What New Scholars Want

California State University System

Cathy A. Trower, Ph.D.May 8, 2006

First Exercise

Please place an * by the five that you feel are most important to recent graduates of doctoral degree programs.

Then place an x by the next five most important.

Top 10 Factors from Survey

1. Institutional support for my research (# 6)2. Time for family/personal obligations (# 13)3. Quality of department (# 16)4. Number of courses/preps (# 2)5. Flexibility of work schedule (# 12)

6. Opportunity for collaboration (# 10)7. Content of courses I will teach (# 1)8. Opportunity to work independently (# 9)9. Geographic location of institution (# 18)10. Quality of the institution (# 17)

Importance to Students of Color

In making job choices, students of color placed significantly more importance than white students on:

1. Having institutional support for my research

2. Match between my research interests and those of others in my department

3. Opportunity to work with a leader in my field

4. Job security

Importance to Female Students

In making job choices, female students placed significantly more importance than male students on:

1. Flexibility of my work schedule

2. Time for family/personal obligations

3. Employment opportunities for my spouse/partner

4. Teaching load

5. Geographic location

Importance to Male Students

In making job choices, male students placed significantly more importance than female students on:

1. Opportunity for recognition

2. Quality of the department

3. Quality of the institution

4. Opportunity to work with a leader in my field

5. Level and quality of students

Choice CycleInside or Outside

Academe?

Pros

Salary/benefitsFacilities/support

Opportunities forspouse, promotion

Outside

Cons

Job securityPerks

The private sector competes to be a great place to work!

Choice Cycle

Inside or Outside Academe?

CommunityCollege

ResearchUniversity

Inside

Liberal ArtsCollege

Public Private

ComprehensiveUniversity

Key Factors in Job ChoiceInside the Academy

Whether the position is tenure-track or non-tenure-track

Contact length for non-tenure-track appointment Mix of teaching and research expected Salary Prospects of tenure or contract renewal Department quality/ranking Institutional prestige Geographic location of the institution

Factors influencing job choice

Of the 7 factors measured: Geographical location was always most

important. Mix of teaching and research always second. Salary almost always fifth. Institution prestige almost always last.

__________________________________

Discipline differences

75%69%

58%53%

65%

77%

29%

19%23%

29%

38%43%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Default Scenario1

Scenario2

Scenario3

Scenario4

Scenario5

TT

NTT

Neither

Default: Both offers match work preferences, 71-85% chance of tenure/contract renewal, location where comfortable living, dept ranked 11-20, institution ranked top 10, 3-year contract (NTT offer) Scenario 1. NTT: 10 year contract Scenario 2. TT: Satisfied living; NTT: Comfortable living Scenario 3. TT: Differs; NTT: Matches Scenario 4. TT: Don't like location; NTT: Comfortable living Scenario 5: TT: Don’t like location; NTT: Most preferred location

75%

66%

58%

52%48%

60%

48%

37%

23%

32%

40%44%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Default Scenario 6 Scenario 7 Scenario 8 Scenario 9 Scenario 10

TT

NTT

Neither

Default: Both offers match work preferences, 71-85% chance of tenure/contract renewal, location where comfortable living, dept ranked 11-20, institution ranked top 10, 3-year contract (NTT offer) Scenario 6. NTT: Top 10 department Scenario 7. NTT: Top 10 department and 10-year contract Scenario 8. TT: Differs; NTT: 110% salary; 3-year contract Scenario 9. TT: Differs; NTT: 125% salary; 5 year contract Scenario 10. TT: Differs; NTT: Top 10 department, 110% salary, 5 year

Women in Science

TTW TTM NTTW NTTM

Single, will relocate, no kids 65 71 29 23

Single, will relocate, kids 64 70 34 26

Single, will not relocate, no kids 59 66 35 27

Married, spouse not employed, will relocate, no kids

67 74 27 22

Married, spouse employed, not an academic, will not relocate, no kids

58 65 36 30

Married, spouse employed, an academic, not willing to relocate, no kids

56 63 37 31

Married, spouse employed, an academic, not willing to relocate, kids

55 62 40 33

The Big Considerations

Work: Meaningful work that fits the balance of teaching and research the faculty member desires – not the same for everyone

Location: Geographic fit (affordable housing, decent commute, good schools, a sense of community, safe, job for spouse/partner)

Quality of Life on the Job and Outside of Work: Time for family and other interests outside of work; a sense of colleagueship at work

Who is Gen X? Born between 1965 and 1980. Skeptical. Believe parents suffered VDD – vacation deficit disorder.

“Give me balance now, not when I’m 65.” “If they can’t understand that I want a kick-ass career and a kick-ass

life, then I don’t want to work here.” “Why does it matter when I come and go, as long as I get the work

done?”

Willing to work hard but wants to decide when, where, and how.

Lancaster & Stillman (2002). When Generations Collide.NY: HarperCollins Publishing Inc.

Traditionalist

1900-1945

Boomer

1946-1964

Gen X

1965-1980

Chain of command Change of commandSelf-command

Collaborate

Build a legacy Build a stellar career Build a portable career

Satisfaction of a job well-done

Money, title, recognition, corner office

Freedom

Job changing carries a stigma.

Job changing puts you behind.

Job changing is necessary.

If we give in to demands for flexibility, who will do the work?

I can’t believe the nerve of those X’ers – they want it all!

I’ll go where I can find the lifestyle I’m seeking.

If I’m not yelling at you, you’re doing fine.

Feedback once a year; well-documented.

Sorry to interrupt again, but how am I doing?

“Next Gen”

Format agnostic

Nomadic

Multitasking

Experiential

Collaborative

Integrated

Principled

Adaptive

Direct“Born with the Chip”Abram & Luther (2004)

Culture Shift on Campus

Permanence Solidity Solemnity Sacred Solitude Quiet Status Quo

Transience Flexibility Playfulness Profane Communal Noise Innovation

“There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear.” [Buffalo Springfield]

Having said that…

Young, diverse -- these faculty are unique

Defy type-casting; despise labels

Most do not suffer silently; not afraid to speak up and ask for what they want

Diversity brings a variety of values and expectations about work and the workplace

Culture Clash

EmbeddedConfidentiality = candor = quality

Merit determined empirically and objective

Darwinian tenure process is good/competition improves individual performance

Research is an independent process; centered around disciplines

EmergentTransparency ensures equity

Merit socially constructed; subjective; contextual

Cooperation and collaboration are better for community and collegiality Research may be collaborative; centered around a problem

Culture Clash

Embedded

Quality and quantity of research matter most; heaviest weight

Serious scholars choose work over all else

Faculty thrive on autonomy

Emergent

Teaching, advising, service to the campus and community matter also

What people do outside of work matters also; dual careers/families happen

Faculty have a collective responsibility; autonomy can be isolating

Second Exercise

On one side of an index card:

1. What three issues do faculty recruits most often ask about?

On the other side: 2. What do you most hope they will not ask

about?

Collaborative On Academic Careers in

Higher Education

At the Harvard Graduate School of Education

COACHE Pilot:The Study of New Scholars

What? Gather satisfaction data by gender, race, and

field, in a standardized fashion so that it is comparable over time and across institutions.

Create a constructive competition among academic institutions to be a “great place to work” for all junior faculty.

Provide a diagnostic tool to aid in the recruitment and retention of junior faculty.

COACHE Pilot:The Study of New Scholars

Purpose Make the academy a more equitable and appealing

place for new faculty to work in order to recruit and retain top talent.

Increase the recruitment, retention, status, success, and satisfaction of faculty of color and white women.

Create a better informed doctoral student and early career faculty population.

Give voice to early career faculty. Ultimately, produce structural and cultural changes

on campuses.

COACHE Pilot:The Study of New Scholars

Why? Lack of improvement in the statistics for 30 years.

Increasing frustration about: The tenure process Difficulty finding career and life balance Lack of faculty diversity Cultural, generational clash between traditional and

emergent views/values (See Trower & Chait, Harvard Magazine, March-April 2002)

Lack of internal reform despite good intentions

We Found What You Found

Your survey of 213 probationary showed Most happy but… Lack time to conduct research, teach well and engage

in service Women and minorities more likely to indicate that

campus climate was not positive Two-thirds expressed concern about tenure process

and clarity of tenure criteria

Junn, Ellen N. and Margaret Atwell, 2004. “A campus-wide model for supportinguntenured faculty including women and minorities,” International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities, and Nations, Volume 4.

Focus Groups Conducted with Faculty At…

Amherst Bard Barnard Columbia Harvard Holy Cross

MIT Mount Holyoke NYU Sarah Lawrence Smith Williams

56 total: 23 males; 34 females32 white faculty; 24 faculty of color

Key components of faculty satisfaction (and ultimately success) are:

Clarity surrounding… Tenure process, criteria, standards, body of evidence Expectations for scholarship, teaching, advising, colleagueship,

campus citizenship Reasonable performance expectations Consistency of expectations and messages A climate and culture that support great work --

collegiality Quality of life on the job and off Workload equity Professional development and support

Pilot Study: Survey

Berkeley Brown Duke University of Arizona University of Illinois University of Washington

Carleton Morehouse Mt. Holyoke Oberlin Sarah Lawrence Smith

1,932 invited to participate; 1,149 completed (60%)Sample: 1,180 males; 752 females; 1,606 white faculty; 326 faculty of color

COACHE

A diagnostic management tool to aid in recruiting and retaining top junior faculty by examining the key components of their work life, including… Importance and effectiveness of policies (32) Tenure clarity and reasonableness of expectations (20) Work load, work environment (20) Climate, culture, collegiality, support (16) Global satisfaction (7) Best and worst aspects of the institution (2)

What the data tell us

• How does my institution compare to its peers?• What departments had the highest and lowest

ratings?• Are there significant differences by demographics?• Are there areas where, as a university, we do

especially well? Especially poorly?• What changes in policy or practice, either

university-wide or within a school, would yield the greatest increase in faculty satisfaction?

• What works well, where, and why?

COACHE allows you to…

Spot and reward success Detect and correct trouble spots Learn whether policies are working as intended Have data-driven dialogue rather than data-free

debates Place your faculty concerns in a comparative

context Gain an edge in recruiting by cultivating and

demonstrating a commitment to being a great place to work

All things considered, how satisfied are you with your institution as a place to work?

OVERALL

Your Institution

Peer 1

Peer 2

Peer 3

Peer 4

Peer 5

All COACHE Universities

Percent of Respondents

5 4 3 2 1 VS SS N SU VU

All things considered, how satisfied are you with your institution as a place to work?

BY GENDER

You

r in

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tion

All

univ

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ties

You

r pe

ers

Male

Female

Female

Male

Percent of Respondents

5 4 3 2 1

Female

Male

VS SS N SU VU

I find the tenure criteria to be…Very clear (5); Fairly clear (4); Neither clear nor unclear (3); Fairly unclear (2); Very unclear (1)

Your Institution

Peer 1

Peer 2

Peer 3

Peer 4

Peer 5

All COACHE Universities

Percent of Respondents

5 4 3 2 1 VC FC N FU VU

TENURE QUESTION, OVERALL

How satisfied are you with the amount of time you have to conduct research?

WORKLOAD QUESTION, BY GENDER

You

r in

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tion

All

univ

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ties

You

r pe

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Male

Female

Female

Male

Percent of Respondents

5 4 3 2 1

Female

Male

VS SS N SU VU

How satisfied are you with the amount of time you have to conduct research?

Within your institution, your male junior faculty were more satisfied than were your female junior faculty with the amount of time they have to conduct research.

Compared to female junior faculty at your peers, females at your institution were more than one standard deviation below the mean on satisfaction with the amount of time they have to conduct research.

Among male junior faculty at all universities, males at your institution ranked in the 65th percentile on satisfaction with the amount of time they have to conduct research.

Among female junior faculty at all universities, females at your institution ranked in the 54th percentile on satisfaction with the amount of time they have to conduct research.

Across all universities, male junior faculty were more satisfied than were female junior faculty with the amount of time they have to conduct research.

How satisfied are you with how well you fit (e.g., your sense of belonging, your comfort level)?

You

r In

stitu

tion

You

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eers

A

ll U

niv

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Faculty of Color

White Faculty

Faculty of Color

White Faculty

Faculty of Color

White Faculty

Percent of Respondents

5 4 3 2 1

CLIMATE QUESTION, BY RACE

VS SS N SU VU

I find the tenure process to be…Very clear (5); Fairly clear (4); Neither clear nor unclear (3); Fairly unclear (2); Very unclear (1)

Rank Academic Area Mean Rating

1 Humanities 4.963

2 Visual & Performing Arts 4.768

3 Social Sciences 4.521

4 Physical Sciences 4.431

5 Biological Sciences 4.345

6 Engineering/CompSci/Math/Stats 4.267

7 Health & Human Ecology 4.123

8 Agri/Nat Resources/Env Sciences 4.009

9 Business 3.213

10 Education 2.941

11 Medical / Health Professions 2.851

12 Other Professions 2.715

ACADEMIC AREA

I find the tenure process to be…Very clear (5); Fairly clear (4); Neither clear nor unclear (3); Fairly unclear (2); Very unclear (1)

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Rank among your peers

1 1 2 3 4 5 - 6 2 4 4 6

Percentile among all universities

100th 100th 84th 76th 68th 60th - 50th 40th 32nd 18th 10th

The five best aspects about working at your institution are:

Across all respondents:

1. Quality of colleagues (51%)

2. Quality of graduate students (30%)

3. Support for research (17%)

4. Quality of undergraduate students AND

4. Quality of facilities (13%)

For male junior faculty:

1. Quality of colleagues (51%)

2. Quality of graduate students (29%)

3. Support for research (18%)

4. Opportunities to collaborate with colleagues (14%)

5. Quality of undergraduate students (13%)

For white junior faculty:

1. Quality of colleagues (46%)

2. Quality of graduate students (32%)

3. Quality of facilities AND

3. Support for research AND

5. Quality of undergraduate students (15%)

For female junior faculty:

1. Quality of colleagues (52%)

2. Quality of graduate students (32%)

3. Quality of facilities (16%)

4. Support for research (15%)

5. Quality of undergraduate students (14%)

For junior faculty of color:

1. Quality of colleagues (67%)

2. Quality of graduate students (24%)

3. Support for research (20%)

4. Opportunities to collaborate with colleagues (15%)

5. Quality of undergraduate students (11%)

The five worst aspects about working at your institution are:

Across all respondents:

1. Cost of living (26%)

2. Tenure requirements in general (21%)

3. Unrelenting pressure to perform (20%)

4. Tenure criteria clarity (12%)

5. Tenure process clarity (11%)

For male junior faculty:

1. Cost of living (36%)

2. Tenure requirements in general (21%)

3. Unrelenting pressure to perform (18%)

4. Tenure criteria clarity (12%)

5. Compensation (11%)

For white junior faculty:

1. Cost of living (25%)

2. Unrelenting pressure to perform (24%)

3. Tenure requirements in general (22%)

4. Tenure criteria clarity (13%)

5. Tenure process clarity (12%)

For female junior faculty:

1. Tenure requirements in general AND

Unrelenting pressure to perform (24%)

2. Tenure process clarity (15%)

3. Tenure criteria clarity AND

Cost of living (14%)

For junior faculty of color:

1. Cost of living (27%)

2. Lack of support for research AND

Tenure requirements in general AND

Tenure process clarity AND

Unrelenting pressure to perform (13%)

Policies & Provisions:

The “Effectiveness Gap”Respondents identified these policies as “very or somewhat important” to their success, but as “very or somewhat ineffective” at their institution.

Would you recommend your department to a candidate?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Females

Males

Females

Males

Females

Males

All u

niv

ers

itie

sY

our

peers

Your

institu

tion

Strongly recommend your department as a place to work

Recommend your department with reservations

Not recommend your department as a place to work

Cost and Deliverables

Package A (If 5 or more CSU’s join) $12,500 per campus, with an option to pay over three fiscal

years. Each enrolled campus receives their results; results from

their 5 selected CSU peers; and comparisons to all CSU’s as a group.

Package B (If fewer than 5 CSU’s join) $20,000 per campus, with an option to pay over three fiscal

years. Each enrolled campus receives their results; results from

their 5 selected COACHE peers; and comparisons to all COACHE universities as a group.