What is COACHE?
The Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey, administered by the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, is a rigorous, research-based survey designed to help meet needs and improve faculty well-being. Administered at hundreds of universities, the results include benchmarking against peer institutions. The survey provides key insights about faculty experiences in the academic workplace, perceptions of their working conditions and opportunities for improvement.
VCU’s goal is to identify areas of strength and opportunities for growth and guide our actions for improvement.
The survey gives us clear, honest insights into:
The Workplace Experience
How faculty feel about day-to-day life at VCU
The Workplace Environment
Perceptions of resources, support and campus culture
Opportunities for Change
Views about specific areas for improvement
Goals
Understanding faculty job satisfaction
VCU is an institution that is committed to excellence in research, teaching, and serving the public good. Those goals all rely on faculty, whose working conditions and job-related experiences shape their ability to be productive, engaged, and innovative educators and scholars. Gaining rigorous, well-researched data on faculty job satisfaction helps advance this key priority of the university.
Identifying areas for improvement in faculty experiences
The COACHE Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey will help VCU identify areas where there is room for improvement in the faculty experience. The survey will provide key insights about areas where VCU is doing well and where it could better support faculty success and well-being. VCU is committed to enhancing faculty experiences, research success, and teaching excellence, and these data will provide actionable insights to meet this commitment.
Providing data to inform policy and practices
The survey results also provide data to inform policy and practice at VCU. Having robust empirical data will enable VCU faculty, administration, and other stakeholders to make evidence-based decisions that move the university forward. These data ensure VCU can be efficient and effective in implementing initiatives, policies, and practices that advance faculty success.
Advancing the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion
The survey data also provide key insights that can help drive diversity, equity, and inclusion, particularly for faculty. The data can reveal areas where support is needed, where there may be untapped potential, and highlight things that have worked well to advance the goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The survey will provide actionable insights to improve the diversity of VCU faculty and the experience of minoritized VCU faculty.
Increasing faculty retention and recruitment
The Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey also provides data to support improving faculty retention and recruitment. The survey data will identify areas in which improvements in the faculty experience can help VCU retain talented and diverse faculty members and enhance the ability to recruit new faculty.