FACULTY SURVEY FINDINGS
- Demographics
- Faculty Issues
- Academic Programs
- Library and Information Resources
- Students
- Institutional Integrity
- Finance
- The Core Curriculum
- Governance and Administration
- Facilities
- University Mission and Planning
- Comments
Three hundred and ninety-three faculty responded to the Faculty Survey, corresponding to a 49% response rate. Of those responding, 28% are female and 67% are male. Four percent did not indicate gender.
College affiliations are:
- 12% from the College of Agriculture
- 1% from Ag Extension
- 9% from the College of Arts and Architecture
- 5% from the College of Business
- 9% from the College of Education, Health and Human Development
- 10% from the College of Engineering
- 39% from the College of Letters & Science
- 3% from the Libraries
- 7% from Nursing
- 4% did not respond
Eighty-nine percent are full-time faculty, 8% are part-time faculty, and 1% are post-retirement faculty. Two percent did not indicate their status.
Fifty-two percent are tenured, 25% are in tenure track appointments, and 16% are in non-tenure track appointments. Four percent indicated "not applicable," and 2% did not indicate tenure status.
Twenty-eight percent of those responding have been at MSU-Bozeman 0-5 years; 20% for 6-10 years, 16% for 11-15 years, 13% for 16-20 years, 8% for 21-25 years, and 9% for more than 25 years. Six percent did not indicate their years of service.
Faculty Issues
Teaching. Nine out of ten statements under Teaching produced a majority of positive responses. Seventy-eight percent of faculty responding either "agree" or "strongly agree" that their department's teaching expectations are what they understood from their letter of hire. Fifty-nine percent agree that the assignment of teaching loads is equitable within their department and that they have adequate time to fulfill their teaching duties. One-third, however, to not agree with these statements.
Fifty-nine percent of faculty agree that their department provides adequate clerical and technical resources to support their teaching; 36% do not agree.
Seventy-five percent agree that their department encourages innovative teaching. Fifty-seven percent agree that their department rewards excellence in teaching; one-third do not agree. Fifty-one percent agree that their department encourages interdisciplinary collaboration in teaching; 35% do not agree.
Sixty percent either "agree" or "strongly agree" that the faculty in their department have ample opportunity to give substantive input into the academic policy-making process; 26% do not agree. Three-quarters agree that MSU-Bozeman provides a climate which produces academic freedom.
The only statement under Teaching that produced a majority negative response concerned teaching evaluations. Sixty-four percent of faculty responding either "disagree" or "strongly disagree" that the instrument used by students to evaluate teaching is effective.
Advising. Seventy-one percent of faculty responding feel they understand the university and department degree requirements well enough to appropriately advise students. Fifty-three percent feel they have adequate time to advise; twenty-eight percent do not feel they have enough time. Sixty-two percent feel the number of students assigned to them is equitable within their department.
Research and Creative Activities. Nearly three-quarters of faculty responding feel that their department's research/creativity expectations are what they understood from their letter of hire, and that their department rewards excellence in this area. Nearly two-thirds of faculty responding feel their department encourages interdisciplinary collaboration in research.
Although over one-third of faculty responding either "disagree" or "strongly disagree" that the process of distributing MONTS funds is equitable, over 40% either don't know or do not feel this statement applies. Over one-third of faculty either "agree" or "strongly agree" that the formula for distributing IDCs is equitable, and that the distribution of IDCs encourages ongoing campus research/creative activity. However, over 40% either don't know or do not feel this statement applies.
Nearly one-half of faculty either "disagree" or "strongly disagree" that faculty have ample opportunity to give substantive input into the research/creativity policy-making at the university level; over one-quarter either do not know or do not feel this statement applies.
Thirty-five percent of faculty responding feel they have adequate time to conduct their expected research/creative activities, although 54% do not agree. Over half do not think they have adequate clerical and technical resources in support of these activities. Only 20% think their department provides adequate funding in support of these activities.
Nearly one-half of faculty do not feel the university provides adequate sabbatical leave opportunities; however, nearly one-third either do not know or do not feel this statement applies.
Service. Nearly three-quarters of faculty responding feel their service expectations are what they understood them to be from their letter of hire. Although between one-third and one-half of faculty either "agree" or "strongly agree" that the assignment of departmental, college, and university service loads are equitable, nearly one-third either don't know or do not feel these statements apply. Only 37% of faculty feel they are rewarded for excellence in service; over 50% feel they are not rewarded.
Promotion and Tenure. Fifty-seven percent of faculty responding either "agree" or "strongly agree" that promotion and tenure expectations were clearly communicated upon hire; 31% do not agree. Sixty-eight percent believe these expectations continue to be clearly communicated. Nearly one-half of faculty feel the P&T process at our university is fair; 28% do not agree. Two-thirds of faculty feel the departmental annual review process is fair.
Productivity Quality, and Outcomes Agreement. Only 21% faculty responding agree that the condition of "quid pro quo" for more work/more pay was a fair part of the PQO document; 55% disagree. Nearly two-thirds of faculty either "disagree" or "strongly disagree" that CC/IFTE is an appropriate method for measuring teaching load.
Salary. Over 60% of faculty responding feel their base AY salary is appropriate compared to faculty with the same rank, experience, and time in service in their own departments; 25% do not agree. Nearly 80% do not agree that their base AY salary is appropriate compared to faculty with the same rank, experience, and time in service, in their discipline at other institutions. Over one-half of faculty agree that annual increases in salary have been equitably determined by their department and college; 33% disagree.
Benefits. Only 44% of faculty responding are satisfied with their health insurance coverage; over 50% are dissatisfied. Faculty are split (47%/46%) on whether or not out-of-pocket costs for health insurance are reasonable. Nearly two-thirds feel the university's Flexible Spending Plan should be continued.
Only 26% of faculty responding believe that the state's retirement package (TRS) is adequate for their needs; over one-third feel it is not adequate. Another one-third either do not know or do not feel this statement applies. Over 50% of faculty believe that the TIAA/CREF retirement package is adequate for their needs; 20% disagree.
From 66% to 72% of faculty responding feel that capstone courses provide a valuable senior experience (resource issues aside), the opportunity to participate in international education is important for our students, the University Honors Program serves an important role in providing challenging course work, and summer course offerings should be expanded. Although over 50% feel opportunities for entering students to take first-year seminars should be expanded, 26% do not agree.
Nearly one-half of faculty agree that faculty development programs sponsored by committees and centers offer valuable on-campus resources; 29% do not agree.
Approximately two-thirds of faculty responding either "disagree" or "strongly disagree" that the 150 credit limit on state-subsidized tuition allows students ample time to complete their degrees. Seventy percent disagree that the reduction in credits from 128 to 120 has increased the integrity of undergraduate programs.
Library and Information Resources
Faculty are evenly split (45%/45%) on their opinion of whether or not library resources are adequate to support undergraduate instruction. Nearly three-quarters, however, either "disagree" or "strongly disagree" that these resources are adequate to support graduate instruction.
Three-fifths of faculty responding do not agree that library resources adequately support undergraduate research. Three-fourths do not agree that these resources adequately support graduate research. In addition, over 70% do not agree that these resources adequately support their own research/creative activities.
Only 38% of faculty agree that the services provided by the Libraries adequately support campus users; 57% feel the services are inadequate.
Nearly two-thirds of faculty responding do not feel that entering undergraduate students are adequately prepared for college-level work. On the other hand, only 24% of faculty feel entering graduate students are not adequately prepared for graduate-level work.
Approximately three-fifths of faculty feel that adequate efforts are made to retain qualified students, and that sufficient advising opportunities are provided for students.
Of the many student services that are provided on our campus (Career Services, Counseling Center, Financial Aid, Math Learning Center, New Student Services, Registrar and Admissions, Resource Center, Student Health Services, Office of Student Affairs, and Writing Center), by far the majority of faculty who know about these services feel they are either "effective" or "very effective." It is important to note, however, that for every service with the exception of the Registrar and Admissions, a large percent of faculty indicate that they either do not know about these services or do not feel these statements apply.
Although approximately one-half of faculty agree that intellectual property rights policies, and faculty, staff, and student recruitment policies are appropriate for our campus, about 25% indicate that they either do not know or do not feel these statements apply.
Fifty-nine percent of faculty "agree" or "strongly agree" that the administration appropriately supports ethnic and gender diversity on this campus; however, nearly one-fifth either do not know or do not feel these statements apply. Approximately 50% agree that the university has adequate procedures for dealing with sexual harassment; over one-third either do not know or do not feel this statement applies. Forty-six percent feel that the university has adequate procedures for dealing with discrimination; over 40% either do not know or do not feel this statement applies.
Thirty percent of faculty responding agree that the administration acts appropriately when fraud is reported or discovered, although nearly one-half either don't know or do not feel this statement applies. Approximately half of faculty do not agree that the university appropriately communicates relevant information to all of its constituents, although nearly 28% agree.
Nearly 90% of faculty responding do not agree that their department's operating budget is adequate.
Approximately three-quarters of faculty responding either "disagree" or "strongly disagree" that the budgeting process at our university is an open process, and that faculty have adequate opportunity for input into the university budgetary process.
Although approximately 40% of faculty feel that both the student computer fee and equipment fee allocation processes are fair, another 40% either do not know or do not feel these statements apply.
Faculty. Approximately one-quarter of the faculty responding were teaching one or two different Core courses at the time this survey was administered. An additional 15% had taught Core courses at another time. Over one-half of faculty responding had never taught a Core course.
Nearly 60% of the faculty responding feel they are either "familiar" or "very familiar" with the learning objectives of the Core. The other 40% responded that they were either "somewhat familiar" or "not at all familiar" with these learning objectives.
Effectiveness. There are eight Core areas - Fine Arts, Humanities, Mathematics, Multicultural/Global, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Verbal Communication, and Written Communication. Faculty were asked to rate the effectiveness of each Core area in preparing majors for higher-level course work. The most effective area of Core, as judged by faculty, is Natural Sciences (61%). Next are Humanities (48%), Social Sciences (47%), Multicultural/Global (38%), and Fine Arts (37%). The basic skills areas had higher "ineffective" or "highly ineffective" responses. Although 43% feel Verbal Communication is effective, 33% feel it is ineffective. For Mathematics, 41% feel it is effective, although 31% feel it is ineffective. For Written Communication, 37% feel it is effective, and 41% feel it is ineffective.
Credits. The Core Curriculum requirement on our campus is based on thirty-two credits. Over one-half of faculty responding feel this number of credits is adequate to address Core learning objectives. Sixteen percent feel Core learning objectives cannot be adequately covered in thirty-two credits, and 21% feel the objectives can be adequately covered in less than thirty-two credits.
Faculty were asked their opinion on the appropriateness of the number of Core credits required in each core area. For Fine Arts, Humanities, Multicultural/Global, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences, the majority of those responding (49% to 62%) feel the number of credits is appropriate. For Mathematics, Verbal Communication, and Written Communication, however, the response was slightly different. In Mathematics, although nearly one-half of faculty responding feel the credits are appropriate, an additional one third feel the credits should be increased. For Verbal Communication, over one-half feel the credits are appropriate; however, 25% feel the credits should be increased. For Written Communication, in support of the faculty opinion that these courses are not effective, nearly 50% feel this credit requirement should be increased; only one-third feel it is appropriate. Although very few faculty feel the number of credits should not be reduced in any of the Core areas, over one-fifth responding feel the credits in Natural Sciences should be reduced. That percentage was approximately 15% for Humanities, Multicultural/Global, and Social Sciences. All other percentages regarding a reduction in credits were less than 4%.
Over forty percent of faculty feel the number of upper division Core courses should remain the same. Thirty percent feel fewer upper division courses should be offered. Thirteen percent favor increasing upper division Core courses.
Sixty-three percent of faculty responding feel there are additional areas that should be included in our Core Curriculum. The areas most frequently mentioned are computing and library skills.
Exemptions/Transfers. Sixty-percent of faculty responding feel a mathematics exemption should be created for students who score well in mathematics on the ACT and SAT exams (similar to the verbal exemption we now have). Nearly one-third of faculty, however, think the current mathematics requirements should be maintained.
Thirty-six percent of faculty responding feel the process by which transfer courses can be substituted for required Core courses is equitable; nearly 20% did not agree. Thirty-seven percent either do not know or do not feel the statement applies.
New Proposals. Thirty-seven percent of faculty feel students should be required to take their Core courses within the major. Nearly one-half feel these courses should be allowed to be taken outside of the major.
Sixty percent of faculty feel Core courses should be taught only by specialists in each Core area (unless "skills" courses or "Multicultural/Global courses). Nearly one-quarter do not agree with this statement.
Forty percent of faculty responding agree that core goals would be better met if all students were required to take a common set of courses during their first two years; however, nearly 50% disagree.
Only 21% agree that the goals of Core would be better met if all students were required to take upper division Core electives; nearly 60% disagree.
Forty-six percent of faculty feel Core courses should be clustered to allow an interdisciplinary focus. Twenty-seven percent do not agree.
Timing. Nearly four-fifths of faculty responding favor the proposal to require students to complete their "skills" courses (math, verbal communication, and written communication) before reaching junior standing. Only 11% oppose the proposal.
One-half of the faculty responding would like to see the Core completed before a student reaches junior standing. Forty percent oppose this proposal.
Funding. Although approximately 30% of faculty disagree that Core dollars are equitably allocated among colleges and departments, over 56% either do not know or do not feel these statements apply.
Re-Assessment. An overwhelming 77% of faculty feel that Core courses should be re-assessed by the Core Curriculum committee on a periodic basis. Nearly 70% feel the ongoing campus discussions about revising the Core are timely and should be encouraged.
Over one-half of the faculty responding either "agree" or "strongly agree" that Faculty Council represents the interests of the faculty; nearly one-third disagree. Fifty-eight percent do not agree that faculty have the opportunity to participate in setting university goals. Three-fifths of faculty do not agree that central administration carefully considers faculty views in matters in which faculty have a direct interest, and two-thirds do not feel central administration adequately communicates with faculty.
MSU Restructuring. Sixty-seven percent of faculty responding either "disagree" or "strongly disagree" that the restructuring of the Montana University System has benefitted the MSU-Bozeman campus.
Only 24% of faculty feel that the reputation of MSU-Bozeman remains unchanged even though there are other campuses in the state with similar names. Forty-five percent do not agree.
When asked to respond to the statement that out-of-state recruitment remains unchanged even though there are other campus in the state with similar names, nearly one-half of faculty indicated "Don't Know or N/A." Approximately 30%, however, disagreed.
Only 21% agree that faculty at other MSU campuses should be treated the same as Bozeman faculty regarding salaries, P&T, appointment to vacant positions, etc. Sixty-two percent disagree.
Facilities
Classrooms. Between 50% and 60% of faculty responding either "disagree" or "strongly disagree" that there are adequate choices of classrooms to fit teaching style, and that classrooms have sufficient computer connections for faculty instruction and students' needs, as well as sufficient A/V equipment.
From 59% to 64% of faculty feel that seating capacity is appropriate, acoustics are adequate, and seating and writing surfaces are in acceptable condition.
Labs and Studios. Large numbers of faculty (33% to 45%) selected "Don't Know or N/A" when responding to statements about the condition of labs, studios, equipment, and cabinetry. This is probably because many faculty do not teach or work in research labs or studios. This aside, faculty were generally split between "agree/strongly agree" and "disagree/strongly disagree" on the following statements - adequate choices of labs/studios to fit teaching style (29% agree/33% disagree), adequate labs/studios to accommodate research (28%/25%), adequate equipment in research labs/studios (25% /26% ), adequate cabinetry in instructional spaces (26%/30%), and adequate cabinetry in research labs/studios (27%/22%). Faculty did feel more strongly about the adequacy of the equipment in instructional labs/studios (24% agree/38% disagree).
Services. Sixty-seven percent of faculty responding agree that Custodial Services keeps classrooms adequately clean, although 29% do not agree. Faculty are split (51%/48%) on whether or not Custodial Services keeps their offices adequately clean.
Over one-half of faculty agree that the furnishings and equipment in classrooms are adequately maintained; 43% do not agree. Faculty are split (49%/47%) on whether or not the furnishings and equipment in their offices are adequately maintained.
Fifty-four percent of faculty do not agree that required maintenance for the furnishings and equipment in their department is performed in a timely manner (only 36% agree).
University Mission and Planning
Nearly 90% of faculty responding agree that the stated tripartite mission for MSU-Bozeman is appropriate to the activities of the university. Sixty-six percent feel that future decision-making should be guided by the Long-Range Plan (26% do not know or feel this statement does not apply).
Only 26% of faculty responding feel the process undertaken by the 1997-98 Special Review Committee has assisted the University in its planning efforts. Fifty-five percent do not know or feel this statement does not apply.
Only 26% of faculty responding feel the process undertaken by the 1998-99 Strategic Planning and Budget Committee will result in the implementation of more integrated budgetary and planning decisions. Fifty-four percent do not know or feel this statement does not apply.
Three questions were asked under this section. Responses represent the reasons most frequently given.
The first question was, "As a faculty member, what do you like most about MSU-Bozeman?" The top three reasons are: LOCATION (Bozeman, amenities, setting, environment), FACULTY (collegiality, professional relationships, quality), and STUDENTS (quality, interactions).
The second question was, "As a faculty member, what do you like least about MSU-Bozeman?" The top four reasons are: RESOURCES (budgets, politics, overall funding, allocation among departments, trying to do too much with too little, chronic funding shortages), ADMINISTRATION (prioritizing, reallocation of budgets to meet changing needs, communication, gender diversity, leadership), and SALARY (pay/workload, pay/years of service, pay/peers), LIBRARIES (limited holdings, funding, facilities).
The last question was open-ended to allow respondents to comment on any issue not included in the survey. The top responses were a reiteration of the four reasons given in the second question, with the addition of one issue: STUDENT UNPREPAREDNESS. Faculty commented on low admission standards, the need for remediation, and gross inadequacies in applied math and writing skills (including grammar) of entering freshmen.