Survey Impact
Emory is committed to providing faculty with the resources and support they need to advance their fields and create a vibrant intellectual community through their teaching, research, scholarship and service.
The COACHE Faculty Satisfaction Survey plays an important role in these efforts by informing actionable plans to enhance the faculty experience at Emory.
The survey captures faculty feedback on areas of strength and opportunities for improvement as part of a three-year cycle that also includes time for response at the school and university levels.
Following careful analysis of survey results, the COACHE Steering Committee and school leaders craft recommendations that will guide plans to further support faculty and address opportunities for improvement.
Working together, faculty and school leaders determine a course of action and a timeline for implementation. The Office of the Provost and Faculty Affairs follow schools’ progress and monitor the university’s efforts to continuously elevate the faculty experience.
Actions Taken in Response to the 2020 COACHE Faculty Satisfaction Survey
The 2020 COACHE survey yielded recommendations across a range of topics, including the tenure and promotion process, compensation, family-friendly university policies and support for mentoring, among others.
Over the following two years, schools developed and implemented action plans to address findings at the school level, complemented by university-level initiatives to respond to faculty input. A few highlights are summarized below.
The 2020 COACHE survey found mixed satisfaction with leave policies, especially parental leave, due in part to variations across schools. Acting on these results, in May 2022, Emory expanded its parental leave policy to offer faculty who experience the birth or adoption of a child a minimum of six weeks of paid leave.
Faculty interest in family-friendly policies and support for work/life balance continues. In the 2023 COACHE Faculty Satisfaction Survey, faculty across all ranks expressed concern about access to childcare, which will be an area of focus for the COACHE Steering Committee.
Read more: Emory expands paid parental leave policy for faculty
After COACHE 2020 findings identified opportunities to improve compensation practices, the Office of the Provost in 2021 initiated a university-wide review of faculty compensation in partnership with our schools. Each school was charged with conducting an internal examination to identify opportunities to improve the clarity, transparency and consistency of their compensation practices.
This focus on compensation continues within the schools and the Office of the Provost, with a standardized annual review process implemented in 2023.
To help ensure competitive, fair compensation, each school conducts a detailed analysis of salaries by gender, rank, race, time in position, and other factors as part of the annual budget process. In addition, schools compare salaries to external market data where available. The Office of the Provost conducts a concurrent independent review to help identify any equity gaps that need to be addressed.
The COACHE survey conducted in spring 2023 showed that faculty remain concerned about compensation (at levels similar to peers nationwide). Improving compensation practices will continue to be an area of focus for the COACHE Steering Committee and school leaders.
Read more: COACHE survey paves the way to best practices for faculty compensation
Faculty value Emory’s commitment to mentorship. In the 2020 COACHE Faculty Satisfaction Survey, faculty in every school rated the importance and effectiveness of mentorship positively. In nearly every instance, Emory’s score met or exceeded those of its 2020 peer universities.
Emory’s support of mentorship benefits current faculty, and plays a role in the recruitment and achievement of new faculty, whose desire to succeed matches the university’s. In response to recommendations to expand mentorship opportunities, the Office of Faculty Affairs increased opportunities for faculty to engage in programs and workshops offered by the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity, and Emory’s Center for Faculty Development and Excellence continued to grow its Faculty Mentorship Network program to match faculty mentors and mentees across the university.
Read more: Meet your next mentor at the Center for Faculty Development and Excellence
Results of the 2020 COACHE Faculty Satisfaction Survey indicate that Emory faculty overwhelmingly agree that tenure decisions are performance-based. Results of the 2023 survey indicate that faculty have a strong understanding of the requirements of tenure.
The clarity of the tenure process, identified as a concern by the 2020 survey, has improved. Opportunity for improvement remains, especially regarding when and how faculty should approach promotion to full professor.
In the time since the 2020 survey, Emory has invested broadly in the recognition of faculty eminence. To ensure clear career trajectories for clinical, research and teaching (CRT) faculty and better recognize their progression, Emory leadership recommended new, streamlined titles and ranks for these faculty, which were approved by the Board of Trustees in spring 2022.
The university has also prioritized support for faculty nominations and awards, including teaching awards. As an example of progress, the number of faculty elected each year to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and American Academy of Arts and Sciences, increased 82% between 2016-2019 and 2020-2023 (from an average of 2.8 to an average of 5 annually). In addition, Emory identified Faculty Eminence as a key focus of the 2O36 capital campaign, and has generated more than 25 endowed chairs thanks to generous donor support.
Learn more about tenure and promotion and faculty success and recognition at Emory.
Each school developed action plans in response to the 2020 COACHE survey, which provided reports at both university and school levels.
View highlights of school plans and actions
In response to the 2023 COACHE School Reports, school leaders and faculty will develop recommendations and begin to implement action plans in the spring and summer of 2024.