In the spring of 2018, the Office of Academic Affairs administered The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey, requesting responses from more than 1,100 full-time faculty members – lecturers, clinical, and tenured and tenure-track – in every college. We received an excellent response rate of 56%.
The COACHE survey is a powerful tool for faculty and academic leaders at UNT to gain insight into the quality of work/life/career experiences for our faculty. Respondents are asked specific questions about a number of key determinants, including: the clarity and reasonableness of the tenure process; integration and balance of work/personal responsibilities; workload and support for teaching and research; climate, culture and collegiality on campus; global satisfaction and compensation and benefits. Insights gained from COACHE allow us to measure progress towards our university goal of being a best place to work. With thousands of faculty members participating in the survey nationwide, UNT is able to gauge its faculty members’ satisfaction in the context of data from peer institutions to highlight areas of both strength and need for improvement. The survey results shed light on actionable issues facing faculty, which informs both policy and programming to improve quality of life for faculty at UNT as we strive to be a best place to work.
Survey Results
The 2018 Provost’s Executive Summary of the COACHE survey is available for review. A few highlights are included below.
Next Steps
Designed to generate not simply “interesting” data, but actionable diagnoses, we are organizing to take act on the results. We received our survey results in the Summer of 2018. During Fall 2018, a COACHE Priority Setting Task Force will be convened to analysis the detailed results and develop recommendations. The task force will bring together faculty and academic leaders to advance our mutual goal of maximizing the impact of the data in advancing UNT as a best place to work by determining which areas will be addressed first and next steps. If you are interested in becoming engaged with the COACHE Task Force, please contact Lee Walker, leadership fellow in the Office of Academic Affairs.
Over the course of the fall, detailed results will be disseminated to Faculty Senate, Department Chairs, Deans, and other Academic Leaders, as part of an active effort to engage our leadership in discussions about how we can work together to improve the work environment for our faculty. During the spring it is anticipated that implementation on recommendations will begin and continue over a multi-year period.
Please refer to the Faculty Success website for results of previous faculty surveys.