advancing Faculty Diversity, provides opportunities to pilot new ways to recruit and sustain inclusive and equitable academic communities.
Carlson addresses this central academic issue: how to build a faculty that is different from the past not only in its gender and racial makeup, but also in its research methodologies, transdisciplinary partnerships, and multimodal pedagogies.
Job Satisfaction Among Nursing Faculty in Canada and the United States
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![Job Satisfaction Among Nursing Faculty in Canada and the United States Job Satisfaction Among Nursing Faculty in Canada and the United States](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/nursing_cover.jpeg?m=1696447267&itok=IXVaI41E)
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Higher education wants a satisfied workforce to ensure the organization reaches their stated or evolving goals; however, if faculty are dissatisfied, there can be harmful and long-term consequences on productivity and organizational outcome. This study examined nursing faculty's job satisfaction and intent to stay in universities in the United States and Canada.Cross-cultural mentoring in higher education: the use of a cultural identity development model
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![Cross-cultural mentoring in higher education: the use of a cultural identity development model Cross-cultural mentoring in higher education: the use of a cultural identity development model](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/mentoringtutoring.jpg?m=1661799425&itok=_uEdiub0)
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This article examines the role that cultural identity development plays in understanding cross-cultural mentoring encounters between White faculty and faculty of color. The authors present the components of a conceptual framework for developing mentoring approaches that consider a person’s cultural identity stage of development. Using a systematic approach, the authors consider the fundamental principles of cultural identity development theory combined with higher education contextual conditions, resulting in an approach by which mentors and protégés could govern their interactions. The article concludes with implications for mentoring program administrators, faculty, and leaders in higher education.- 1 of 18
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COVID-19 Impact Study: Technical Report
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The findings from a series of statistical analyses present compelling evidence that the disruption to campus operations caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) in March 2020 impacted faculty perceptions of some aspects of their campus environment. This impact was felt across all institutions that participated in the COACHE Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey (JSAT) for a subset of JSAT benchmarks and specific items. At the same time, some benchmarks and most items were unaffected. The majority of the benchmarks and items that were impacted concerned leadership, governance, and decision-making. Additional analyses of the differences between benchmark scores with and without the presence of post-disruption responses suggest that the degree of change with the inclusion of post-disruption responses is negligible in practical application and does not warrant additional data cleaning for valid interpretation of report findings.Selected Dimensions of the Faculty Workplace Experience
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In conjunction with the AAC&U Annual Meeting, COACHE is providing access to digital spreadsheets summarizing results from its Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey, including responses from approximately 43,000 faculty at 2- and 4-year colleges and universities. COACHE Summary Tables 2019 provides responses organized by major Carnegie Classification and disciplinary groups, then by faculty rank (and tenure status), race/ethnicity, or gender. The following tables were extracted from COACHE Summary Tables 2019 for use in our discussion.COACHE Summary Tables 2019: Selected Dimensions of the Faculty Workplace Experience
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These summary tables include data from the 2019 Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey, focusing on the faculty workplace experience, with data presented by institution type, discipline, rank (with tenure status), race/ethnicity, and gender. Survey dimensions shown in the summary tables include questions about the nature of faculty work, facilities and family resources, interdisciplinary work, tenure clarity, promotion, and shared governance.Full Text
Access the 2019 summary tables
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Examining the Impacts of COVID-19 on Faculty Retention & Exit
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For the last five years, the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) has been conducting the Faculty Retention and Exit Survey to gain a deeper understanding of the academic work environment by examining faculty mobility. In spring 2020, we added three COVID-19-related questions to the survey to capture the early effects of the pandemic.
In this webinar, Doctoral Fellow, Mai H. Vang, presents findings from the responses to those questions, which captured nine themes, including disruption of research, disconnection due to remote work, and inequities in the pandemic’s impact on particular faculty.
Download the full report of our findings and presentation slides
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Assessing the Needs of Part-Time Faculty: Lessons Learned from the University at Buffalo
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According to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), approximately 40% of all faculty across all institutional types are now part-time. This subset of adjunct faculty is fulfilling a critical role in the higher education landscape, yet the variability of these appointments makes it exceedingly difficult to assess their needs and, ultimately, provide adequate support.
In 2017, COACHE partners at the University at Buffalo set out to address this knowledge gap by adapting the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey to suit the needs of their part-time faculty. In this webinar, Robert Granfield and Tilman Baumstark will share the challenges faced and lessons learned, both from their methodology and from their faculty, throughout this endeavor.
Success After Tenure: Lessons in Engaging Midcareer Faculty
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Mid-career faculty actively seek professional satisfaction and personal well-being in their careers at the departmental and institutional level. However, a growing body of research tells us that the policies and practices in place at colleges and universities do not always support this goal. This webinar, “Success After Tenure: Lessons in Engaging Mid-Career Faculty,” offers an inside take on the themes of the book Success After Tenure: Supporting Mid-Career Faculty and provide real-world best practices from practitioners in the field.
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Faculty Departure and Retention at Small Liberal Arts Colleges
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![Faculty Departure and Retention at Small Liberal Arts Colleges Faculty Departure and Retention at Small Liberal Arts Colleges](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/pub_image_faculty_departure.png?m=1621526516&itok=k3CKzhnI)
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Voluntary faculty departures can often be prevented, but a lack of common exit procedures have hindered institutions’ ability to create proactive practices of faculty retention and instead harbor reactive tendencies with little positive outcome. Through interviews with 22 CAOs at liberal arts colleges, Patrick D. Reynolds, former Visiting Practitioner to COACHE, discovered partner employment and career choice were the two most prominent reasons for departures. Outliers also revealed that work and social environments, especially for faculty members of minority groups, often played a role in dissatisfaction.
Effective Academic Governance: Five Ingredients for CAOs and Faculty
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![Effective Academic Governance: Five Ingredients for CAOs and Faculty Effective Academic Governance: Five Ingredients for CAOs and Faculty](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/academicgovernanceeffective_0.png?m=1525466912&itok=rP_pOswG)
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The COACHE research-practice partnership is designed to enact organizational change for the benefit of faculty and, by extension, the institution. But does every college's system of shared governance have what it takes to meet their own or, indeed, higher education’s most pressing challenges? This white paper looks beyond the rhetoric toward a more differentiated understanding of the ingredients of effective academic governance. Ott and Mathews offer a five-factor framework grounded in the literature, developed from interviews, and, now, tested in a survey of thousands of faculty. The report concludes with advice for assessing and fostering the qualities of “hard” and “soft” governance practices essential to sustainable change in the “real world” decision-making of committees, assemblies, senates, councils, and unions.Benchmark Best Practices: Tenure and Promotion
![Benchmark Best Practices: Tenure and Promotion Benchmark Best Practices: Tenure and Promotion](https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/book_cover/public/gse-coache/files/screen_shot_2020-10-21_at_11.24.07_am.png?m=1603293887&itok=vhTB6a-Y)
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The COACHE surveys of college faculty produce data that are both salient to full-time college faculty and actionable by academic leaders. The survey items are aggregated into 20 benchmarks representing the general thrust of faculty satisfaction along key themes. This white paper discusses the themes of tenure policies, tenure clarity, and promotion.
Administrators and faculty alike acknowledge that, at most institutions, the bar to achieve tenure has risen over time. While it is impossible to eliminate anxiety from the minds of all pre-tenure faculty members, or the pressures exerted on their lives en route to tenure, academic leaders can improve the clarity of tenure policies and expectations without sacrificing rigor. And while the academy has recently improved many policies for assistant professors (e.g., research leave; stop-the-tenure-clock; part-time tenure-track options), it has done far less for associate professors. Ideas have emerged from COACHE research on tenured faculty.
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