(C) El Paso Matters.org This story was originally published by El Paso Matters.org and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Survey shows UTEP faculty unhappy with tenure, pay [1] ['Daniel Perez', 'More Daniel Perez', 'El Paso Matters', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width'] Date: 2024-05-05 Full-time faculty at the University of Texas at El Paso are unhappy with several aspects of their work life, especially tenure processes, compensation, facilities and resources, according to the results of a faculty survey performed last spring. The Harvard University Graduate School of Education conducted the survey. The school’s Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education, or COACHE, in spring 2023 asked faculty to participate in a survey that touched on 25 categories and asked a couple of additional questions. Almost 60% of eligible faculty participated. In the benchmarks related to tenure – an achieved status that comes with some job protections and freedoms – UTEP rated in or below the bottom 30% of the institutional average among peer and partner institutions. The categories were “Tenure Policies” and “Tenure Expectations: Clarity.” Tenure is important to faculty members in higher education because it gives them job security and academic freedom to teach with the methods and materials they think best, to conduct research that may be controversial or could take years to develop, and to express themselves without fear of institutional censorship. The university earned those benchmarks because it achieved the lowest scores among those surveyed, said Todd R. Benson, COACHE’s executive director and principal investigator. UTEP did not answer specific questions sent by El Paso Matters about the report preview, but issued a statement that said the university would use the survey results to identify and prioritize areas of improvement. “UTEP is investing time and funding to address the top priorities identified by the faculty, including a strategic plan for support of research and creative activity, salary adjustments, and clarification of tenure policies in those units where additional guidance is needed,” the statement reads. El Paso Matters filed an open records request with UTEP for the report in mid-March. The university sent the request to the Texas Office of the Attorney General, asking that it prevent the release of the final report that included faculty members “frank, honest opinions about their experiences,” according to an April 8 document from the University of Texas System. El Paso Matters challenged the university’s position in response to the attorney general, saying the information being sought is a completed report and should be available under the Texas Public Information Act. The attorney general often takes more than two months to rule in open records cases. The news organization obtained a copy of the report preview that offered a more generalized faculty perspective that compared UTEP to 86 COACHE partners – higher education institutions that are generally similar – and five peer institutions that the university selected based on the faculty labor market: Florida International University, Georgia State University, State University of New York at Stony Brook, the University of North Texas and the University of Texas at Arlington. The survey results showed that UTEP faculty said that the best aspects of working at the university included the quality and support of colleagues, the quality of the undergraduates, the campus’ geographic location, the cost of living and academic freedom. Among the worst aspects of working at UTEP, according to the faculty who responded, were compensation, lack of support for research and creative work, too much service/too many assignments, quality of facilities and quality of leadership. A miner’s pick welcomes visitors to the University of Texas at El Paso. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters) Based on UTEP faculty responses, the university rated mostly in the middle to the lower end of the scale when asked about leadership, governance, nature of work and departmental issues, as well as facilities and work resources, collaboration, mentoring and appreciation and recognition. The COCHE researchers suggested that UTEP leaders use the survey results as a guide in working with faculty to improve the institution. The university conducted three town hall meetings in March to share report highlights. One professor, who asked to use they/them pronouns, said they participated in the survey and agreed with the report’s findings. The faculty member requested anonymity to protect themselves from retribution. They believed that the concerns are tied to the university’s efforts to maintain the R1 “Very High Research” status that it reached in December 2018. The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education grants R1 status to institutions that spend at least $50 million in research and development and award at least 70 research doctorate degrees annually. UTEP reported in February that it had $145.7 million in research spending in fiscal year 2023. During the 2021-22 academic year, UTEP awarded 133 research/scholarship doctoral degrees, and 85 professional practice doctoral degrees. The professor said that campus leaders are focused on R1 status at the expense of other aspects of the university. They recalled a spring 2023 flooding incident that closed parts of the Liberal Arts Building, including classrooms. They said university administrators would not give teaching spaces to displaced faculty, and that decision negatively affected students academically. “It was a morale hit and it wasn’t because of the building flooding. It was the response on the part of the administration,” the professor said. “They couldn’t problem-solve it for us, and basically refused to problem-solve it for us.” Facilities and resources were among the top areas that respondents mentioned they would like to see improved at the university. Another top point of contention was compensation and benefits. Tim Z. Hernandez, associate professor of Creative Writing, mentioned several reasons he liked working at UTEP to include its sense of home. (Corrie Boudreaux / El Paso Matters) Tim Z. Hernandez, associate professor in the Department of Creative Writing, said he did not participate in the COACHE survey and would not comment about the results. However, he shared why he liked working at UTEP, which hired him in 2014. Hernandez said he appreciated the unique demographic and border location, as well as the dedicated and reputable faculty. He said the campus provides a sense of home where his efforts as an instructor and researcher are supported. “To say I’m satisfied here is to put it mildly,” Hernandez said. 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