This, the fifth in a series of OPRE Reports on the
results of the 1995-1996 Faculty Survey, describes faculty responses
to three groups of questions which examine faculty views of WPC.
In reviewing responses to this section of the survey, it may be
helpful to recall that faculty answered the survey in Fall 1995
and early Spring 1996. This was a period of transition for the
College which followed closely on the completion of Comprehensive
Analysis and included the appointment of a new Provost.
To what extent do the faculty agree with issues as they relate to WPC?
Faculty were asked about the extent of their agreement with a series of statements relating specifically to WPC. The percent of the faculty that strongly or somewhat agree with these statements is reported below.
WPC OTHER 4YR
ISSUE: M F ALL PUBLIC
Women faculty treated fairly here 94 71 85 83
Faculty of color treated fairly here 85 82 84 87
Faculty interested in students'academic problems 74 75 74 81
Faculty interested in students' personal problems 65 76 69 81
Faculty sensitive to minority issues 66 73 69 75
Faculty committed to welfare of institution 59 72 64 79
Courses include minority perspective 53 63 56 47
Student Affairs staff have support of faculty 52 6 53 57
People don't respect each other enough 50 58 53 35
Courses include feminist perspective 47 56 50 34
Low trust between minority student gps/admin 52 47 50 38
Administrators act in good faith 47 49 48 58
A lot of racial conflict here 30 33 31 13
Faculty committed to local community 26 28 27 60
Courses involve students in cmty service 13 18 15 23
Students are committed to cmty service 9 13 11 18
Students are well prepared academically 8 8 8 21
Institutional Issues
Several issues tap into faculty feelings about the
College and relationships among those who work here. Nearly two-thirds
agree, somewhat or strongly, that their colleagues are committed
to the welfare of the College. Fifty-three percent agree that
people don't respect each other enough and another 53 percent agree that student
affairs staff have the support of the faculty. Less than half
of the faculty, 48 percent, agree that administrators act in good
faith.
As we have seen throughout this series, female and
male faculty can view issues somewhat differently. For example,
more female than male faculty, 72 and 59 percent, respectively,
agree that the faculty are committed to the welfare of the institution.
Female faculty are also more likely to agree that people don=t
respect each other enough; 58 percent compared to 50 percent of
the male faculty.
Comparing WPC faculty to faculty at other four year
colleges also reveals some differences. Continuing with the issue
of people not respecting each other enough, 35 percent of faculty
at other four year public colleges agree that this is descriptive
of their colleges compared to 50 percent here. In a related question,
79 percent of those teaching at other four year institutions concur
that the faculty are committed to the welfare of their institutions
compared to 64 percent of WPC faculty. Fifty-eight percent of
faculty at other four year colleges agree that administrators
act in good faith, while 48 percent of WPC's
faculty agree with this statement.
Issues Related to Gender and Race
Several questions focus on women and minority member
issues. Eight out of ten faculty agree, somewhat or strongly,
that women faculty and faculty of color are treated fairly at
WPC and another 69 percent feel their colleagues are sensitive
to minority issues. Fifty-six percent agree that courses include
a minority perspective and 50 percent feel courses include a feminist
perspective. Half also agree that there is low trust between minority
student groups and the administration and 31 percent agree there
is a lot of racial conflict here.
Again, there is some variation in responses for male and female faculty. Seventy-one percent of female faculty compared to 94 percent of male faculty, somewhat or strongly agree, that women faculty are treated fairly here at the College. More female faculty, 56 percent, than male faculty, 47 percent, believe that courses include a feminist perspective. More female faculty, 63 percent, agree that courses include a minority perspective compared to 53 percent for male faculty. Fifty-two percent of male faculty agree that there is low trust between minority student groups and the administration and 47 percent of female faculty agree this is a campus issue.
Three-quarters of the faculty at other four year
public institutions and 69 percent of WPC faculty agree that their
faculty colleagues are sensitive to minority issues. Over half
of WPC faculty, 56 percent, and 47 percent of faculty at other
four year colleges agree that courses at their colleges include
a minority perspective. At WPC, 50 percent agree our courses include
a feminist perspective and 34 percent at other colleges agree
that this is so. Low trust between minority student groups and
the administration is seen as more of an issue by WPC faculty
than by those at other four year colleges, 50 percent compared
to 38 percent. Finally, 31 percent of WPC faculty agree there
is a lot of racial conflict on campus vs 13 percent of those at
other four year public institutions.
Student-Related Issues
Almost three-quarters of the WPC faculty feel that their colleagues show interest in students' academic problems. Another 69 percent agree that faculty are interested in students' personal problems. Female faculty are more likely to agree that faculty are interested in students'personal problems, 76 percent compared to 59 percent for male faculty.
A look at faculty interest in student problems at
other four year institutions finds 81 percent of their faculty,
compared to 69 percent at WPC, agree that the faculty at their
institutions are interested in students' personal problems. Finally, faculty in general do not feel students
are academically prepared for college. WPC faculty, however, were
somewhat more inclined to report this than faculty at other four
year public colleges; only eight percent of WPC faculty, compared
to 21 percent at other public institutions, agree that students
are academically well prepared.
Community Service Issues
Three out of ten WPC faculty agree that faculty are
committed to the local community, compared to six out of ten faculty
at other four year public institutions. The difference, in part,
may be explained by the large number of faculty who do not live
in the community where the College is located. Another survey
question points to a commitment to community service on the part
of the faculty; 84 percent have performed community service or
volunteer work within the last two years. Finally, on the whole,
faculty at both WPC and at other four year public colleges do
not find that courses engage students in community service nor
do they find students committed to performing community service.
How descriptive of WPC are certain items?
The table on page 3 summarizes another set of questions
that asked WPC faculty and faculty at other four year public institutions
to indicate which items on a list of attributes is very descriptive,
somewhat descriptive or not descriptive of their college.
OTHER 4YR
WPC PUBLIC
DESCRIPTIVE ATTRIBUTE: Some- Some-
Very what Very what
Faculty at odds with administration 57 34 24 47
This institution genuinely committed to helping
minority students succeed 31 57 31 32
Faculty here respect each other 21 70 27 64
Great deal of conformity among students 20 65 26 56
Easy to see faculty outside of offices hours 16 59 40 51
Most students are treated like numbers 9 41 4 26
Little student/faculty contact 8 38 2 25
Campus provides oppty for students to participate
in community service 6 60 12 68
Social activities are overemphasized 5 23 8 26
Intercollegiate sports overemphasized 5 21 19 28
Students don't usually socialize with one another 5 50 4 30
Faculty rewarded for being good teachers 3 32 11 52
Most students are very bright 2 30 10 40
Nine out of ten WPC faculty and seven out of ten
faculty at other four year public colleges find very or somewhat
descriptive of their campuses the statement that the faculty are
typically at odds with the campus administration. The percent
of WPC faculty who find this very descriptive is more than twice
as large as those at the other institutions, 57 percent vs 24
percent. On a somewhat related issue, the great majority of faculty
at WPC and at other four year public institutions say that it
is very or somewhat descriptive of their institutions that colleagues
are respectful of each other.
The percent of WPC faculty indicating that the statement
that faculty are rewarded for being good teachers is very or somewhat
descriptive is 35 percent compared to 63 percent of faculty at
other four year public colleges. In both cases, only a small percentage,
3 and 11 respectively, report this as very descriptive of their
colleges.
A little more than half the faculty at WPC and almost
three quarters of those at other four year public institutions
say that little faculty/student contact is NOT descriptive of
their campuses. In a related question, 49 percent of WPC faculty
and 30 percent of those at other four year public colleges indicate
that treating students like numbers is very or somewhat descriptive
of their colleges. Seventy-five percent of WPC and 91 percent
of faculty at other public institutions agree that it is very
or somewhat descriptive of their institution that it is easy to
see faculty outside of office hours. The percent at WPC saying
it is very descriptive is 16 percent compared to 40 percent at
the other institutions.
Over 70 percent of WPC faculty feel an over emphasis
on social activities or intercollegiate sports is NOT descriptive
of our campus. Faculty at other four year public colleges however,
do find an overemphasis on intercollegiate sports somewhat more
descriptive of their campuses.
What do faculty view as the priorities at WPC?
Faculty were asked to review a list of college priorities
and indicate how high a priority they believed each one was for
the campus. The issues presented to the faculty roughly fell into
three areas: student development, diversity and college image/prestige
issues. The percents are found on the following page. A majority
of WPC faculty, 64 percent, said that promoting the intellectual
development of students was high or of the highest priority for
the campus. A majority of faculty at other four year public institutions,
73 percent, also have this as their first priority. Slightly over
40 percent for both sets of faculty said helping students understand
values is a high priority issue on campus. More faculty at other
four year public institutions, 44 percent, than faculty
at WPC, 35 percent, reported that developing leadership abilities
in students is a high priority on campus.
Fifty-nine percent of WPC faculty said hiring more
minority faculty and administrators is a high or highest priority
compared to 42 percent at other four year public institutions.
Fifty-eight percent of WPC faculty indicate that creating a multi-cultural
campus environment is a high/highest priority. For those at other
public four year colleges, the comparable percent is 50. As well,
58 percent of the WPC faculty indicated that recruiting more minority
students is a high campus priority; the comparable figure at other
four year public institutions is 53 percent. Hiring more women
faculty and administrators was cited as a high campus priority
by 47 percent of WPC faculty and 43 percent of other four year
public institution faculty.
Turning to the last set of issues. Forty-nine percent
of WPC faculty cited increasing/maintaining institutional prestige
as a high priority issue on campus and 63 percent of the faculty
at other public four year colleges said this was a high or highest
priority at their institutions. Another 36 percent of WPC faculty
say enhancing the institution's
national image is a high priority compared to 53 percent of the
faculty at these other public colleges who say this is an issue
of the highest or of a high priority.
ISSUE: OTHER 4YR
WPC PUBLIC
Promote the intellectual development of students 64 73
Hire more minority faculty/administrators 59 42
Create a campus multi-cultural environment 58 50
Recruit more minority students 58 53
Increase/maintain institutional prestige 49 63
Hire more women faculty/administrators 47 43
Help students understand values 44 43
Develop sense of community among students & faculty 41 42
Enhance institution's national image 36 53
Develop leadership ability in students 35 44
Help students to learn how to bring about change in society 26 25
Facilitate students involvement in community service 26 30
Hire "faculty" stars 12 16