MHEC Faculty Development Survey Report

Abstract

This preliminary report on the 2010 Midwestern Higher Education Compact faculty development survey is intended to describe the survey’s methodology and response rates, and to examine initial findings on the characteristics of respondents versus non-respondents. The survey was designed to gather information on the status of minority and women faculty development efforts, as well as to identify higher education institutions that can be matched with members of the HEART collaborative for future evaluation. Data collection took place between October 18th and December 1st. 197 surveys have been completed, and the overall response rate for MHEC institutions is 21 percent. Response rates were lower for certain states, schools with smaller enrollment numbers, community colleges and other local schools, specialized schools, proprietary schools, and tribal colleges. There does not appear to be an important difference in response rates between public and private schools, or religious versus non-religious schools. Analysis of refusals and other communications with institutions indicate that the survey is less likely to be completed when staff resources are tight and the survey’s subject matter is not perceived as important to the institution. Alternative next steps include leveraging the influence of MHEC commissioners to address state-by-state response differences, targeting institutions more likely to respond for completion of an abridged survey, and termination of data collection.