In October, U-M will launch its third survey of faculty to assess the academic work environment. As with previous efforts, this survey will cover a broad range of topics, including professional experiences, career satisfaction, mentoring, service, resources and recognition.
The Provost’s Office uses this survey to identify areas for improvement with the goal of increasing overall faculty work satisfaction. Previous surveys identified areas of concern to some faculty, including allocation of resources within departments; exclusion from, as well as lack of transparency in, important departmental decision-making; insufficient recognition of scholarship; and ability to manage work and home life demands.
As a result of these findings, the university has commissioned several additional studies, including an examination of the tenure review process, exit interviews with faculty who have voluntarily left U-M, and assessments of the processes of job offers to ensure equitable practices in hiring and retention efforts of faculty on campus.
In addition, several programs have been developed in response to all of these sources of information, including:
• Leadership development for new associate and new full professors.
• Increased availability of child care for faculty.
• Adoption of a more flexible tenure policy.
• Increased faculty mentoring efforts.
Provost Phil Hanlon has said, “Attracting and retaining excellent faculty is critical to the university’s continued success. To that end we aspire to provide them with an ideal professional environment that will inspire creativity and collaboration. These periodic surveys keep us on track — by alerting us to areas where we need improvement and areas where we can do even better.”
The earlier surveys, funded by U-M and the university’s National Science Foundation Institutional Transformation Grant, focused specifically on faculty in the sciences and engineering. Findings from these earlier surveys suggested that many of the same factors influence different groups of faculty members’ job satisfaction, and that improvements in these factors likely would benefit all faculty.
This year’s survey will provide the first opportunity for U-M to gather information from all faculty across campus. The survey will be sent via email to all instructional, research, and clinical faculty.
These data will allow university administrators to assess the success of recent initiatives as well as determine areas requiring additional or new efforts. Therefore, it is critical that as many faculty as possible participate in the survey, U-M officials say.
Participation is voluntary, all responses are confidential, and data will be reported in aggregate. Emails will be sent to all faculty on Oct. 15 with a link to the online survey.
For more information, contact [email protected].
