Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey 2022
In the spring of 2022, the Office of Faculty Affairs at the University of Kansas partnered with the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) at Harvard Graduate School of Education to administer its Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey. This is the university’s first such survey in over a decade. It included tenured, tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty. It was also the first systematic assessment of the faculty experience since COVID-19. In keeping with best practices at peer institutions, university leaders are committed to surveying faculty regularly in future years.
COACHE Team
The COACHE data provide a path for the university to take concrete action, and university leaders are committed to working together to understand and act upon these results. To this end, the Provost and University Governance have worked in partnership to create a COACHE team that will adopt a data-centered institutional response.
Reports
The COACHE preview report is available for download. This report contains an executive summary of the results, provides a snapshot in time that captures recent experiences and perceptions of faculty members at KU. The data reveal faculty appreciation of colleagues, as well as significant faculty dissatisfaction with wages, senior leadership, and with research support.
A Data Team from KU with relevant research expertise has produced two further reports. The following are shared on this website:
- A Comprehensive Report that provides descriptive and group-level comparisons using raw survey data.
- An Executive Summary of four Thematic Reports based on in-depth qualitative analyses of open-ended faculty comments.
Goals and Areas of Focus
The COACHE Advisory Team's goal is to improve in our support of faculty across career phases and for all demographics by examining the data and understanding faculty experiences through the lenses of equity and excellence. Working with the data, they have identified five areas of focus, which reflect categories from the survey where faculty expressed the most significant dissatisfaction.
Recommendations Report and Forum
During Spring of 2023, the KU COACHE Advisory Team hosted on-campus and virtual forums across all academic units to review the faculty job satisfaction survey results and gather recommendations for a path forward. Around 200 faculty attended online or in person. In March and April, the Advisory Team met in working groups to draft action step recommendations, producing a Recommendations Report.
The recommendations will be presented to the campus via a hybrid public forum, open to all Lawrence and Edwards faculty, hosted by University Governance leaders on April 27th. The Provost and Chancellor will be in attendance to address next steps and implementation.
Recommendations to Action
In partnership with AIRE, the Provost has convened a group of leaders designated as responsible or related parties for each recommendation on a thirdly basis, with the first meeting in the fall of 2023. The Campus Constituent Surveys Implementation Team reviews and records updates on the progress towards each recommendation to ensure accountability. These updates are documented by AIRE staff and are uploaded to the Campus Constituent Surveys Implementation Team website and shared via campus email.
Opportunities for Engagement
During spring 2023, the advisory team kicked off a campus engagement program for the COACHE Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey with an open forum with the Provost and University Governance leaders. During this forum we reviewed goals for the initiative, shared additional data and the plan of action, and discussed ongoing initiatives that respond to areas of concern. More forums were hosted in February/March in all academic units. At these forums, advisory members shared the Forum on Faculty Satisfaction and Path Forward presentation.
Faculty were also able to submit ideas for action (anonymously) up until March 27, 2023. These responses were collated with the recommendations gathered from the forums and shared with the Advisory Team.