This document contains results of the 2000 Faculty Survey for the College of Arts and Sciences (79 faculty members responding). Results from the previous two Faculty Surveys in 1998 and 1999 are provided for comparison's sake (when possible).
| Years Teaching | April 2000 |
| 5 or less | 15.8% |
| 6 to 15 | 39.5% |
| 16 to 30 | 32.9% |
| 31 and over | 11.8% |
| Years Teaching at USA | April 2000 |
| 5 or less | 35.1% |
| 6 to 15 | 37.7% |
| 16 to 30 | 20.8% |
| 31 and over | 6.5% |
| Do you have tenure? | April 2000 |
| Yes | 58.2% |
| No | 41.8% |
Faculty were asked, on a scale of 1 to 5, to indicate their confidence in, or opinion of, the effectiveness of the following USA personnel. On the scale, 1 represented "very poor" and 5 represented "excellent." The higher, the better.
| April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 | |
| President | 3.15 | 3.1 | 2.9 |
| Vice-President for Academic Affairs | 2.54 | 2.4 | 3.3 |
| Vice-President for Medical Affairs | 3.08 | 2.6 | 2.6 |
| Vice-President for Financial Affairs | 3.19 | 3.1 | not asked |
| Vice-President for Student Affairs | 3.23 | 3.3 | not asked |
| Your Own Dean | 3.79 | 3.6 | 3.5 |
Faculty were asked, on a scale of 1 to 5, to indicate their opinion of their own college's dean. On the scale, 1 represented "very poor" and 5 represented "excellent." The higher, the better.
| Evaluate Your Dean on each of these matters | April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 |
| Honors all promises and commitments | 4.14 | 3.7 | 3.6 |
| Is impartial and professional in evaluating the performance of co-workers | 4.22 | 3.9 | 3.8 |
| Informs faculty of developments critical to the accomplishment of the mission of the unit | 3.72 | 3.2 | 3.2 |
| Conveys administrative expectations in a clear and effective manner | 3.59 | 3.2 | 3.2 |
| Encourages new initiatives which are logical extensions of existing programs | 3.45 | 3.3 | 3.1 |
| Seeks and dedicates ample resources to assure success/completion of an assignment | 3.41 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
| Is a proficient and productive administrator, and should be retained | 3.65 | 3.8 | 3.5 |
| Recruiting and Hiring | April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 |
| How satisfied are you with USA's ability to recruit and hire quality upper-level administrators (VPs, Deans)? | 2.00 | 2.1 | 1.9 |
| How satisfied are you with USA's ability to recruit and hire quality department chairs? | 3.19 | 3.2 | 3.1 |
| How satisfied are you with USA's ability to recruit and hire quality faculty members? | 3.55 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
| Retaining Personnel | April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 |
| How satisfied are you with USA's ability to retain high quality upper level administrators? | 2.35 | 2.3 | 1.9 |
| How satisfied are you with USA's ability to retain high quality department chairs? | 3.13 | 3.3 | 3.0 |
| How satisfied are you with USA's ability to retain high quality faculty members? | 2.96 | 3.2 | 2.9 |
| Fair Promotion of Personnel | April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 |
| How satisfied are you with USA's ability to assure fair promotion of upper level administrators? | 1.80 | 1.7 | 2.0 |
| How satisfied are you with USA's ability to assure fair promotion of department chairs? | 3.02 | 2.9 | 3.0 |
| How satisfied are you with USA's ability to assure fair promotion of faculty members? | 3.38 | 3.3 | 2.9 |
| Teaching | April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 |
| At USA, how would you rate the importance of teaching
performance to your personal career satisfaction? (1="of no importance"; 5="very important") |
4.34 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| How much emphasis do faculty leaders and administrators at
USA place on effective teaching for career advancement? (1="too little emphasis"; 5="excessive emphasis") |
2.77 | 2.8 | 2.4 |
| Are you provided with adequate and appropriate resources to
teach effectively at USA? (1="very inadequate"; 5="very adequate") |
2.92 | 3.0 | 2.7 |
| Research and Publications/Creative Work | April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 |
| At USA, how would you rate the importance of research or
creative work to your personal career satisfaction? (1="of no importance"; 5="very important") |
4.06 | 4.2 | 4.1 |
| How much emphasis do faculty leaders and administrators at
USA place on research or creative work for career advancement? (1="too little emphasis"; 5="excessive emphasis") |
3.52 | 3.5 | 3.8 |
| Are you provided with adequate and appropriate resources to
conduct research or creative work at USA? (1="very inadequate"; 5="very adequate") |
2.58 | 2.6 | 2.7 |
| Service and Leadership | April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 |
| At USA, how would you rate the importance of institutional
service to your personal career satisfaction? (1="of no importance"; 5="very important") |
3.35 | 3.3 | 3.2 |
| How much emphasis do faculty leaders and administrators at
USA place on institutional service for career advancement? (1="too little emphasis"; 5="excessive emphasis") |
2.77 | 2.8 | 2.7 |
| Are you provided with adequate and appropriate resources to
engage in institutional service at USA? (1="very inadequate"; 5="very adequate") |
2.86 | 3.0 | 2.9 |
| April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 | |
| How satisfied are you with the USA Computer Services Center
in terms of its ability to keep abreast of the latest technologies? (1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied") |
3.03 | 3.2 | 3.1 |
| How satisfied are you with the USA Computer Services Center
in terms of the services provided? (1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied") |
3.03 | 3.1 | 3.1 |
Faculty were asked to respond to these questions for the library (or libraries) they use.
| University Library | April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 |
| How satisfied are you with the USA Library in terms of its
ability to keep you abreast of the latest trends and developments in the
field of your research? (1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied") |
2.97 | 2.9 | 2.9 |
| How satisfied are you with the services provided by the
Library faculty and staff? (1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied") |
4.14 | 4.1 | 4.0 |
| How satisfied are you with the electronic library and
Internet-based services provided by the Library? (1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied") |
3.55 | 3.6 | 3.4 |
| Biomedical Library | April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 |
| How satisfied are you with the Biomedical Library in terms
of its ability to keep you abreast of the latest trends and developments
in the field of your research? (1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied") |
3.28 | 3.4 | 3.2 |
| How satisfied are you with the services provided by the
Library faculty and staff? (1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied") |
3.74 | 3.4 | 3.3 |
| How satisfied are you with the electronic library and
Internet-based services provided by the Library? (1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied") |
3.67 | 3.4 | 3.3 |
Figures for 1998 and 1999 were rounded to the nearest 10% when originally reported and are reproduced as approximations here.
| If you had a variety of professional options, would you prefer to: | April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 |
| Remain at USA with little or no change in duties | 39% | ~50% | ~40% |
| Remain at USA with significant change in duties | 25% | ~20% | ~20% |
| Move to another institution | 33% | ~30% | ~30% |
| Move to non-academic employment | 3% | ~10% | <10% |
| April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 | |
| How satisfied are you with opportunities currently provided
by USA to concentrate on what you do best? (1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied") |
2.85 | 3.2 | 3.0 |
| How do you feel about your degree of academic freedom within
the classroom? (1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied") |
4.23 | 4.3 | 4.2 |
| How satisfied are you with the amount of freedom you have at
USA to express your opinions regarding University policies and procedures? (1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied") |
2.96 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
Note: the question used in previous years regarding the Faculty Senate was divided into two parts for this year's survey and thus cannot be directly compared. The previous question read "The Faculty Senate serves as an effective representative body." In the April 1999 survey, this question received a mean response from Arts & Sciences faculty members of 3.0; in the May 1998 survey, the question received a mean response of 2.7.
| April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 | |
| The organization and administration of the University allow
the Faculty Senate to serve as an effective representative body (1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree") |
2.61 | not asked in this form | not asked in this form |
| Members of the Senate work hard and concentrate on the
proper issues to promote faculty interests effectively (1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree") |
3.66 | not asked in this form | not asked in this form |
| The USA Board of Trustees serves as an effective governing
body for the institution (1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree") |
2.31 | 2.0 | not asked |
| The USA Foundation Board serves as an effective body in
managing USA's endowment (1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree") |
1.50 | 1.7 | not asked |
| Please rate the USA Bookstore in terms of providing adequate
and affordable services, materials, and texts to your students (1="very poor"; 5="excellent") |
2.85 | 2.7 | 2.5 |
| Please rate the idea of establishing a conference center on
the main campus for meetings, seminars, retreats, etc. (1="very poor"; 5="excellent") |
3.58 | not asked | not asked |
| April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 | |
| USA should move to establish a football team at the present
time. (1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree") |
1.64 | 1.7 | 1.4 |
| I would support a football team now if it could be funded
entirely from ticket sales, city contributions, student athletic fees, and
separate fund-raising with no money coming from the University's
Operations and Maintenance budget or from the USA Foundation. (1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree") |
2.69 | not asked | not asked |
| I would conceivably support starting a football team in five
years under the funding criteria listed in the previous question. (1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree") |
2.80 | not asked | not asked |
| I find it acceptable to use money from USA's operating
budget to support football. (1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree") |
1.26 | not asked | not asked |
| I find it acceptable to use money from the USA Foundation to
support football. (1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree") |
1.34 | not asked | not asked |
| I would support using money from the university's operating
budget to pay for additional programs made necessary by the addition of
football, such as tutoring, new athletic programs to satisfy gender-equity
requirements, related facilities, etc. (1="very poor"; 5="excellent") |
1.36 | not asked | not asked |
| April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 | |
| Rate the idea of having a day-care facility on campus: (1="very poor"; 5="excellent") |
4.20 | not asked | not asked |
| Do you have children of day care age (pre-K)? (if no, skip the remaining questions in this section) | Yes 11% (8 faculty members) No 89% |
| Do you use a day care facility for your children? (Note: due to the fact that 12 more faculty members responded to this question than answered "yes" in the previous question, these results should be approached with caution) |
Yes 25% No 75% |
| If child day care that met your needs were available on the
main campus, would you use it if it charged rates comparable to other
centers in the community? (Note: due to the fact that 4 more faculty members responded to this question than answered "yes" in the first question in this group, these results should also be approached with caution) |
Yes 67% No 33% |
| April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 | |
| How satisfied are you with your
ability to make timely appointments with your primary care physician? (1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied") |
3.35 | 3.1 | 2.9 |
| How satisfied are you with your
ability to make timely unscheduled (emergency) appointments with a
physician? (1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied") |
3.11 | 3.1 | 3.0 |
| How satisfied are you with the speed
with which you are seen (time in waiting room)? (1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied") |
2.92 | 2.9 | 2.8 |
| If you have had problems with the
administration of the USA Health Plan, please rate the handling of appeals
and resolution of your problems. (1="very poor"; 5="excellent") |
2.59 | 2.5 | 2.7 |
| How satisfied are you with the overall
provision of services under the USA Health Plan? (1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied") |
3.07 | 3.0 | 2.8 |
| How has the overall quality of USA
medical services changed over the last five years? (1="declined"; 5="improved") |
2.55 | 2.6 | 2.4 |
| April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 | |
| How important is Internet access to
your teaching? (1="not important"; 5="very important") |
4.24 | 3.9 | 3.78 |
| How important is Internet access to
your research? (1="not important"; 5="very important") |
4.48 | 4.5 | 4.19 |
| How important is it in your teaching
and lecturing to utilize technology in the classroom? (1="not important"; 5="very important") |
3.92 | not asked | not asked |
| How satisfied are you with your
technology resources in the classroom? (1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied") |
2.50 | not asked | not asked |
| How satisfied are you with your
computing resources at work? (1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied") |
3.32 | not asked | not asked |
| How satisfied are you with your access
to help on technology issues? (1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied") |
2.97 | not asked | not asked |
| April 2000 | April 1999 | May 1998 | |
| There are adequate supports for
developing distance learning courses (1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree") |
2.56 | not asked | not asked |
| There is adequate time allotted to
develop and to teach distance learning courses. (1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree") |
2.13 | not asked | not asked |
| There are adequate rewards for
developing distance learning courses. (1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree") |
1.96 | not asked | not asked |
| Distance learning should be a priority
for USA. (1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree") |
2.51 | not asked | not asked |
| I am satisfied with the services
provided by eCollege. (1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree") |
2.50 | not asked | not asked |
| The university has a systematic plan
for developing distance learning courses. (1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree") |
2.25 | not asked | not asked |
| Faculty should retain intellectual
property rights to distance learning courses and materials they develop. (1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree") |
4.51 | not asked | not asked |
End of Survey Results
Back to the 2000 USA Faculty Survey Home Page
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University of South Alabama -
Faculty Senate - HUMB 344 - Mobile, AL 36688-0002 / (334) 460-7610 |