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Results from the 2021-2022 COACHE Survey & Focus Groups
 

 Areas of Strength 

Asterisks indicate areas in which UNT outsines its peers.

Icon of people having a meeting and discussion

  • 84% of professional faculty agree meeting times are compatible with personal needs.*
  • 75% of Pre-Tenure faculty agree colleagues pitch in when needed.*
  • 63% of Faculty of Color report satisfaction with how well they fit in to their department.*

Handshake symbolizing collegiality Other Areas of Strength 

  • 73% of faculty agree their department is collegial and their colleagues are committed to diversity.
  • 64% of professional faculty agree their colleagues support work/life balance.
  • 63% of professional faculty report satisfaction with how well they fit in to their department.
  • More than 70% of Faculty of Color and Asian faculty agree meeting times are compatible with personal needs (75% and 73%, respectively) and colleagues pitch in when needed (both 72%).

 Areas of Growth 

  • image symbolizing growth28% of Associate faculty agree the Institution regularly reviews effectiveness of governance.*
  • 30% of women faculty report the Institution regularly cultivates new faculty leaders.*
  • 31% of Pre-Tenure faculty report that faculty and administrators regularly discuss difficult issues in good faith.*

 Recommendations and Resources 

Faculty reported lower levels of confidence in leadership at the divisional and departmental levels compared to peer institutions. Focus group responses from full professors indicated that they felt less engaged in their departments. Similarly, although reporting higher levels of a sense of shared responsibility between faculty and administration, the perception of the overall effectiveness of shared governance was lower than at peers. To address areas needing growth, we recommend the following:

  • Create collaborative opportunities between senior faculty and administrators to harness the wealth of institutional knowledge held by longtime faculty members. One example might be a “Council of Full Professors” organized under Faculty Success.
  • Develop a systemic process to fund regular departmental retreats to support community building, inclusive practices, and strategic planning.
  • Continue to improve awareness of faculty concerns in areas noted for improvement through additional focus groups of faculty members to provide insight to faculty governance and administrators.
  • Review department leadership training of chairs/directors across all colleges.
  • Reinvest in shared governance through joint efforts between administration and Faculty Senate to communicate to all faculty what shared governance is and how it works.

 Resources on the Department and Governance Include: 

*= UNT Outshines Peers

NOTE: Professional faculty are defined as faculty who are not on the tenure track.