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NC StateFaculty Well-Being Survey

College of Natural Resources:Kudos and Concerns

Presented to CNR Executive Committee

September 26, 2008

Nancy Whelchel, Ph.D.

University Planning and Analysis

nancy_whelchel@ncsu.edu

http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/survey/faculty/FWBS06.CNR.Sept26_08.ppt

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Overview

Research design, methods, & response rates Reports available & how to interpret them CNR results

Leadership Feedback, rewards, & compensation Workload & support Department life Interests & activities

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Research Design, Methods,& Response Rates

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Survey Objectives

Provide readily accessible, “centralized” information

Collect relevant & actionable data

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Survey Development

Advisory committee UPA, Faculty Senate, FCTL, ODAAA, HR, OEO

Feedback from EOs, VP, Deans, Faculty Senate, Legal Affairs,

IRB

Pre-tests Tenure-track faculty, lecturers, department head

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Questionnaire

Included 13 areas related to ‘well-being’ @350 closed-end 8 open-end

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Questionnaire Topics

Image and vision Leadership Faculty-Administration relationships Diversity/Multiculturalism Working relationships Faculty support & professional development (including contracts/grants) RPT PTR Pay & compensation Campus infrastructure Recreation/wellness Work activities Overall satisfaction

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Population

On campus Tenure/non-tenure track faculty/lecturers

(including dept heads, music, PE, FYC, extension, clinical, research)

FTE .75 AY04-05 & AY05-06 Final population = 1,625 No sampling

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Methods & Response Rates

Web-based Available Sept. 6 – Oct. 10, 2006 (29 days) 69.7% overall response rate (1,132 of 1,625)

[+/- 0.9 margin of error] CNR response rate 78.2% (61 of 78) [HIGHEST RR]

[+/- 2.7 MOE]

No significant differences in response rate between subgroups

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Reports Available& How to Interpret Them…

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Results & ReportsAvailable Online

(www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/survey/faculty)

Executive summary (overall results) Research methods Annotated questionnaire Tables by:

Academic Profile (rank, tenure status, administrative experience) Demographic Profile (gender, race/ethnicity, citizenship, age, # years at

NC State) College

Overall results Tenure-track faculty only Rank/tenure status, # yrs employed, gender, race/ethnicity

Select presentations & topical reports Invitation for feedback

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Interpreting Results

Everything is relative!Suggestions for what to look for:

Do responses/ratings meet pre-defined goals? (e.g., % giving a positive rating)

How do responses/ratings for individual items compare to each other?

What factors/characteristics are related to ratings? How do responses/ratings from one group of respondents

compare to another? (How have ratings changed over time?)

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Interpreting Resultsfor This Presentation…

All respondents (including NTT) Relative to expectations

“Positive” rating > 85% ‘excellent/good,’ ‘strongly agree/agree,’ ‘very

satisfied/satisfied “Negative” rating

> 25% ‘fair/poor,’ ‘disagree/strongly disagree,’ ‘dissatisfied/ very dissatisfied’

Relative to other colleges = Among top 3 colleges = Among bottom 3 colleges

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Leadership

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Department LeadershipKudos

Positive ratings for: Allowing faculty autonomy (91%) Support for academic freedom (90%)

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Department LeadershipConcerns

Negative ratings for: Establishing clear priorities (47%) Providing needed resources (41%) Resolving internal conflict (34%) Fairly allocating resources (32%) Appreciating the role faculty contributions play in achieving the

mission of the department (30%) Making equitable decisions (26%)

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College LeadershipKudos

Positive ratings for: Supporting academic freedom (96%) Allowing department autonomy (88%) Promoting diversity within the college (88%) Advocating for the college (85%)

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College LeadershipConcerns (& Kudos)

Negative ratings for: Establishing clear priorities for the college (49%) Providing needed resources (43%) Allocating resources fairly (42%) Appreciating the role faculty contributions play in achieving the

mission of the college (37%) Communicating with faculty (35%) Resolving internal conflict (34%) Making equitable decisions (28%)

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Faculty InputKudos

Positive ratings for being encouraged to provide input on:

Program assessment activities (97%) Curricular issues (95%) Department hiring/appointment decisions (92%) Decisions about allocation of resources in department (70%)

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Faculty InputConcerns (& Kudos)

Negative ratings for: College administration seeking faculty input in vision of college

(42%) College administration incorporating faculty ideas in decision

making (42%) College administration seeking input in administrative

appointments in CNR (27%) Department administration seeking faculty input in vision of

department (25%)

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Professional DevelopmentKudos

Positive ratings for: Opportunities to participate in teaching workshops, etc. (95%

[33% ‘very satisfied’])

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Professional DevelopmentConcerns (& Kudos)

Negative ratings for: Funding for scholarly/professional leaves (51%) Opportunities for scholarly/professional leaves (40%) Funding to participate in teaching workshops, etc. (36%) Funding to present as scholarly/professional conferences (34%) Leadership development opportunities (31%) Opportunities for temporary teaching load reduction for

professional development (31%)

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Feedback, Rewards,& Compensation

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Performance ReviewKudos and Concerns

Positive ratings for feedback being: Appropriately based on SME (92%)

Negative ratings for feedback being: Helpful to how well doing relative to peers (47%) Given appropriate weight in merit raises (37%) Helpful to professional development (28%)

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Rewards Concerns

Negative ratings for department rewarding excellent performance in:

Extension and engagement (37%) Service (35%) Teaching/mentoring of students (31%) Technological/managerial innovation (28%)

Negative ratings for university rewards for innovation in:

Teaching (40%) Extension/engagement/economic development (40%)

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Compensation Concerns (& Kudos)

Negative ratings for competitiveness of salary relative to others:

In discipline at comparable institutions (52%) At NC State (55%) In discipline in UNC system (48%) In CNR (43%) In department (32%)

Negative ratings for: Understanding how salaries are determined (52%) Department linking salary to meritorious performance (35)

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Workload & Support

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Work-related Demands Concerns

328%

1: Managing just fine

6%

218%

439%

5: Completely overwhelmed

9%

Almost half of CNR faculty say they are overwhelmed with work-related demands

82% of CNR faculty said they would change how they spend their work time

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Stress Kudos (& Concerns)

Least likely to experience ‘a great deal’ of stress from:

Relationships with students (4%) Committee work (7%) Relationships with department faculty (7%) Relationships with college administration (9%) Self-assessment activities (10%)

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Stress Concerns (& Kudos)

Most likely to experience ‘a great deal’ of stress from:

Workload (44%) Work/life balance (39%) Research/publication demands (32%) Institutional procedures (32%)

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Support for 6 Realms of Faculty Responsibility

Concerns (& Kudos)

Negative ratings for University providing sufficient resources to support faculty success with:

Service (42%) Discovery of knowledge (36%) Technological/managerial innovation (36%) Extension and engagement (37%) Teaching/mentoring of students (32%)

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TeachingKudos (& Concerns)

Positive ratings for: Discretion over course content (98%) Influence over which courses teach (86%) Level of courses teach (86% [39% ‘very satisfied’]) Number of courses teach (86% [25% ‘very satisfied’])

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StudentsConcerns

Negative ratings for ability of students: Undergraduate student ability (22% ‘C’ or lower) Quality of undergraduate students (30%)

Experienced ‘a great deal’ of stress from: Working w/ under-prepared students (22%)

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Support (Staff)Concerns

Negative ratings for: Department clerical/administrative support (51%) Technical assistance (44%) Support staff in college (35%) Support for technology transfer (35%) Support for assessment activities (33%)

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Contracts & GrantsConcerns (& Kudos)

Negative ratings for: PI control over indirect costs (70%) Allocation of indirect costs to department (64%) Allocation of indirect costs to individuals (61%) Post-award support from university (35%) Pre-award support from college (31%) Post-award support from college (30%) Pre-award support from university (28%)

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Campus Infrastructure Concerns

Negative ratings for: Availability of parking (80%) Cost of parking (77%) Amount of green space (64%) General aesthetics of campus (54%) Dining options on campus (43%) Infrastructure of buildings (41%) Lab space (37%) Building maintenance (37%) Availability of up-to-date equipment (35%) Classrooms (35%) Availability of informal meeting space (33%) Upkeep of campus grounds (28%) Office space (26%)

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Department Life…

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Department Image Kudos

Positive ratings for department’s national reputation for:

Extension and engagement (89%) Undergraduate education (78% positive) Graduate education (78% positive) Contribution to economic development (68%)

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Faculty Ability & Achievements Concerns (?)

Top grade* for: Own demonstrated professional ability (44%) Demonstrated professional ability of faculty (43%) Own professional achievements (39%) Professional achievements of faculty (33%)

* % of respondents assigning a grade of “A”

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CollegialityKudos

Positive (or relatively high) ratings to: Collegiality/inclusiveness of faculty searches (93%) Respectful dialogue between diverse perspectives (87%) “Fit” in department (85%) Relationship between faculty and department administration

(83%) Unity/cohesion among faculty (73%) Relationship between faculty and college administration (71%) Relationship between faculty and university administration (67%)

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CollegialityKudos (& Concerns)

Give/receive help to/from other faculty in department:

Feedback on research (87%) Understanding RPT processes/expectations (82%) Department/college organization, requirements, policies (75%) Advice on teaching (70%) Issues related to work/life balance (46%)

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CollaborationKudos

Collaborate with:: Other faculty in department (93% [77% ‘frequently’]) Non-faculty external to NC State (84% [50% ‘frequently’]) Faculty from other universities (82% [38% ‘frequently’]) Faculty in other NC State departments (79%)

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Diversity/MulticulturalismKudos

Positive ratings for department’s efforts to recruit, support, and retain students and faculty from

underrepresented groups

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Diversity/MulticulturalismKudos (and Concerns)

Positive ratings for department providing a working environment that is accepting and respectful of differences in:

Age, disability status, gender, military status, nationality/ethnic origin, race and color, religion

Sexual orientation

Positive ratings for department making everyone feel welcome at social events, regardless of:

Age, gender, military status, nationality/ethnic origin, religion Disability status, race and color, sexual orientation

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VisionKudos and Concerns (?)

Optimism for future: Department will change for the better (66%) University will change for the better (49%) Department has a clear vision and is working towards it (29%)

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Interests & Activities…

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Globalism / ServiceKudos

Interest in / support for international or service activities

Research,extension projects outside the US (84%) Advising international students (76%) Leading/participating in international service projects (53%) Leading/participating in Alternative Spring Break (37%) Teaching in the NC State International Studies major (37%)

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Recreation/Wellness Kudos

Positive ratings to: Facilities at Carmichael Gymnasium (91%) Recreational space on campus (91%) Availability of recreational activities on campus (89%) Availability of cultural activities on campus (89%) ARTS NC State programs (87%) Organized Campus Recreation activities (85%)

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Recreation/Wellness Kudos

More likely to use/participate in: Facilities at Carmichael Gymnasium (45% ‘at least once per

week’) Recreational space on campus (15% ‘at least once per week’) Organized Campus Recreation activities (30% ‘at least once per

year’)

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CNRFaculty Well-Being

Questions?

Comments?

Discussion?