What is COACHE?

The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) is a research-practice partnership based in the Harvard Graduate School of Education. COACHE studies the work lives of faculty with a focus on actionable data to support academic administrators. Studies are conducted in partnership with college and university leaders (both faculty and administrative) with an emphasis on using the data collected to improve the academic workplace.

In line with recommendations from the Commission for the Next Generation of Faculty, Georgia State is using the COACHE survey and improvement process to address multiple indicators of faculty satisfaction to improve recruitment, retention and engagement. This especially includes efforts to improve these factors for underrepresented minority (URM) faculty.

The survey covers the following standard questions, plus a custom set of questions asked for Georgia State’s survey:

Standard

• Nature of Work
• Resources and Support
• Cross-Silo Work and Mentorship
• Tenure and Promotion
• Institutional Leadership
• Shared Governance
• The Department
• Appreciation and Recognition
• Retention and Negotiation

Custom for Georgia State

• Overall satisfaction
• Experience of diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Mentorship
• Consolidation
• Service requirements

This effort is a multi-year improvement process, and you can learn more about the timeline here.

Where are the results?

A results summary is available here. Faculty have access to full quantitative data through iCollege.

How Are We Taking Action?

There is both a university-level action plan to address the findings and needs identified by the survey. Colleges, schools and institutes were also directed to create action plans at their own unit level, addressing the unique needs of each unit. You can learn more about the university level plan here. Our plan is below.

What is Our Plan?

The College of Education & Human Development committee recommends the following action plan to address areas of concern:

Provide a college level mentoring system focusing on promotion and career building by assistant and associate professors that compliments department efforts. Systems should account for a structured system as well as informal arrangements.

• Implementation of revised CEHD mentoring plan. An evaluation procedure will be established to be used to evaluated AY 21-22.
• Establish coordination with university and department mentoring efforts and resources. Inventories practices within each department.
• Investigate nationally available mentoring avenues, e.g., the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity.
• Establish a CEHD annual award for faculty who provide high quality mentoring to other faculty members.
• Evaluate faculty review structures (e.g., P&T and structured reviews) to determine how mentoring is factored into performance.

Encourage and reinforce interdisciplinary research and course development.

• Review promotion, pre-tenure, post-tenure, and annual review policies to propose wording that endorses interdisciplinary teaching and research.
• Develop a CEHD database that lists PIs and Co-PIs to be used during faculty evaluations and in our avenues of dissemination and public relations.
• Meet with directors of college centers to determine extent of interdisciplinary activity and how the centers can facilitate such activity.
• Establish a college award that acknowledges faculty for interdisciplinary research and teaching.
• On CEHD research website highlight interdisciplinary research activity.

Review of policies that address hiring and retention of faculty.

• Hiring:
  • Require members of search committees to complete professional learning module on Equity in Hiring.
  • Review diversity of outlets for publishing search announcements with recommendation for 2022.
  • Prepare policy on composition of search committees.
•  Retention:
  • Create annual survey of assistant professors to identify support needs.
  • Establish Exit Interviews and provide annual report to Faculty Affairs Committee.
  • Appoint committee to review CEHD data regarding faculty retention.
  • Evaluate retention components in new CEHD mentoring program.
  • Review policies of annual review and their relationship to merit raises; and how departments address substandard performance.

Will we receive updates about the College of Education & Human Development’s action plan progress?

Yes. The Office of the Provost has requested that units update their faculty through their unit-level websites. You will find updates, progress reports, and other relevant information through this website and other communications channels for our college in the future.

University-level updates are available at the COACHE at Georgia State website here.

The University Plan and Additional Information

Get more information about COACHE at Georgia State, including a summary of results, timeline, presentations, university-level updates, and the university plan below, along with a helpful link to the Office of Faculty Affairs.