1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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.

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

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

9. Response Rate and Weight Scale

10. Drexel Statistics
Survey conducted in AY for faculty hired prior to
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%)

11. 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

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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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+)

17. 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-)

18. 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+)

19. 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-)

20. 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-)

21. 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

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

23. 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-)

24. 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-)

25. 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

26. Recent Progress cont.
A centralized listing of faculty resources on the faculty development and equity website
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

27. 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