About the COACHE Survey

The COACHE Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey is a continuing multi-year project led by the UTA Faculty Senate to collect information from faculty about their work-life that serves as the basis for collaborative planning and implementation of change.

The survey was first deployed in spring 2021, after more than a decade since a systematic survey of UT Arlington faculty members had been conducted. All full-time faculty employed by the University in fall 2020 were eligible to participate. Survey questions captured UT Arlington faculty members’ experiences with teaching, research, and service; tenure and promotion; engagement and collegiality; appreciation and recognition; faculty and administrative leadership; shared governance; interdisciplinary work, collaboration, and mentoring; personal and family policies; and other drivers of faculty satisfaction.

In its first deployment of the COACHE survey, UTA gained the highest overall response rate among all universities across the US administering the survey that same year. Subsequent to receiving the report of results, the faculty-led steering committee expanded, adding additional faculty and administrators to form an Evaluation, Review, and Initiatives Committee (the ERIC). This committee of 15 original members formed 7 sub-committees that analyzed the COACHE data around specific topics and made 45 actionable recommendations to improve faculty work life at UTA. Both the report of overall results and infographics made from the subcommittee reports were shared with the campus and published on the UTA COACHE page. Increases in faculty salaries and enhanced support for graduate students are among the most impactful decision-making that was influenced by the COACHE data and recommendations. These are just two of many initiatives around campus that are underway to improve faculty satisfaction following on from COACHE recommendations.

The second implementation of the COACHE faculty job satisfaction survey launches in 2025. The survey will be open to full-time faculty from February until April. Findings from this survey will allow us to benchmark in relation to the 2021 results, leading to an improved campus workplace and increased faculty productivity.

About the COACHE product

UTA partnered with the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education, or COACHE, for the administration of the Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey.

COACHE is a “research-practice partnership with the Harvard Graduate School of Education ... dedicated to the discovery of and insight into the postsecondary faculty experience.” The COACHE FSS has been developed over numerous years with more than 250 colleges and universities having administered the survey on their campuses. The COACHE survey product offers participating universities the opportunity to suggest custom questions in addition to the standard questions provided, which UTA opted to do. Additionally, COACHE provides comparative data from appropriate peer institutions.

The Faculty Senate at UTA spent over a year researching faculty satisfaction surveys at institutions of higher education. Additionally, research was conducted among University of Texas System institutions as to their experience with faculty satisfaction surveys. The COACHE FSS was identified as a national and international leader in the area. The COACHE product has been used by numerous UT System institutions in recent years, including at the University of Texas at Austin.