Last modified: Monday, November 5, 2012
Faculty survey gauges job satisfaction, identifies faculty workplace priorities at IU Bloomington
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 5, 2012
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A job-satisfaction survey of faculty members at Indiana University Bloomington will inform strategies to improve working conditions, support successful research and teaching, and improve faculty recruitment and retention.
The confidential survey is being conducted for IU by the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education -- known as COACHE -- a consortium based at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Respondents include tenured faculty and librarians, tenure-track faculty and librarians, and non-tenure-track academic appointees in all schools and departments.
Lauren Robel
"We welcome this opportunity to learn from an independent, research-driven, comparative study," Provost and Executive Vice President Lauren Robel said. "We strive to ensure that Indiana University is one of the best places for scholars to work. Faculty input is the most important element in directing our efforts effectively toward that goal."
IU Bloomington faculty members were sent an email message in mid-October inviting them to participate and directing them to the website for the online survey. They will receive follow-up reminder emails. Participation in the 25-minute survey is voluntary. The survey will close Jan. 18, 2013.
Faculty members may also email coachefaculty@srbi.com for access to the survey.
"The COACHE survey is a key component of Indiana University's ongoing efforts to learn what faculty members like and dislike about their working conditions on the Bloomington campus," said Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs Thomas F. Gieryn. "A high response rate from faculty will ensure that our information represents the full range of attitudes among more than 2,000 faculty members. We'll compare responses to those of faculty at peer institutions, and to results from two earlier COACHE surveys conducted at IU Bloomington."
In the spring, COACHE will provide IU Bloomington with aggregated results and a summary analysis of the survey. COACHE will also provide confidential unit-level data for analysis. No university administrator will be able to see responses that could identify individuals.
COACHE, a member-supported consortium of more than 200 colleges and universities, works with university officials to develop surveys that provide data that are actionable, not merely interesting. Questions are designed to gather information that is helpful in devising policies.
For more information about IU's participation in the survey, faculty may contact Indermohan Virk at the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs, 812-855-5788 or ivirk@indiana.edu; or email coachefaculty@srbi.com.
