Comparison of Faculty Surveys

Comparison of the 1995 Faculty Outreach Survey to the 2005 HERI Survey

MSU's goal to strengthen faculty outreach and engagement rests in part on having data that demonstrate the degree of faculty and institutional commitment and the types of barriers to increased involvement. Survey data can show us how to help target areas where the institution should improve its support of faculty endeavors.

In 1995, in an effort to understand faculty outreach-related attitudes, beliefs, values, and practices, MSU designed and conducted a Faculty Outreach Survey. Ten years later, in 2005, MSU identified similar questions in (and added new questions to) MSU's administration of UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute Faculty Survey. Comparison of the ten-year data tells part of MSU's engagement story and how faculty perceptions have changed over the ten year period, especially in light of some of the changes instituted at the university, such as changes to the Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Review Form.

Since 1993, MSU has defined outreach as a form of scholarship that cuts across teaching, research, and service. As a result, both the 1995 and 2005 surveys focus on these scholarly activities. Currently, similar questions are being grouped and compared.