Skip Section Navigation

Using the COACHE survey and the additional inquiry provided by reviewing unit-level data, engaging faculty perceptions through interviews and focus groups, and comparing peer institutional practices, the COACHE Steering Committee recommended the following actions to improve areas of low satisfaction. Where possible, we also update the current work underway to support the recommendations.  

Monitor Salary Equity and Merit Increases

  • Conduct salary market adjustment studies every four years
    Faculty concerns on salary equity and competitiveness among peer institutions remained a primary area of dissatisfaction since 2021. The Faculty Senate and the Academic Resource Office regularly conduct salary reviews and market studies. The updated 2024 Faculty Compensation Guidelines are available for review.
  • Increase communication around how salary levels are established
    As part of the COACHE Stakeholder Group, the Budget Office, Human Resources, and Academic Resources plan to clarify how faculty compensation is determined, improve offer packages for graduate students, and increase support for academic budget officers to ensure the support and implementation of the new budget model. 
  • Increase transparency in determining merit increases
    As a result of the President’s Strategic Budget Plan, unit leaders can exercise more autonomy in managing their budgets — including decisions impacting merit increases. Merit budgets would be institutionally defined and reside within the units.
hand holding a dollar sign

Ensure faculty service is equitable administered and recognized

  • Implement and monitor faculty workload equity Faculty also expressed dissatisfaction with their service workload. The Academic Faculty Workload Equity Initiative, led by the Vice Provost of Faculty Success, was underway when COACHE 2024 was administered. As of summer 2025, UNT Policy 6.027 requires that faculty workloads be transparent, clear, and equitably assigned relative to career rank. All department workload revisions will be complete and posted by fall 2025. Faculty Success will also monitor the impact of the new workload guidelines on faculty grievance, retention, and faculty and unit administrator satisfaction.
graphic of three people with a ribbon

Increase Faculty Interdisciplinary Engagement and Rewards

  • Recognize interdisciplinary work in faculty evaluation guidelines
    A review of UNT departmental guidelines showed that departments that scored higher on these benchmarks included interdisciplinary work in their guidelines, creating more faculty involvement and buy-in, whereas low-scoring units did not. Units should ensure that interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts are explicitly recognized, rewarded, and evaluated in P&T guidelines, merit, annual review, and workload in departments where this work is expected and needed. 
  • Develop institutional infrastructure to support collaboration
    Units where interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts are valued and needed should facilitate workshops, social events, and research seminars to encourage faculty interaction and promote interdisciplinary collaboration. Faculty Success and the Division of Research and Innovation may also consider offering university-level events. Utilizing social media and events to highlight interdisciplinary and collaborative work can increase visibility among  internal and external stakeholders. 
  • Foster a university-wide culture through leadership and messaging
    UNT can elevate the importance of interdisciplinary work in institutional values (Better Together), leadership communications, and strategic planning to break down cultural silos.
graphic of collaboration

Increase Unit-Level Promotion and/or Tenure Support

  • Offer unit-level tailored and timely P&T workshops
    Based on a fall 2024 review of college-level P&T workshops, Provost McPherson instructed colleges to offer college-level workshops in addition to those offered by Faculty Success to provide discipline-specific guidance to promotion-eligible (tenure-system, professional-track) faculty. Units should encourage joint attendance by faculty and their mentors to align understanding.
  • Improve P&T communication and advising structures
    Providing consistent feedback to promotion-eligible faculty is essential. These include facilitating regular check-ins with department chairs and PACs to clarify expectations and progress. Units should maintain up-to-date and consistent online resources (websites, guideline documents, etc.) for P&T information and promote common language and references to avoid confusion and deviation about “what counts” and how evaluation will occur. Faculty may also benefit from external department mentors, such as those available through the Faculty Success Cross-Disciplinary Mentoring Program.
  • Broaden teaching evaluation practices and outcomes
    Unit administrators, PACs, and RPT committees should promote ongoing departmental dialogue about fair and meaningful teaching assessments in addition to the SPOT (Student Perceptions of Teaching) survey. Units should review UNT Policy 06.007 to identify additional methods for assessing teaching excellence in for use in faculty annual review and promotion and/or tenure evaluations.
graphic of person climbing toward goal

Strengthen Communication Among Faculty and Administrator Governance Bodies

  • Provide annual shared governance resources for unit administrators
    To strengthen awareness and accountability, Faculty Success will include the shared governance policies (UNT Policy 06.047 and Regents Rule 06.100) in New Chair Orientation and for current department chairs.
  • Increase engagement between governance bodies
    The Faculty Senate will explore additional ways to improve transparency, coordination, and mutual understanding among faculty and unit administrators. We encourage college deans to consider regularly meeting with their Senators to stay current on topics and decisions pertinent to their college.
  • Promote constructive faculty participation in governance
    Distribute shared governance guidelines to faculty annually, encourage active engagement in decision-making processes, and survey faculty to better understand their evolving perceptions and concerns.
graphic of administrative building

Stakeholder Support

graphic representing stakeholder supportAs part of our distributed engagement, we also shared COACHE data with several university key stakeholders who reported gaining essential insights about faculty perceptions of their respective units. Further, these groups recognized opportunities for change and growth stemming from COACHE results, as described below:

Honors College. Starting Fall 2025, the Honors College will host monthly workshops on Honors pedagogy, Honors Contracts, and undergraduate research mentorship. These sessions will also offer networking opportunities, responding to faculty feedback about the benefits of connecting with other engaged instructors.

DSI-CLEAR. The DSI-CLEAR team explored the data more deeply by meeting with stakeholders in their division to discuss key results and the role DSI-CLEAR might play in them. They also collected additional data by interviewing staff at two peer institutions about their practices related to online course development. The COACHE 2024 results will be an important data source for DSI-CLEAR as they review their resources and future professional development initiatives.

Division of Research and Innovation. The DRI office used COACHE results to inform its strategic planning process and supplemented that data with input from over 40 stakeholders—including faculty, staff, administrators, and students—through targeted discussions.

Academic Resources. The Academic Resources office reviewed COACHE data addressing Human Resources and compensation matters. They plan to clarify how faculty compensation is determined and work to improve office packages for graduate students.

Budget Office. The Budget Office reviewed the COACHE data to identify areas lacking support in budget or financial matters. They will continue working with academic budget officers to ensure the support and implementation of the new budget model.

Faculty Senate. COACHE data highlighted faculty concerns about shared governance and leadership at UNT. In response, amid administrative and legislative changes, the Faculty Senate will continue monitoring faculty perceptions to help build trust and transparency between faculty and administration.