The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education The initiative to improve faculty recruitment, retention, and work/life quality Drexel University Tenure-Track Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey Institutional Report Data collected Academic Year 2006-2007

COACHE Overview Established in 2003 out of Harvard More than 85 four-year colleges and universities participating Goals enhance the quality of life of pre-tenure faculty by data-driven analysis of career-related issues enhance institutional ability to recruit, retain, and develop cohort critical to long-term future Core Element is validated web-based survey for tenure-track faculty to: rate the attractiveness of various aspects of employment assess level of work satisfaction

COACHE Overview cont. Addresses multiple facets of job satisfaction including specific questions that yield unambiguous actionable data on key policy-relevant issues Criteria for eligibility of survey participants: Full-time Tenure-Track / ladder-rank Pre-tenure Hired prior to 2006 new hires are unable to respond meaningfully to many questions Not clinical faculty in such areas as medicine, nursing, etc. Not in terminal year after decision not to tenure

COACHE Overview cont. Access via secure server through participant’s unique link Series of multiple choice and open-ended questions Inclusion of data set requires participants to provide at least one meaningful response for questions 19-51 Responses of faculty who either terminated the survey before question 19 or chose only n/a or decline in response to all questions were removed from the data set Weighting scale developed for each institution to adjust for the under- or over-representation in the data set of sub-groups defined by race and gender

COACHE Overview cont. Questions assess faculty experiences in five “themes” identified as critical to junior faculty • Tenure: Clarity and reasonableness of tenure criteria • Nature of the Work: Satisfaction with work-related duties and support • Policies and Practices: Policy importance, effectiveness, and satisfaction • Climate, Culture, Collegiality: Satisfaction with cultural and interpersonal aspects of the department and institution • Global Satisfaction: Overall satisfaction with the workplace

Definitions Regarding Race COACHE definition of “Faculty of Color” is not equivalent to the commonly used definition of “Underrepresented Minority Faculty” as applied in STEM fields COACHE definition of “Faculty of Color” includes all non-white faculty, i.e. Asian, Hispanic, Black or African American, Native American, and Multi-Racial individuals Most definitions (NSF, NIH, etc.) of underrepresented minorities, especially in STEM fields, include only Black or African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans. This is the definition used at Drexel.

Drexel’s Percentage of Tenure/TT Faculty By Rank and Race

Peer Institutions Results compared with five participating Drexel-selected “peer” institutions Case Western Reserve University Michigan State University Northeastern University Stanford University Tufts University

Response Rate and Weight Scale

Drexel Statistics Survey conducted in AY 06-07 for faculty hired prior to 2006 N of Drexel Population 88 Males 61 Females 103 White Faculty 46 Faculty of Color Total: 149 N of Respondents 49 Males (56%) 43 Females (70%) 69 White Faculty (67%) 23 Faculty of Color (50%) Total: 92 (62%)

Reporting of Results Mean score of each question is compared to mean score of peers for same question Comparisons for each theme determined by # of questions answered as positive, neutral, negative Top 2 in mean scores (+) – green Mid 2 in mean scores ( ) – white Bottom 2 in mean scores (-) – red Comparisons for each theme also broken out in terms of gender and “faculty of color” Differences in yellow

Drexel - Highest to Lowest Climate, culture, and collegiality Policies and practices Nature of the work Global satisfaction Tenure

COACHE Overview Questions assess faculty experiences in five “themes” identified as critical to junior faculty • Tenure: Clarity and reasonableness of tenure criteria • Nature of the Work: Satisfaction with work-related duties and support • Policies and Practices: Policy importance, effectiveness, and satisfaction • Climate, Culture, Collegiality: Satisfaction with cultural and interpersonal aspects of the department and institution • Global Satisfaction: Overall satisfaction with the workplace 13

Climate, Culture and Collegiality + Satisfaction - All participants: Fairness of immediate supervisors’ evaluations Fairness with which departments treat junior faculty compared to one another How well faculty “fit” in their departments Amount of personal interaction with junior colleagues in department Amount of personal and professional interaction with senior colleagues in department Amount of professional interaction with junior colleagues in department (M+) + = top 2 / - bottom 2 with respect to peer group

Climate, Culture and Collegiality cont. Gender specific (average overall) Opportunities to collaborate with senior faculty (M+/F-) Interest senior faculty take in professional development (M+) Senior colleagues’ intellectual vitality (M+) + = top 2 / - bottom 2 with respect to peer group

Policies and Practices + Satisfaction - All participants: Willingness of departmental colleagues to do what they can to make raising children and tenure-track compatible Willingness of departmental colleagues to do what they can to make having children and tenure-track compatible (M+) Effectiveness of periodic, formal performance reviews and written summaries Balance they can strike between professional time and personal/family time (M+/F-) Effectiveness of professional assistance for obtaining external funding Effectiveness of stop the tenure clock for parental or other family reasons (M+/F-) Compensation (M+)

Policies and Practices cont. - Dissatisfaction - All participants: Effectiveness of informal mentoring Effectiveness of upper limit on teaching obligations Effectiveness of upper limit on committee assignments (F-) Effectiveness of paid or unpaid research leave during probationary period (M+/F-) Effectiveness of peer reviews of teaching and research Institution does what it can to make raising children and tenure-track compatible (F-) Effectiveness of financial assistance with housing (M-) Effectiveness of travel funds to present papers or conduct research (F-)

Policies and Practices cont. Gender specific (average overall) Effectiveness of spousal/partner hiring program (F+) Institution does what it can to make having children and tenure-track compatible (F-) Effectiveness of professional assistance for improving teaching (F+)

Nature of the Work + Satisfaction - All participants: Influence faculty have over courses they teach Time spent as faculty members (M+) Level of courses and # of students taught (M+) Discretion faculty have over courses they teach (M+) - Dissatisfaction - All participants: Number of courses taught Quality of undergraduate students with whom faculty interact Quality of clerical/administrative services Quality of teaching services (F-) Access to teaching fellows, grad assistants, etc. (M+/F-)

Nature of the Work cont. Gender specific (average overall) Quality of graduate students (M-) Influence over focus of research (M+/F-) Amount of research funding expected (M+/F-) Quality of research services (F-)

Global Satisfaction * + Satisfaction – All participants: Departments as places to work (M+) - Dissatisfaction - All participants: Institution as a place for junior faculty to work (F-) Gender specific (average overall) Institution as a place to work (M+/F-) CAO caring of quality of life for junior faculty (M+/F-) Would accept position if had to do it over (M+) Note: This theme is less well-defined

Tenure + Satisfaction - All participants: Perception that tenure decisions are based primarily on performance Receiving consistent messages from senior colleagues about the requirements of tenure

Tenure cont. - Dissatisfaction - All participants: Reasonableness of expectations for performance as teacher and scholar and student advisor and departmental colleague and community member and campus citizen Clarity of expectations for performance as scholar Clarity of expectations for performance as department colleague and community member and campus citizen Clarity of expectations for performance as teacher (M-) Clarity of tenure process (F-) Clarity of own prospects for earning tenure (M+/F-) Clarity of body of evidence considered for tenure decisions (F-)

Tenure cont. Gender specific (average overall) Clarity of criteria for tenure (M+/F-) Clarity of standards for tenure (M+/F-) Clarity of expectations for performance as student advisor (F-)

Recent Progress Strategic plan focuses on faculty development and equity connected to: Achieving faculty excellence Achieving student excellence Revised and expanded orientation program for faculty hired after 2006 Revised College/School tenure and promotion policies and procedures

Recent Progress cont. A centralized listing of faculty resources on the faculty development and equity website www.drexel.edu/provost/fde Increased activities for pre-tenure, tenure-track faculty to foster inter-institutional mentoring and collaborative projects Faculty development sessions on a broad range of issues: To increase professional skills To enhance knowledge of Drexel culture To expand awareness of steps necessary to attain excellence in research, teaching, service

Next Steps Review thematic areas of general and gender-specific dissatisfaction and develop action plans Work with units to review data and help them focus on discipline-specific ways of addressing issues