CHHS leads in COACHE survey participation

As of Monday, March 19, the College of Health and Human Services has the highest participation rate for the COACHE Faculty Satisfaction Survey with a nearly 41 percent response rate.

The Cato College of Education has a 38 percent completion rate, followed by the College of Arts + Architecture (36.5 percent), College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (34 percent), Lee College of Engineering (25.3 percent), College of Computing and Informatics (24.3 percent) and the Belk College of Business (20 percent).

The UNC Charlotte Office of Academic Affairs looks closely at the results of the COACHE survey and uses the data to determine in which areas the institution is doing a good job in meeting faculty needs and to inform strategies to address areas of concern. In addition to evaluating faculty perceptions of climate at UNC Charlotte, the COACHE data allows faculty members to compare measures of faculty climate satisfaction at their institution with a number of peer institutions.

As a direct result of faculty responses in previous COACHE surveys, UNC Charlotte has implemented a number of improvements to address faculty concerns. For example:

Faculty asked for more clarity around the promotion and tenure process.

UNC Charlotte responded by:

• Revising the Tenure and Promotion Document and the Academic Personnel Handbook sections on tenure to improve clarity and transparency
• Establishing faculty mentoring programs and faculty forums to provide clarity and support around promotion to full professor
• Creating programs through ADVANCE FADO to facilitate faculty development at ALL stages of the faculty career pathway

Faculty asked for increased opportunities for faculty voices to be heard and more rigorous support services for faculty.

UNC Charlotte responded by:

• Creating the Ombuds Office, which has been expanded recently to include the role of an Associate Faculty Ombuds to address the needs of both full-time and part-time faculty members increasing tuition support for graduate students
• Development of Advancing University Research Administration (AURA) to implement research administration process and system improvements
• Creating career progression opportunities for non-tenure track faculty
• Increasing research support for social science disciplines

Faculty asked for more equity around faculty compensation and enhanced recognition for faculty accomplishments.

UNC Charlotte responded by:

• Benchmarking faculty salaries and committed institutional funds for faculty raises
• Raising minimum salary for lecturers and part-time faculty
• Recognizing community engagement both in the Faculty Handbook and through creation of The Provost’s Award for Community Engagement
• Implementing the Thank You Card Project, an initiative where Chancellor Philip L. Dubois sends thank you cards to faculty and staff members based upon nominations from last year’s graduating seniors

To participate, faculty members will complete a 30-minute, web-based survey