University of North TexasClimate Survey

Task Force Members• Mickey Abel, College of Visual Arts & Design

• Christy Crutsinger, Provost Office, Chair

• Tracy Everbach, Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism

• Francisco Guzman, College of Business

• Warren Henry, College of Music

• Kuruvilla John, College of Engineering

• Linda Marshall, College of Arts & Sciences

• Mariela Nunez-Janes, College of Public Affairs and Community Service

• Mike Sayler, College of Education

• Sanjukta Pookulangara, College of Merchandising, Hospitality, and Tourism

• Mark Vosvick, Faculty Senate

• Angela Wilson, College of Arts & Sciences

• Jerry Wircenski, College of Information

• The Survey Research Institute at Cornell University was contracted to administer the online survey.

• Survey was open between November 8, 2012 - January 25, 2013.

• Initial email invitation and three reminders were sent to participants.

• Incentives were offered to full-time faculty members in departments achieving 80% response rate.

Methodology

• For departments achieving an 80% response rate by December 14th, the names of full-time faculty were entered into a drawing to win $250.00 to apply toward faculty travel or other professional development activities.

• Total of 700 participants completed the survey out of 1059 with valid email addresses, achieving a 66.10% response rate.

• Additionally, 60 participants started the survey and answered at least on question, but did not complete it.

Methodology

• Hiring• Teaching • Research• Service • Merit• Promotion• Workload

• Resources• Mentoring• Work/Family Balance• Diversity• Satisfaction• Climate

Survey Instrument

Response Rate by Rank

21% n = 156

29% n = 216

28% n = 212

22% n = 165

Response Rate by Rank

Assistant ProfessorAssociate ProfessorFull ProfessorLecturer, Senior Lecturer, Principal Lecturer

How satisfied were you with the following hiring factors?

Survey Items Assistant Professor

Associate Professor

Full Professor

Lecturer

Faculty efforts to meet and recruit you to UNT

3.5** 3.3** 3.3* 3.4 The overall hiring process 3.2 3.1** 3.3* 3.3** The quality of information about responsibilities associated with the position

3.2 3.1* 3.2* 3.1

Your initial salary

2.8 2.6** 2.9** 2.6* Your start-up package

2.7* 2.5** 2.8** Negotiations about your salary and start-up package

2.7* 2.5** 2.8** Range: (1=Very dissatisfied, 4 =Very satisfied)**significant at .01 level *significant at .05 level

Hiring

Hiring Please rate your level of agreement about how faculty hiring is done in your department.

Hiring in my department… Assistant Professor

Associate Professor

Full Professor

Lecturer

is conducted fairly

3.3 3.1* 3.3* 3.2

includes a conscious effort to generate a diverse pool of applicants

3.2 3.1* 3.2 3.3*

has established and clearly communicated criteria

3.1 3.0* 3.2* 3.2*

is consistent for all applicants for a position 3.1 2.9 3.1 3.0

Range: (1=Strongly disagree, 4 = Strongly agree)**significant at .01 level *significant at .05 level

ITEM Assistant Professors

Associate Professors

Full Professor

Lecturers

My colleagues and I have informal conversations about teaching.

3.4 3.3 3.4 3.4

Development and improvement in teaching skills is valued

3.1 2.9* 3.1* 3.1

Classes are assigned fairly 3.1 3.0** 3.2** 3.1 Teaching load is fair 3.2** 3.0** 3.2** 3.0*

Work with faculty-led study abroad programs is valued

2.9* 2.6** 2.9* 3.0**

Community-based learning projects are valued

2.8 2.6** 2.7* 2.9**

Mentoring undergraduate students is valued

2.9* 2.7** 3.0** 3.0**

Mentoring graduate students is valued

3.3 3.1** 3.3** 3.3

Mentoring underrepresented students is valued

2.8* 2.7** 3.0** 3.0**

I spend more time talking to and informally mentoring students than do others in my department

3.0** 2.8* 2.7** 3.1**

Undergraduate students treat me appropriately

3.3 3.2* 3.4* 3.4*

Graduate students treat me appropriately 3.3** 3.3** 3.5** 3.4

Range: ( 1= Strongly disagree, 4 = Strongly agree) **significant at .01 level *significant at .05 level

Teaching Please rate your level of agreement with each of the following statements about teaching in your department.

ResearchThink about the value of your own creativity/scholarship/research in your department. In comparison to your colleagues: How much does your department value your scholarship/research?

Assistant Professors Associate Professors Full Professor1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

3.4 **3.1 **

3.5**

Range: (1 = Undervalued, 5 = Very highly valued)** significant at .01 levelUnd

erva

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Hig

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Research How much do you agree with each of these statements?

ITEM Assistant Professor

Associate Professor

Full Professor

Lecturer

Interdisciplinary creatively/scholarship/research is valued in my department 2.9 2.8 3.0

Interdisciplinary creatively/scholarship/research is rewarded in my department 2.7 2.5* 2.8*

UNT provides the needed infrastructure for interdisciplinary work 2.5* 2.3* 2.4

I sometimes collaborated with members of my department 3.0 3.0 3.1

My collaborations with people outside my department of the university are usually better than collaborations with department colleagues 2.8 2.7 2.7

When people in the department are working on something related to my expertise, they ask for my input 2.8 2.7 2.8

I find my research collaborations rewarding 3.3 3.3 3.4

Range: (1= Strongly disagree, 4 = Strongly disagree) *significant at .05 level

Service In my department, committee assignments are made fairly.

Lecturer

Full Professor

Associate Professor

Assistant Professor

1 2 3 4 5

3.6

3.4 *

3.6*

3.5*

Mean

Range: (1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agree) * significant at .05 level

ServiceThink about all of the service activities you actually do (100% of your service), including formal and recognized activities as well as informal activities. How much of your service is…

Range: (1 = none of it, 4= all of it)** significant at .01 level * significant at .05 level

Required

Recognized by the chair and/or colleagues

Rewarded

Not talked about/kept from colleagues

0 1 2 3

2.4

2.6

2.1**

1.7*

2.5

2.7**

2.3**

1.7

2.6

2.5**

2.1*

1.9*

2.5

2.6

2.1

1.7*

Assistant ProfessorAssociate ProfessorFull ProfessorLecturer

Merit Think about the feedback you receive from merit reviews. Is the evaluation you receive…

Range: (1 = Never, 5 = Always) *significant at .01 level, ** significant at .05 level

Constructive

Accurate

Clear

Helpful

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0

3.9

3.9

4.0*

3.0*

3.8

4.0**

4.0*

3.6

3.7

3.6**

3.7*

3.5*

3.7

3.7*

3.8*

3.6

Assistant ProfessorAssociate ProfessorFull ProfessorLecturer

PromotionDid you seriously consider going up “early” for tenure and promotion to associate professor?

32.8 % n = 115

67.2 % n = 236

Assistant and Associate Professors only

YesNo

PromotionHow often do you receive feedback specific to promotion and tenure issues? *

N = 149 valid cases Mean = 2.78

5%

36%

35%

24%

Assistant Professors

NeverOccasionallyAt least once a yearMore than once a year

Range: ( 1 = Never, 4 = More than once a year) * Assistant Professors were only respondents

PromotionDid you ever start the process for promotion, but not complete it to the final decision point? *

N = 545 valid cases Mean = 1.95

5% n = 28

95% n = 517

YesNo

* Lecturers were not included

PromotionDid you go up for promotion, after withdrawing from the process or after being turned down at an earlier time? *

N = 545 valid cases Mean = 1.94

6.4% n = 35

93.6% n = 510

YesNo

* Lecturers were not included

PromotionIf so were you promoted at the time? *

N = 35 valid cases Mean = 1.09

91.4% n = 32

8.6 % n = 3

YesNo

* Lecturers were not included

PromotionHow important is/was it to you to achieve the rank of full professor?

3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.6

3.7

3.8

3.6**

3.4**

3.8**

Assistant ProfessorAssociate ProfessorFull Professor

Range: (1 = Not at all important, 4 = Very important) ** significant at .01 level

PromotionHow much did the following factors affect your decision to apply for promotion to full professor at UNT? (Rank of Full Professor but not hired as Full Professor)

ITEM

Full Professor

I believed I was ready 3.8

A colleague thought I should 2.8

My chair thought I should 2.9

My dean thought I should 2.4

One of more people did not think I should 1.4

No one every talked to me about it 1.5

I needed to make a better salary 2.5

Range: (1 = None, 4 = Alot)

Promotion ITEM Associate

ProfessorFull Professor

Assistant Professor

Associate Professor

Lecturer

Members of my department give me helpful advice

3.2 2.4** 2.9**

The tenure and promotion requirements are very clear

2.8 2.2** 2.5**

The tenure and promotion process is fair and consistent

2.8 2.3 2.5

It is difficult to know exactly what I should be doing to be promoted

2.4 2.6 2.6

I am reluctant to talk about controversial issues because it might affect my promotion

3.0 2.3* 2.5*

I am comfortable asking about performance expectations

3.1 2.8 2.9

I feel like I have control over whether I will be promoted

2.7 2.4 2.2

Good mentoring is critical to my being promoted

3.2 2.8 2.9

Range: ( 1 = Strongly disagree; 4 = Strongly agree) **significant at .01 level, *.05 significant at .05 level

Please address the following issues about tenure and promotion to Associate Professor / Full Professor.

Promotion

to Associate Professor to Full Professor1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

3.5

3.0

Assistant ProfessorAssociate Professor

Range: (1 = Very unlikely; 4 = Very likely)

How likely are you to be promoted?

WorkloadPlease choose the proportion of time you spent during the 2011-2012 academic year for each of the following. For new faculty, choose the proportion of time you spent working during the fall semester.

ITEMAssistant Professor

Associate Professor

Full Professor

Lecturer

Preparing to teach assigned courses, labs, etc. 3.6** 3.3** 3.3** 3.8**

Teaching the assigned courses, labs, studies and communicating with those students 3.6** 3.4** 3.3** 3.9**

Teaching or mentoring students in any type of independent study, master theses or dissertations

3.4** 3.6** 3.5** 2.8**

Formally advising students 3.0** 3.4** 3.4** 3.2

Advising or mentoring “extra” students who seek you out, not those assigned to you 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.7

Conducting your scholarly activities (i.e., research, composing, etc.) 3.6** 3.5** 3.5** 2.3**

Writing proposals (e.g., grants) to conduct your research/scholarship/creative activities 3.4** 3.0** 2.9** 1.9**

Providing peer reviewing (i.e., reviewing the scholarly or creative work of others) 3.2** 3.2** 3.5** 1.8**

External paid consulting 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.0

Mentoring other faculty 1.8** 3.0** 3.4** 2.4**

Committee, administrative, or governance work inside your department 2.8** 3.6** 3.6** 3.1**

Committee work at the college or university level 2.3** 3.2** 3.3** 2.6**

Outreach or community service 2.7** 3.0* 3.1** 3.2**

Advising or working with student organizations 2.5** 2.7** 2.5** 3.2**

Range: (1 = Much less than other people, 5 = Much more than other people) ** significant at .01 level * significant at .05 level

Resources

Range: (1 = Very dissatisfied, 4 = Very satisfied) * significant at .01 level, **significant at .05 level

How satisfied are you with the distribution of the following in your department?

Clerical, technical, or administrative support

Course assignments

Travel funds

Space for research, scholarly or creative activities

Office space

0.0 2.0 4.0

3.0

2.9

2.5

2.8

2.9*

2.8

3.1

2.5

2.9

3.1

2.6

2.9

2.3

2.7

2.9*

2.9

2.9

2.4

2.7

3.0

Assistant ProfessorAssociate ProfessorFull ProfessorLecturer

Mentoring How important is mentoring for each of the following areas?

ITEM Assistant Professor

Associate Professor

Full Professor Lecturer

To learn how things are done at UNT

3.3** 3.1** 3.0** 3.4**

To learn how to get along in your department of college

3.2** 3.1 2.9** 3.1*

To improve teaching or manage students 3.1** 3.0** 3.1** 3.4**

To improve research or scholarly/artistic activities

3.2 3.3 3.1 3.3

To move into leadership positions 2.9** 3.0* 2.8** 3.2**Range: ( 1 = None, 4 = A great deal)

** significant at .01 level; * significant at .05 level

Work/Family Balance ITEM Assistant

ProfessorAssociate Professor

Full Professor

Lecturer

Household responsibilities 2.8** 2.8** 2.5** 2.9**

Childcare 2.1* 2.0** 1.6** 1.8*Caring for someone who is ill, disabled, aging or with special needs 1.6* 1.9* 1.7 1.9

Your health 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.4

Cost of living 2.8** 2.8** 2.4** 2.9**

Meeting work expectations 3.4** 3.1** 2.9** 3.1**

The way your personal life and work interfere with each other 2.9** 2.9** 2.6** 2.7

Having a successful academic/artistic career 3.4** 3.1** 2.8** 2.9**

Your salary 3.0** 3.1** 2.6** 3.1**

Faculty morale in your department 2.6** 3.0** 2.8 2.7*

Subtle discrimination 2.1* 2.4** 2.0** 2.1*

Range: ( 1 = None; 4 = A great deal) ** significant at .01 level; * significant at .05 level

The following are possible sources of stress for faculty. Rate the amount of stress you feel about each one.

Work/Family Balance ITEM Assistant

ProfessorAssociate Professor

Full Professor

Lecturer

Prospects for tenure3.1** 1.6** 1.1** 1.8**

Prospects for promotion3.0** 2.8** 1.2** 2.6**

Leadership opportunities2.1** 2.2** 1.8** 2.3**

The amount of support in your work environment2.6** 2.7** 2.3** 2.5*

Acceptance for people like you2.2** 2.1 1.9** 2.0

The racial, ethnic or cultural climate at UNT2.1** 2.0** 1.7** 1.7**

Opportunities to have a happy social life2.4** 2.4** 2.0** 2.1**

Time to do your research/scholarship/creative activities3.3** 3.3** 2.9** 2.5**

Time to spend with students2.5* 2.5* 2.3* 2.4

Time to spend with your spouse or significant other 2.7 2.8 2.7 2.6

Time to spend with your children or other family members

2.6 2.7** 2.4** 2.5

Range: ( 1 = None; 4 = A great deal) ** significant at .01 level; * significant at .05 level

The following are possible sources of stress for faculty. Rate the amount of stress you feel about each one.

DiversityTry not to think about a specific individual, just give your general sense of how comfortable a new faculty member would be in your department if she or he were…

ITEM Assistant Professor

Associate Professor

Full Professor

Lecturer

White 3.8* 3.7 3.6* 3.7 Gay/lesbian 3.0** 3.0** 3.1* 3.3** Bisexual 2.9** 2.9** 3.0* 3.3** Transgendered 2.6** 2.7** 2.8 3.0** African American 3.2 3.2* 3.2* 3.4* Latino 3.3 3.2* 3.3 3.4* Native American 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.3 Asian American (raised in the U.S.) 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.4 From an English speaking country 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 From an Asian country 3.1* 3.2 3.3 3.4* From a western European country 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.5 From a central or eastern European country 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.4 From a Middle Eastern country 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.2 Differently abled (i.e. disabled) 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.2 Christian 3.4 3.4 3.3 3.4 Religious but not Christian 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.3 Agnostic or atheistic 3.2 3.3 3.2 3.4 Range: ( 1 = Very uncomfortabl;, 4 = Very comfortable) ** significant at .01 level; * significant at

.05 level

ITEM Assistant Professor

Associate Professor

Full Professor

Lecturer

work at UNT, knowing what you know now become a faculty member, knowing what you know now leave UNT if not for family

3.8** 3.5** 3.8** 4.1** 3.9*

3.6**

4.0**

4.1**

2.7

2.9**

2.5**

2.5**

Range: (1 = Very unlikely; 5 = Very likely) **significant at .05 level, **01 significant at .01 level

Satisfaction How likely would you be to…

Range: ( 1 = Never, or a few times; 5 = Almost everyday)

ITEM Assistant Professor

Associate Professor

Full Professor Lecturer

considered quitting your job for another faculty position elsewhere

1.79 1.31 1.76 1.63

considered quitting for a different type of position, not at a university

1.91 1.35 1.99 1.57

researched faculty opportunities elsewhere

1.70 1.22 1.64 1.76

researched universities for other types of positions

1.63 1.57 1.76 1.51

wished you had an non-academic job 1.14 1.26 1.29 1.37

Satisfaction How often have you…

The following questions refers to the climate at UNT for faculty who are members of underrepresented groups, including underrepresentation based on race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, etc. Please indicate if you agree or disagree with each statement.

Climate

Faculty from underrepresented groups are treated fairly at UNT

During the last two years subtle discrimination has been a source of stress

There is too much conflict at UNT related to underrepresented groups

UNT should hire more faculty from underrepresented groups

Information about underrepresented groups should be more strongly reflected in the curriculum

0.01.02.03.04.0

3.0

2.0*

1.9**

2.8**

2.6**

3.1*

2.0*

1.9**

2.9**

2.4**

2.9*

2.3*

2.2**

3.1**

2.7**

2.8*

2.2

2.1

3.2**

3.0**

Assistant ProfessorAssociate ProfessorFull ProfessorLecturerLinear (Lecturer)

Range ( 1 = Strongly disagree, 4 = Strongly agree) ** significant at .01 level; * significant at .05 level

Open-ended Responses• Hiring Offers (N=513)• Hiring Practices (N=278)• Teaching (N=274)• Research (N=178)• Service (N=218)• Merit (N=239)• Promotion (N=254)• Workload (N=159)• Resources (N=169)• Mentoring (N=189)• Work/Family Balance(N=147)• Diversity (N=133)• Satisfaction (N=172)• Climate/Fairness (N=118)

Total Responses: 3,041

Ideas for Dissemination of Results

• Provost Council • Advance Grant Initiative Team• Opportunity Task Force• Ad-hoc Committee for Development of New

Faculty Evaluation, Promotion & Tenure Policy Committee

• Faculty Senate Executive Committee • Faculty Senate

• Faculty Mentor Committee• Committee on the Status of Women• Committee on the• Status of LGBT Faculty• Committee on the Status of People of Color