Using HERI Faculty Survey Results
John’s favorite survey might be the YFCY, but I confess I love the Faculty Survey (I know I can’t be the only one!) I used it at all the institutions I worked at, and always found it a helpful source of information about the faculty that I could not find elsewhere, as well as a useful tool to start discussions about pedagogy, and how that relates to students’ experiences on campus. There have been a number of updates to the reporting for the Faculty Survey, so before you start using the results on campus, you will want to give yourself some time to become familiar with the nature of the data, the reports, and the “story” your institutions’ results tell.
HERI Faculty Reports and Resources
Each institution who participates in the HERI Faculty Survey receives several reports and a data file to better understand your results. The reports are delivered via our web portal (www.cirpsurveys.com). The data file, codebook, and Faculty Monograph are also available through the portal.
• The Institutional Profile describes the results of the survey at your institution. The Institutional Profile provides the full frequencies, means, statistical tests and effect sizes for appropriately scaled survey items comparing your institution to your comparison groups, with separate results broken out by gender. Separate tabs within this report show the results for full-time faculty, all respondents, part-time faculty, graduate only faculty, and academic administrators.
• HERI Faculty Construct Report describes the results for 12 indicators of educational practices, behaviors, values, and outcomes for the faculty (e.g., Student-Centered Pedagogy). The Construct Report includes weighted scores, statistical tests, and effect sizes allowing you to compare your institution with comparison groups, with results broken out by gender.
• Theme Reports locate relevant items from the survey together for easy access (e.g., Diversity). By examining items together the Theme Report can be used to illustrate what contributes to a specific area of interest and facilitate discussion on campus. Themes provide summarized frequencies, means, statistical tests and effect sizes comparing your institution with comparison groups
• An institution’s Data File allows for additional analysis to be conducted locally.
• The Codebook provides details of each question, variable name and response set
• The Monograph is titled The American College Teacher: National Norms for the 2010-11 HERI Faculty Survey, and provides an overview of national trends among faculty. The monograph will be uploaded to the portal in the fall of 2011.
Additionally, the HERI Faculty Survey webpage (https://www.heri.ucla.edu/facoverview.php) contains several important documents and resources, including copies of the HERI Faculty Instrument (PDF) https://www.heri.ucla.edu/researchers/instruments/FACULTY/2010FAC.PDF
Communicating HERI Faculty Results
Every institution approaches their survey results differently, taking into account their mission, goals, programs, and policies on campus. Here are several suggestions for how to approach your results:
• Determine which items and CIRP Constructs are particularly relevant and where they fit in to processes at your institution (e.g., Accreditation, Strategic Planning, and specific campus initiatives).
• Try to avoid the “data dump.” Instead, aim to establish a dialog about the results. Package results in smaller bits and pieces around relevant issues on campus. Theme and construct reports can facilitate this process.
• When talking with others on campus about the results, three questions often get people talking productively about survey results. Those there questions are: “Are these results what we were expecting?”, “Why do these results look the way they do?”, and “What other information do we have about this issue?” Use the questions or suggestions that arise (e.g., “I wonder if there is a difference between assistant and associate professors on…” as a way to continue and advance discussion and turn knowledge into action. The bottom line is how to use the information to help improve the experience at your institution.
• Consider matching HERI Faculty Survey data with results from student surveys or other institutional data as a way to further discussions, and provide additional institutional context.
• Meet with those on campus responsible for faculty development and undergraduate improvement initiatives to begin sharing results and discussing ways in which the results can be used in discussions of teaching and learning, faculty development, and institutional goals and priorities.
• Contact HERI (heri@ucla.edu) for additional consultation on maximizing the HERI Faculty Survey results on campus.
