Senate Ad hoc Committee for the Assessment of the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) Faculty Survey Report on 2013-14 Findings Felicia Lassk, Associate Professor, D'Amore-McKim School of Business, Chair Janet H. Randall, Professor, College of Social Sciences and Humanities Yiannis Levendis, Distinguished Professor, College of Engineering Ann C. Golub-Victor, Associate Clinical Professor, Bouvé College of Health Sciences   April 6, 2016 Introduction

Agenda Ad hoc Committee’s Charge HERI Survey Data Major Findings On Research On Teaching On Satisfaction with Careers On Relationships among the Faculty and between Faculty and Administration Recommendations

Ad hoc Committee’s Charge To examine the results of the HERI Survey for the purpose of identifying key strengths and concerns pertaining to the faculty’s perceptions of the University. Longitudinally In comparison to a peer group of private universities Particular attention to faculty’s role in decision making

HERI Survey Data Hard copy reports by HERI at UCLA NU and Private Universities Exhibits created by NU’s Office of Institutional Research (OIR) NU’s HERI datasets Background on how we accessed the data.

Major Findings Explanation about how to read the tables that follow.

Research (% of Faculty Responding “Yes”) Research and Funding Items 2013-14 Result PU Result 5. Engaged in academic research that spans multiple disciplines. 72.2% 76.9% 6. Received funding from foundations. 21.9 30.0 7. Received funding from State/Federal. 33.3 25.2 We will present the major findings from our report. Starting with research. Across the years, faculty who report engaging in academic research that spans multiple disciplines has increased, 72.2% in 2013-14 from 41.2% in 2004-05. About 8% lower for foundation funding About 8% higher for State/Federal funding – strength of the University

Teaching (% of Faculty Responding “Very Descriptive” or “Yes”) Teaching Items 2013-14 Result PU Result 2. Faculty are rewarded for being good teachers. 12.9% 23.6% 3. Taught an exclusively web- based course. 16.3 8.5 4. Taught a capstone course. 29.9 30.5 Despite the importance of teaching at the University, only a small portion of the faculty (12.9%) labeled “faculty are rewarded for being good teachers” as a very descriptive statement. This percentage has been consistently low over the years. So 59.5% say “very” or “somewhat” descriptive – means 40% say not descriptive. Reflecting NU’s growing leadership position in global online education, over 16% of faculty reported that they had (#3) “taught an exclusively web-based course” in the past two years, Higher percent of NTT faculty report teaching web-based courses. Another 46.6% of the faculty surveyed described “faculty are rewarded for being good teachers” as “somewhat descriptive.”

Satisfaction with Careers (% of Faculty Responding “Very Satisfied” or “Satisfied”) Job Satisfaction Items 2013-14 Result PU Result 2. Professional relations with others. 75.0% 80.0% 4. Departmental leadership. 66.0 72.0 5. Prospects for career advancement. 54.0 63.0 6. Overall job satisfaction 75.3 81.0 NU faculty’s satisfaction rating of 75% for “professional relations with other faculty” (#2) is 5% lower than the PU result. Notably, this difference may come from the lower rating by the NTT faculty (70%) as compared with T/TT (78%/77%). Since 2007-8 (67.8%), this percentage has been increasing. Prospects for career advancement” (#5) (54%) is rated 9% lower by NU faculty than the PU rating of 63%. This result appears to be driven by the NTT responses (28.0%) (see Table 1). Consistent with lower rating by NTT in the PU results. T (67%) and TT (69%) are above the PU result. Professional relations has been consistent over the years. Departmental leadership has been increasing over the years.

Satisfaction with Careers (2 & 3: % of Faculty Responding Agree Strongly” or “Agree Somewhat”) (4: % Definitely Yes or Probably Yes) Professional Satisfaction Items 2013-14 Result PU Result 2. My research is valued by department colleagues. 73.0% 78.0% 3. Criteria for advancement and promotion decisions are clear. 59.0 70.0 4. Would you still want to come to this institution if beginning career. 77.0 “Criteria for advancement and promotion decisions are clear” at 59% vs. 70% PU. Over 40% of the NU faculty respondents are unclear about these criteria. Not statistically different from 2010-11 to 2013-14.

Relationships among Faculty and between Faculty and Administration (% of Faculty Responding “Very Descriptive”) Work Climate Items 2013-14 Result PU Result Faculty are at odds with administration. 24.6% 18.0% 2. Faculty here respect each other. 49.8 58.0 In 2013-14, 24.6% report that (#1) “faculty are at odds with the administration” as “very descriptive” in comparison with 18.0% PU faculty. Over the last 10 years, this feeling at NU has steeply increased from 12% (2004-05) to 24.6%. About 49.1% of the faculty surveyed described this item (#1) as “somewhat descriptive.” “faculty here respect each other” at 49.8% in comparison to a 58% PU result. About 43.3% of the faculty surveyed described this item (#2) as “somewhat descriptive.” About 49% of the faculty surveyed described “faculty are at odds with administration” as “somewhat descriptive.” About 43% of the faculty surveyed described “faculty here respect each other” as “somewhat descriptive.”

Summary of Recommendations Share the 2013-14 HERI results with faculty. Convene an Ad hoc Faculty Senate Committee to explore the underlying reasons for the issues identified in this report.

Governance (% of Faculty Responding “Very Descriptive”) Governance Item 2013-14 Result PU Result Administrators consider faculty concerns when making policy. 10.2% 13.6% Additional slides for data in the report – if asked. Another 46.7% of the faculty surveyed described “administrators consider faculty when making policy” as “somewhat descriptive.”

Diversity (% of Faculty Responding “Agree Strongly and “Agree Somewhat”) Diversity Items 2013-14 Result PU Result 9. Racial and ethnic diversity is reflected in the curriculum. 61.8% 61.6% 11. Faculty are not prepared to deal with conflict over diversity issues in class. 41.7 42.3

Institutional Identification (% of Faculty Responding Agree Strongly” or “Agree Somewhat”) Professional Satisfaction Items 2013-14 Result 1. I am happy with the pace of institutional change at NU. 62.8% 2. I am proud to be a faculty member at NU. 89.1 3. I feel confident recommending that strong students apply to NU. 88.1