University Data Reveals a Need for Additional Resources to Support Preparation

towards Tenure and Promotion

   A major expectation of NSF-ADVANCE institutions is an extensive self-study that includes collection and analysis of university data. With that in mine, MU-ADVANCE reviewed promotion and tenure outcomes for STEM departments within the College of Information Technology and Engineering, College of Liberal Arts, College of Science, and the School of Medicine. University data revealed that in these departments, 74% of women and 99% of men were successful in obtaining tenure and/or promotion for academic years 2003/04 through 2006/07 (Table 1). This data is consistent with the NSF Special Report (2004, Gender Differences in the Careers of Academic Scientists and Engineers) which reports that women are less likely to be tenured than men citing family characteristics as a contributing factor to the likelihood of tenure success.

   According to the faculty survey administered by MU-ADVANCE to both male and female STEM faculty, women ranked their departments higher than men did in terms of doing a good job in articulating requirements for tenure and promotion, but gave lower scores concerning yearly evaluations and recommendations of how to improve their job performance.  However, there were no significant differences in the rankings between genders for any of the responses to the tenure and promotion question (Table 2).  These findings are consistent with those reported by The Collaborative On Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) Tenure-Track Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey Report (2007) which indicates that junior faculty were most clear about the tenure process and least clear about tenure standards.  However, in that report Female faculty reported less clarity concerning the tenure process, whereas women at Marshall tended to be more positive about clarity of the process.

   Taken together, these data indicate a need for support with tenure and promotion preparation and, further, a need for programs that support scholarly activities that strengthen academic achievement. MU-ADVANCE advocates making the tenure and promotion system more transparent. The MU-ADVANCE Faculty Development Committee is looking into tenure and promotion policies and has started a resource site that includes current college guidelines, deadlines, and on-line resources.  MU-ADVANCE also offers support for grant-proposal preparation, a writing group, website development, and mentoring for new faculty.

Table 1. Promotion and tenure outcomes for STEM departments   compiled for academic years 2003/2004 through 2006/2007.
  # Review # Approvals # Denials
  Women Men Women Men Women Men
Promotion 13 20 9 19 4 1
Tenure 10 15 8 15 2 0

 

Table 2. Average scores for selected tenure and promotion questions from MU-ADVANCE STEM faculty survey, April 2007. Scale: 4 = strongly agree; 3=agree; 2=disagree; 1 = strongly disagree.

Tenure and Promotion Questions

women

men

Across Marshall University

 

 

faculty members are usually promoted or given opportunities based on good performance.

2.66

2.81

Within my college

 

 

the requirements for tenure and promotion are clearly articulated.

2.93

2.73

faculty members are usually promoted or given opportunities based on good performance.

2.59

2.98

Within my department

 

 

the administration clearly communicates performance expectations for me.

3.25

2.82

has usually promoted or given opportunities based on good performance.

3.24

2.79

my colleagues’ provide me helpful advice on career issues.

3.07

2.32

faculty members receive accurate and timely information about their progress toward tenure or promotion.

2.79

2.84

my annual performance review is based on how well I perform my job.

2.97

2.76

my annual performance review is evaluated in person with me at least once a year.

2.62

3.00

my annual performance review provides useful recommendations on how I can improve my job performance.

2.52

2.48

Average for all responses

2.86

2.75

 

References:

National Science Foundation – Special Report (2004) Gender Differences in the Careers of Academic Scientists and Engineers:  A Literature Review.

The Collaborative On Academic Careers in Higher Education Tenure-Track Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey - Highlights Report, August 1, 2007, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

 

 

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