Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 68.35
Liaison Alex Roman Gonzalez
Submission Date March 3, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of Cincinnati
PA-13: Assessing Employee Satisfaction

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Alex Roman Gonzalez
Sustianability Coordinator
PDC
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution conducted a survey or other evaluation that allows for anonymous feedback to measure employee satisfaction and engagement during the previous three years?:
Yes

Percentage of employees assessed, directly or by representative sample:
100

A brief description of the institution’s methodology for evaluating employee satisfaction and engagement:
To better understand the needs of our faculty, the University of Cincinnati (UC) has partnered with Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE). For more than 10 years, COACHE has worked with more than 250 academic institutions to survey faculty and identify themes associated with faculty satisfaction. UC faculty completed the COACHE Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey in the Spring of 2018, and then again during the spring 2022 semester.

However, the COACHE survey does not gather information from adjunct faculty or non-academic staff. In spring 2020, UC launched a campus-wide UC Community Experience Survey, and in October 2022, the survey was re-administered. The survey is part of ongoing implementation of UC's Strategic Plan, "Next Lives Here," which among other things focuses on Inclusive Excellence, Faculty Investment, and Staff Enrichment. The survey, which was reviewed by the IRB to ensure it aligns with all best practices for respecting anonymity, was distributed widely and promoted heavily by department heads across campus to ensure a representative sample. It includes measures that specifically focus on Job Satisfaction, Engagement, and Growth for all employees, including adjunct faculty and non-academic staff who have not previously been surveyed as part of COACHE. Specifically, it focuses on the degree to which staff are happy with their current job, compensation, skill development, and career path, and offers employees the opportunity to rank the most important problems that need to be addressed at the university.

A brief description of the mechanism(s) by which the institution addresses issues raised by the evaluation:
Results from the 2018 COACHE survey presented three areas of strength and three areas for development. Strengths: 1) departmental collegiality, 2) faculty leadership, and 3) tenure policies. Areas for development: 1) departmental leadership, 2) interdisciplinary work, and 3) mentoring. During the spring 2019 semester, through a peer and self-nominated process, six working groups were formed that corresponded to our three areas of strength and three areas for development. These groups reviewed the COACHE quantitative and qualitative data in detail, conducted follow up interviews, and bench marked practices at our peer institutions to create a set of recommendations that were presented to Provost Nelson, Vice Provost Serra, and the COACHE Executive Team in May 2019.

Informed by faculty input through the COACHE Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey, and UC Women Lead's 2019 faculty project, the Office of the Provost is implementing new strategic initiatives to support faculty in teaching, research and service. These efforts focus on Leadership Development, Mentoring, Interdisciplinary Collaboration, and Collegiality.

Results from the original UC Community Experience Survey were likewise used to develop new employee investment programs. As noted above, the Community Experience Survey was re-administered during October 2022. High-level, quantitative aggregate results are currently being analyzed for all students, faculty, and staff. Results and a qualitative evaluation will be posted on the Bearcats Landing intranet as soon as they are available. Pathway leaders also plan on presenting the results, and subsequent action plans, to constituent groups over the 2023 summer and fall semesters.

Optional Fields

Website URL where information about the employee satisfaction and engagement evaluation is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Information about the response rate for the UC Community Experience Survey, most recently administered in fall 2022, included in the file attached above.

For more information about the COACHE program, see https://coache.gse.harvard.edu/

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.