Members of the faculty have joined with Mary Croughan, provost and executive vice chancellor, and Phil Kass, vice provost of Academic Affairs, to urge fellow faculty members to complete the COACHE Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey.

“We will use the results of this survey to continue to inform the university on what we can do to improve things for the faculty and our academic community, as has been done following the last two COACHE surveys (2012-13 and 2016-17),” the provost said in a letter to faculty last week.

COACHE stands for Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education, which has been operating from the Harvard Graduate School of Education since 2003. The school administers the survey annually to hundreds of Institutions of higher education, measuring faculty members’ satisfaction with the many dimensions of their work, from their research, teaching and service activities to work-life balance, health and retirement benefits; from the merit and promotion system to academic leadership and shared governance; and from support for interdisciplinary and collaborative work to the collegiality of their departments.

This year’s survey at UC Davis closes next Monday (April 12). Faculty members should have received personalized emails from coachefaculty@opinioncast.com providing access to the survey. Can’t find the email? Send a note to coachefaculty@abtassociates.com for assistance.   

Binnie Singh, assistant vice provost for Academic Affairs, said: “We strongly encourage faculty to participate in this survey. We in Academic Affairs want to hear their feedback to consider how we can better support faculty through programs, resources, policy and more. The previous survey results have been informative in how we have shaped programs and policies.”

Vice Provost Kass and other faculty members speak directly to faculty in a video promoting the survey (above). The survey, Kass says, “provides you with an opportunity to share your views — anonymously — on your many professional life experiences here at UC Davis.”

Tanya Kuhl, professor of chemical engineering, says campus leaders will consider each response “carefully and seriously.”

Indeed, says Jose Torres, professor of medical microbiology and immunology, “Since the last survey in 2017, more mentoring and guidance is now provided to associate professors who had expressed concerns about their progress. Findings about Step Plus helped inform the important review that the program is currently undergoing.”

Thomas Lee, professor of statistics, says: “Hearing from academicians like you will help UC Davis assess how we are doing in the areas that matter the most to you, compared to peer institutions in the U.S. Your views are vitally important to us so we can strive to attract and retain the best and brightest scholars and faculty.”

Kristin Lagattuta, professor of psychology and faculty advisor to the provost on closing student opportunity gaps, and former chair of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate, says: “This 2021 survey will enable us to see the progress we’ve made as well as the current challenges faculty are now facing. There are also questions about how the pandemic has affected us individually and collectively.”