Why should institutions participate in COACHE?

Academic leaders at COACHE sites use the survey data to focus attention, to spot successes
and weaknesses, to compare results with a self-selected set of peer institutions, and then
to take concrete steps to make policies and practices more effective and more prevalent.
The COACHE Institutional Report pinpoints problem areas, whether within a particular policy
or practice, academic area, or demographic.

Colleges and universities are realizing the value of their investment in COACHE by using their
diagnostic data to effect:

• Significant changes in policy or practice;
  
• Modifications in recruitment and retention strategies;
  
• Important dialogues and discussions among academic administrators;
  
• Targeted efforts to resolve the concerns of particular populations (e.g.,
  women, men, faculty of color) or particular disciplines (e.g., the sciences,
  humanities, professional schools);
• Redistribution of institutional resources.

Click here for specific examples of what members are doing with their COACHE results.

What do COACHE members receive?

Participating institutions receive diagnostic tools designed for academic leaders.

• Institutional report: Presents faculty responses at your campus overall, by gender,
  race, and academic area, and provides statistical comparisons with national and peer
  groups. It is a management tool providing internal and external benchmarks and data
  on actionable matters.
• Executive summary: Compiles survey results into a quick reference for accessing key findings.
• Frequency tables: Provide local, peer, and national distributions of results overall, by gender, and by race for every COACHE survey dimension.
• Institutional data file: Allows additional, in-depth analyses using faculty-level responses to individual items (optional).

The survey instrument and a sample report generated for a pilot institution are available for download. Click here to view the download page. The format of your university's report may differ, as we modify reports to better serve COACHE members.

How is the COACHE Survey administered?

There are two survey periods each academic year: from October through January, and from February through May.

• Provide a faculty population data file containing e-mail addresses and some
  demographic data for all full-time, tenure-track faculty;
• Send a letter introducing COACHE to eligible faculty;
• Update local spam filters and firewalls to grant COACHE access to faculty.

COACHE:

• Receives annual approval from Harvard University’s Committee on the Useof Human Subjects and ensures compliance throughout the survey period;
• E-mails survey invitations to eligible faculty;
• Follows up with non-respondents and partial-respondents;
• Manages data and technical support;
• Delivers analysis of institutional and peer results;
• Offers additional post-survey support and results interpretation upon request.

The COACHE survey instrument takes about 20 minutes to complete. Respondents can stop, save, and resume the survey at any time. In our most recent administration of the COACHE survey, we achieved an average response rate exceeding 65 percent.

Why survey only tenure-track faculty?

An important purpose of COACHE is to learn what tenure-track faculty have to say. The concerns of junior faculty differ from those of their senior colleagues and they have fewer opportunities to express their views candidly and confidentially. In broader surveys, the voices of junior faculty are lost, and institutions are no better informed to improve the quality of work/life for the next generation of scholars. In addition, the experiences of COACHE institutions suggest that improving the work/life of junior faculty in fact benefits senior faculty as well.

How does COACHE help institutions understand and use their results?

After participating institutions receive their reports, COACHE staff members provide, on a fee-for-service basis, a number of ancillary services, including:

• Guided tours through COACHE data
• Tutorials on best practices in targeted areas
• Workshops for deans, department chairs, and faculty
• Special reports for custom comparisons and deeper insight
  

What does it cost to participate in COACHE?

The institutional participation fee is equivalent to the cost of a keynote speaker or a faculty development seminar, a fraction of the expense associated with the departure and replacement of a dissatisfied but productive junior faculty member. This is to say nothing of the cost of not knowing whether and why your tenure-track faculty find their work fulfilling and their work environment supportive.

What is the typical COACHE timetable?

For greatest flexibility in coordinating your self-assessment efforts, COACHE provides two survey administration periods per academic year. Please note, however, that the registration deadline for each is the same (September 15). Click here for a complete timeline.

We are currently enrolling institutions for our 2007-08 cohort. Please have your institution contact us now for consideration for the next cohort of participants.

How do I register for COACHE?

For more information about reserving a slot in an upcoming administration of the COACHE Survey, please call 1-617-496-9344 or 1-617-496-9348.

You may also e-mail us at coache@gse.harvard.edu.