COACHE Survey
Providing an environment through which faculty find satisfaction and success continues to be a high priority for Baylor University. As part of that work, the University has partnered with Harvard to administer the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) survey. This survey, administered every fourth year, helps us assess faculty needs and provides data from which we can work collaboratively to develop solutions that support faculty satisfaction. This partnership began in the fall of 2019 when Provost Nancy Brickhouse formed a task force to assess faculty satisfaction and identify strategies to enhance the faculty experience, retention, and productivity. The task force recommended the implementation of the COACHE survey, and the first survey of all faculty was conducted in the spring of 2020, with a follow-up conducted in the spring of 2024.
COACHE is a research-practice partnership and network of peer institutions dedicated to improving outcomes in faculty recruitment, development, and retention. Under COACHE, more than 300 colleges and universities have strengthened their capacity to identify the drivers of faculty success and implement informed changes.
COACHE 2024 Survey Results Next Steps
The COACHE Survey was administered at Baylor for a second time in spring 2024. Initial results were received in fall 2024 and reviewed by the Provost and COACHE Steering Committee to determine areas of progress and areas of opportunity to be further reviewed and discussed by Baylor faculty working groups.
Baylor faculty response to the survey surpassed the national average and exceeded the excellent response of Baylor faculty on the 2020 survey.
- 2024 COACHE National average response: 41%
- 2024 Baylor faculty response: 67%
- 2020 Baylor faculty response: 63%
Progress made as a result of the recommendations from the 2020 COACHE working groups was evident in the 2024 survey. Results showed 21 of 25 benchmarks of the 2024 survey were identified as areas of strength for Baylor. No benchmarks were noted in the category of “areas of concern,” but the University is committed to continuous improvement and identified three areas of opportunity around which faculty working groups have been formed to analyze the data and make recommendations.
- Interdisciplinary Work – Examining incentives for collaboration, funding models that support interdisciplinary work and the impact of interdisciplinary work on faculty evaluations
- Promotion – Continuing to evaluate promotion policies and practices among all faculty while taking a closer look at the factors impacting female faculty and faculty of color
- Research Support – Evaluating the pre-award and post-award processes so they might enhance the work of research faculty while ensuring compliance at all levels
These three working groups are charged with assessing the results of their assigned topics. They will solicit and evaluate additional faculty input and generate high-level recommendations to the Provost for implementation by spring 2026.
Leaders of the 2024 COACHE working groups are:
Interdisciplinary Working Group
- Adrienne Cain Darough, MLS, CA (University Libraries, Museums, and the Press)
- Rodney X. Sturdivant, Ph.D. (Statistical Science, College of Arts & Sciences)
Promotion Working Group
- Nadine Welch, CCC-SLP (Communications Sciences and Disorders, Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences)
- W. Dennis Tucker, Jr., Ph.D. (Truett Seminary)
Research Support Working Group
- Ronald Angelo Johnson, Ph.D. (History, College of Arts & Sciences)
- Kevin G. Pinney, Ph.D. (Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Arts & Sciences)
The deadline for faculty to submit their names or the names of others for consideration as part of these working groups has passed.
News
Read More NewsProgress made as a result of the work done by the 2020 COACHE working groups to study results and provide recommendations was evident in the 2024 survey.
This week, you will be invited to participate in an important faculty survey that will help us better understand faculty job satisfaction – areas of faculty concern, areas of success and challenges facing our faculty as a whole.
Baylor University will participate in Harvard’s Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) Faculty Satisfaction Survey beginning the week of February 5, 2024. Completion of the web-based survey is expected to take approximately 25 minutes. Survey participation and responses are confidential and managed by Harvard’s COACHE team.
The COACHE Committee, which is comprised of faculty from across the University’s schools and colleges, will be instrumental in preparing for the survey, recommending supplemental questions that further assess and build upon findings in 2020, and communicating with peers regarding the survey timeline and importance of participation.