A faculty-wide survey administered in early 2024 reveals that just 51% of faculty are satisfied with Bates as a place of work, down from 78% in 2018. The preliminary survey results were presented at the Nov. 4 faculty meeting. 

Designed by Harvard, the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) survey is used by more than 300 colleges and universities across the country to measure faculty satisfaction, experience and sentiment. 

It measures faculty satisfaction along eight themes and compares the college to the peer and cohort groups. Faculty were asked to rank their current satisfaction to various questions on a five-point scale.

The results show Bates had 12 areas of weakness and one area of strength in departmental leadership. Scoring lowest was governance adaptability, followed by senior leadership, faculty leadership, governance productivity and interdisciplinary work. 

The survey compares Bates against two groups, a “peer” group of five schools – Carleton College, Colgate University, Davidson College, Hamilton College and Kenyon College – and a broader “cohort” of the aggregate between the peer schools and 12 additional institutions selected by COACHE.

COACHE considers an area a strength if the institution is first or second in their peer group and the top 30% in the cohort. It is considered a weakness if they are fifth or sixth in their peer group and bottom 30% of their cohort.

Typically the survey is administered every four to five years, but the college decided to delay the survey due to COVID.

COACHE only considers full-time faculty not in their first year which encompasses 153 employees. However, Bates administered their own corollary survey to part-time faculty, faculty in their first year and faculty with an administrative designation which applies to 40 employees. Results for that second survey will be released at a later date.

At the meeting, faculty discussed next steps and how to address the areas of weakness. While no consensus was reached, they indicated that this conversation would continue in the coming months. 

The Bates Student will continue to report this story as it develops.