UNT aspires to emerge as an exceptionally diverse and inclusive institution dedicated
to generating knowledge and innovations that will profoundly influence the future
and cultivate excellence in the next generation of scholars and leaders. We acknowledge
the pivotal role faculty members play in realizing this vision and are dedicated to
ensuring that every faculty member feels included and valued.
In pursuit of continuous improvement, UNT actively engages in surveys to gauge faculty
satisfaction. Among the comprehensive surveys we have undertaken, the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) Faculty Job Satisfaction
Survey is one of the most impactful initiatives in our journey toward enhancing the academic
experience.
Update from the 2024 COACHE Steering Committee
Since receiving our 2024 COACHE survey results in late summer, the COACHE Steering Committee developed a three-pronged engagement
process that places relevant data with stakeholders who can act on the results. This
includes:
- Creating college-level COACHE reports that allow deans and their faculty to understand the specific benchmarks that indicate
improvement opportunities and areas where their faculty are satisfied. Estimated completion: Early
December 2024.
- Sharing COACHE survey data with stakeholders in the Budget Office, Human Resources, Academic Resources, CLEAR, Research and Innovation,
and Toulouse Graduate School so they can explore how the data can inform President
Keller’s Three Strategic Priorities and their respective areas. Stakeholders received
data in early October 2024 and will provide quarterly status updates.
- Focusing our Steering Committee inquiry around three areas faculty can influence and
recruiting faculty to join our work. These areas represented lower faculty satisfaction compared to UNT's 2021 results and
ranked in the lower 30% of our peer comparisons. The three focus areas and co-leads
include:
- Shared Governance and Leadership: Bill Joyner and Barrett Taylor
- Promotion and Tenure: Jessica Napoles, Alex Barr and Jorge Aviles-Diz
- Interdisciplinary Work and Collaboration: Majed Yaghi, Kevin Yanowski and Kim Williams
Community feedback and dialogue will occur between November 2024 and February 2025. Please
get in touch with a faculty member involved in a focus area if you are interested
in joining this work.
The COACHE Steering Committee will compile a comprehensive report in late spring 2025
informed through all three feedback mechanisms. The report will include a deeper understanding
of the areas of dissatisfaction and recommendations for our community to address these
areas.
How has UNT improved faculty work life with prior COACHE surveys?
UNT distributes the survey every three years, and we have made significant strides
in addressing areas of concern while continuing to support the resources that faculty
share that are helping them succeed. These include:
- Implementing ongoing salary studies and market adjustments (every three years)
- Launching a Workload Equity Initiative (AY24) and Academic Workload Policy adjustments
- Improving climate and support for Professional Faculty: name change, increasing UNT Foundation award eligibility (ongoing; Professional
Faculty FRG)
- Hosting Crucial Conversations training for academic leaders and faculty
- Expanding support for teaching — Faculty Director for Teaching Development (Faculty Success)
- Expanding the UNT Faculty Mentoring Program for faculty across ranks
- Development of a faculty dashboard (Insights 2.0) to track faculty advancement and retention and to share COACHE 2021 results
- Expanding faculty award eligibility and funding
- Implementing faculty exit surveys and interviews
The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) Faculty Job Satisfaction
Survey is a pivotal instrument employed by academic institutions, including the University
of North Texas (UNT), to assess and enhance the experiences of faculty members. UNT,
with its commitment to being a diverse and inclusive institution that fosters knowledge
and innovation, utilizes the COACHE survey as a comprehensive tool to gauge faculty
job satisfaction. Its importance lies in providing valuable insights into faculty
perspectives, aiding continuous improvement efforts, and enabling the institution
to tailor policies and practices toward a more supportive academic environment.
By participating in the COACHE survey, UNT seeks to align faculty experiences with
its vision, ensuring that faculty members feel included, valued, and empowered to
contribute to the university's overarching goals of excellence and diversity.
The survey assesses 25 benchmarks of faculty job satisfaction within an academic workplace,
including:
- Clarity of the tenure and promotion process
- Work-life balance
- Support for teaching and research
- Campus climate, culture and collegiality
- Compensation and benefits
Aggregated results pinpoint areas requiring attention and improvement, guiding academic
leaders in shaping a more conducive and satisfying work environment. Moreover, the
national scope of the survey allows institutions to compare their results with those
of peers, fostering a collaborative approach to addressing challenges and enhancing
the overall quality of academic experiences across the higher education landscape.
The COACHE survey, initially administered to tenure-track faculty in 2008-2009 and
subsequently to tenured faculty in 2010-2011, reflects UNT's dedication to understanding and addressing the evolving needs and
experiences of its faculty. In 2018 and 2021, UNT expanded its commitment by including
all full-time faculty in the COACHE survey — including lecturers, clinical, tenure-track
and tenured faculty — in every college.
Overall, results from the 2021 COACHE survey indicated improvement over scores from the 2018 COACHE survey. 62% of our full-time faculty responded to the COACHE 2021 survey, and of those,
53% completed the survey for an 84% retention rate, which was higher than any of our
five comparison universities: Louisiana State University, University of Central Florida,
University of North Carolina-Charlotte, University of Tennessee, and University of
Texas at Arlington (47%) and the larger COACHE cohort (43%). In 2024, our five comparison
universities will be: University of Houston, University of Texas at Arlington, Texas
Tech University, Florida State University, and University of California-Irvine.
Based on the number of UNT faculty and other organizational characteristics, our comparison
cohort includes 85 COACHE partners who identify as generally similar.
UNT selected the following five institutions to serve as "peers" representing the
institutions most similar to us in the faculty labor market.
Eligible full-time faculty received an anonymous unique survey link in an email from
COACHE in early February 2024. A few weeks before this, faculty heard about the COACHE survey in their faculty meetings,
in UNT Today, and in emails from the provost and Faculty Success. The survey link
remained active until early April, with Faculty Success monitoring the response rate
and contacting units as needed to encourage faculty to participate.
We received our results in August 2024 and continue to work closely with the provost
and the UNT COACHE Steering Committee to review, share, and collect additional data
to get a more comprehensive picture of faculty job satisfaction.
Our 2024 COACHE Steering Committee members represent a diverse set of faculty and
staff who will review the results, engage faculty groups, and identify actionable
suggestions to continue improving the work life for UNT faculty.
- Chair: Holly Hutchins*, Vice Provost and Professor, Faculty Success
- Co-Chair: Brian Richardson, Professor, Communication Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
- Jorge Aviles-Diz, Professor, Spanish, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
- Alex Barr, Senior Lecturer, Physics, College of Science
- Amanda Fuller*, Associate Director, University Brand Strategy and Communications
- Daniel Hubbard*, Director, Data, Analytics, and Institutional Research (DAIR)
- Karen Johnson, Associate Professor, Department of Learning Technologies, College of Information
- William Joyner, Vice Chair, Faculty Senate; Associate Professor, Vocal Studies, College of Music
- Jessica Napoles, Professor, Music Education, College of Music
- Jessica Pamplin*, Business Intelligence Analyst, DAIR
- Jesus Quevedo-Torrero, Clinical Associate Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, College of Engineering
- Reynaldo Quiroz Heredia*, Business Intelligence Analyst, DAIR
- Barrett Taylor, Professor, Counseling and Higher Education, College of Education
- Kim Williams, Chair, Hospitality and Tourism Management, College of Merchandising, Hospitality and
Tourism
- Majed Yaghi, Clinical Associate Professor, Marketing, G. Brint Ryan College of Business
- Kevin Yanowski, Associate Librarian, Department Head of Cataloging and Metadata Services, UNT Libraries
*Staff
University of North Texas 
