By Annette Finley-Croswhite and Wayne Hynes, COACHE Co-Chairs
COACHE, the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education, is a research-practice partnership within the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). The surveys developed and administered by Harvard are designed to provide insight on the experiences of tenured, tenure-track faculty and full-time, non-tenure track faculty. Harvard has a network of over 300 institutions across the country that take the surveys and like ODU are dedicated to improving faculty recruitment, development, and retention. The research-driven survey practice is designed to help colleges and universities increase “their capacity to identify the drivers of faculty success and implement informed changes."
Why should faculty participate in the COACHE survey; why might it matter to you?
The survey helps institutions of higher education recognize matters of concern that faculty identify. Faculty answers to the survey questions help pinpoint areas that need immediate attention. Answers to critical questions can impact policies and strategic planning in the future. The survey results also include a comparison with peer institutions, so that at ODU we can better understand how faculty here feel about important matters in comparison with how faculty at other institutions feel on similar issues.
One thing you should know is that answering the survey is purely voluntary; you don’t have to take it. However, your input is valuable and will help ODU administrators better understand how you feel about your work experience, ostensibly to make working at ODU a better experience for all. How do you feel about the level of support you are getting from the institution, for example, or what do you think about the institutional expectations for your work? Your answers help to identify what faculty are feeling regarding their working lives.
Although there are research-related questions, this is not just for faculty on the tenure track. It is equally important that the opinions of full-time non-tenure track faculty are heard.
Are you worried about your anonymity?
In taking the survey your anonymity is guaranteed. That’s a hallmark of COACHE. The administrators at the HGSE state, “When we submit the survey report to your institution, only the aggregate data is shown in the report. No identifiers are matched to reported responses, and no disaggregated data will be presented for any subgroup with fewer than five respondents.”
When does the survey close?
The survey closes on April 7th. You may recall that Provost Austin Agho wants at least a 60% response rate. We know we can do better than that. As of March 21st, our completion rate is just at 50%. A number of you have started the survey which is excellent, but you did not complete it so we ask that you go back into the survey and do so. If all of those who started the survey finish it, we will quickly be at 60%. We image the Provost will be delighted if our completion rate exceeds 60%.
We know you want to make ODU the best place to work, and your response to this survey helps in achieving that, so PLEASE take/complete the survey.
ODU is a great place to work, but LET’S MAKE ODU EVEN BETTER!
Please see the links below for frequently asked questions and to find out more about COACHE at ODU.