1 NC State Faculty 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

2 Overview  Research design, methods, & response rates  Reports available & how to interpret them  CNR results Leadership Feedback, rewards, & compensation Workload & support Department life Interests & activities

3 Research Design, Methods, & Response Rates

4 Survey Objectives  Provide readily accessible, “centralized” information  Collect relevant & actionable data

5 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

6 Questionnaire  Included 13 areas related to ‘well-being’ closed-end  8 open-end

7 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

8 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

9 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

10 Reports Available & How to Interpret Them…

11 Results & Reports Available 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

12 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?)

13 Interpreting Results for 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

14 Leadership

15 Department Leadership Kudos Positive ratings for: Allowing faculty autonomy (91%) Support for academic freedom (90%)

16 Department Leadership Concerns 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%)

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

18 College Leadership Concerns (& 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%)

19 Faculty Input Kudos 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%)

20 Faculty Input Concerns (& 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%)

21 Professional Development Kudos Positive ratings for: Opportunities to participate in teaching workshops, etc. (95% [33% ‘very satisfied’])

22 Professional Development Concerns (& 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%)

23 Feedback, Rewards, & Compensation

24 Performance Review Kudos 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%)

25 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%)

26 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)

27 Workload & Support

28 Work-related Demands Concerns 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

29 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%)

30 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%)

31 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%)

32 Teaching Kudos (& 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’])

33 Students Concerns 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%)

34 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%)

35 Contracts & Grants Concerns (& 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%)

36 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%)

37 Department Life…

38 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%)

39 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”

40 Collegiality Kudos 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%)

41 Collegiality Kudos (& 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%)

42 Collaboration Kudos 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%)

43 Diversity/Multiculturalism Kudos  Positive ratings for department’s efforts to recruit, support, and retain students and faculty from underrepresented groups

44 Diversity/Multiculturalism Kudos (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

45 Vision Kudos 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%)

46 Interests & Activities…

47 Globalism / Service Kudos 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%)

48 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%)

49 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’)

50 CNR Faculty Well-Being Questions? Comments? Discussion?