The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education

2010 Survey of Pre-tenure Faculty

COACHE:Demographics of Pre-tenure Faculty

76% UA response rate

All UA RespondentsFull-time UA T/TT Faculty

Male 72%

Female 28% Female

45%Male 55%

“Peer 5 Institutions”Selected by UA

AuburnAlabamaClemsonKansasTennessee

104 “Comparable Institutions”Selected by COACHESector:

– 84 US Public, – 19 US Private, – 1 International

Carnegie:– 38 Very High Research Activity– 25 High Research Activity– 5 Doctoral– 35 Master’s & Baccalaureate

COACHE:Comparison Institutions

COACHE: Major Themes1) Tenure

• Anticipation of Tenure & Tenure Practices• Expectations for Scholarship, Advisor, Colleagueship, etc

2) Nature of Work• Satisfaction – Overall, Teaching & Research

3) Policies & Practices• Institutional & Departmental Support of Work/Life Balance

4) Climate, Culture & Collegiality• Mentoring• Peer Review

5) Compensation & Global Satisfaction• Salary & Benefits• Overall Satisfaction – Department & Institution

•Comparisons – – Overall – UA faculty vs Peer 5– Gender – UA female faculty vs UA male faculty– Diversity – UA diverse faculty vs UA non-diverse

faculty– Academic Discipline – UA disciplines grouped by

subject – Analysis highlights areas of significant difference

COACHE: Analysis

Theme 1- Anticipation of tenure & tenure practices – – UA faculty are less clear about the tenure process,

criteria, standards, and body of evidence needed to achieve tenure

– UA faculty view formal reviews and written summaries to be less effective

– UA Junior faculty are less clear on whether or not they will receive tenure & report less consistency in messages from senior faculty regarding tenure requirements

Overall Results

Theme 2- Reasonableness and clarity of expectations for scholarship, colleagueship, teaching, advising, etc. in regard to earning tenure

– UA faculty are less clear on the expectations of teaching and scholarship

– UA faculty ranked the reasonableness of teaching expectations lower

Overall Results

Theme 2- Overall Satisfaction– UA faculty place greater importance on availability of

professional assistance for improving teaching and are more satisfied with the effectiveness of the assistance compared to Peer 5 faculty

– UA faculty are more satisfied than some Peer 5 faculty with quality of facilities

Theme 2- Research Satisfaction– UA faculty place less importance on professional

assistance in obtaining externally funded grants and view the assistance to be less effective

– UA faculty report less satisfaction with research services

Overall Results

Theme 3- Support of Work/Life Balance– UA faculty report less satisfaction with balance between

professional and personal timeTheme 4- Mentoring– UA faculty report less satisfaction with their level of

professional interaction with other pre-tenure colleagues Theme 5- Salary & Benefits– UA faculty place greater importance on paid/unpaid

leave but rated effectiveness no different than Peer 5 faculty

– UA faculty reported less satisfaction with compensation than faculty at only one peer institution

Overall Results

Theme 1- Anticipation of tenure & tenure practices – – Female faculty view formal reviews and written summaries

to be less effective than male faculty

Theme 2- Overall Satisfaction– Female faculty place greater importance on availability of

professional assistance for improving teaching and are less satisfied with their access to GA’s and TA’s than male faculty

Gender Results

Gender Results

Theme 2- Teaching Satisfaction– Female faculty are more satisfied with:

• The quality of undergraduate students• Their control over course content

Theme 2- Research Satisfaction– Female faculty are less satisfied with amount of time to do

research/creative work

Gender Results

Theme 3- Institutional & Departmental Support of Work/Life Balance– Female faculty place greater importance on:• Having modified duties for family/parental reasons• Availability of PT tenure-track positions

– Female faculty are in less agreement that the institution does what it can to make having and raising children compatible with a tenure-track career

Gender Results

Theme 4- Mentoring– Female faculty report formal mentoring programs to be less

effective

Theme 5- Salary & Benefits– Female faculty place greater importance on the availability of

paid or unpaid personal leave during the pre-tenure period

Theme 5- Overall Satisfaction: Department & Institution– Female faculty plan to stay at the UA longer than male faculty

Diversity Results

Theme 2- Satisfaction with Teaching– Racially or ethnically diverse faculty are less satisfied than

non-diverse faculty with:• The number of courses they teach• Their discretion over course content

Theme 3- Institutional & Departmental Support of Work/Life Balance– Diverse faculty reported modified duties to accommodate

parental and family needs as more effective but there was no difference in level of importance

Diversity Results

Theme 4- Mentoring– Diverse faculty are less satisfied with the intellectual vitality of

pre-tenured faculty in their department than non-diverse faculty

Theme 5- Salary & Benefits– Diverse faculty place greater importance on availability of

financial assistance for housing with respect to their success as a tenure track faculty member

Theme 5- Overall Satisfaction: Department & Institution– Racially non-diverse faculty plan to stay at the UA longer than

diverse faculty

Theme 1- Reasonableness and clarity of expectations for scholarship, colleagueship, teaching, etc. in regard to earning tenure

– Humanities faculty rated the clarity of expectations as a teacher higher than Engineering/Math/Stat/Computer Science faculty

– Business faculty rated the clarity of expectations as a departmental colleague higher than Engineering/Math/ Stat/Computer Science faculty

– Humanities, Business, and Education faculty rated the reasonableness of expectations as a scholar higher than Engineering/Math/Stat/Computer Science faculty

Academic Discipline Results

Academic Discipline Results

Theme 2- Overall Satisfaction– Health and Human Ecology faculty place greater

importance on professional assistance to improve teaching than Business faculty

– Education faculty are more satisfied with computing services than faculty from Engineering/Math/Stat/Computer Science

Academic Discipline Results

Theme 5- Salary & Benefits– Engineering/Math/Stat/Computer Science and Humanities

faculty rated the importance of childcare higher than faculty in Education

Theme 5- Overall Satisfaction: Department & Institution– Business faculty rated opportunities to participate in

institutional level governance higher than faculty from Engineering/Math/Stat/Computer Science

No information on:Academic Area CIP Department or School

Agriculture / Natural Resources / Env Sci

1 Animal Sciences1 Agricultural Economics &

Agribusiness1 Crop, Soil & Environmental Sciences1 Food Science1 Horticulture1 Poultry Sciences

13 Agricultural & Extension Education26 Entomology26 Plant Pathology

Physical Sciences40 Chemistry & Biochemistry40 Geology40 Physics

Visual & Performing Arts

50

Art50 Drama50 Music

Academic Area CIP Department or School

Humanities16 World Languages, Literatures & Cultures38 Philosophy54 History

Social Sciences

42 Psychology44 Social Work45 Anthropology45 Economics45 Geography45 Political Science45 Sociology & Criminal Justice

Biological Sciences 26 Biological Sciences

Engineering / Computer Sci /

Math / Statistics

4 Architecture4 Landscape Architecture

14 Biological & Agricultural Engineering

14 Computer Science/Computer Engineering

14 Civil Engineering14 Electrical Engineering14 Industrial Engineering14 Mechanical Engineering14 Chemical Engineering27 Mathematical Sciences

Health & Human Ecology 19 Human Environmental Sciences

Business

52 Accounting52 Finance52 Information Systems52 Management52 Marketing & Transportation

Education13 Curriculum & Instruction13 Education Reform13 Health/Kinesiology/Recreation/Dance

Medical Schools & Health

Professions

51 Rehabilitation, Human Resources & Communication Disorders

51 Nursing

Other Professions (e.g., Law, Journalism)

9 Communication9 Journalism

22 Law23 English