University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
PA-10: Assessing Employee Satisfaction

Every employee was surveyed in 2015 about work culture and work/life balance and learning and advancement opportunities as part of the Campus Climate Survey.
Faculty also participates in the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) Survey in spring, and this survey includes general workplace satisfaction questions. The HERI survey is on a 3-year cycle, but it includes only faculty.

Most recent March 2015 survey results are in the process of being evaluated.
Issues raised and addressed from the 2008 campus survey and 2011 faculty survey include:
*Low morale was intricately linked to salaries below national averages:
In a study of faculty and staff salaries at UW-Stevens Point found many of our faculty and staff members are paid lower than comparable faculty and staff members (by rank and discipline/area) at public peer institutions nationwide. During the 2012-13 year the university set aside more than $200,000 of base funding to address salary inequities of faculty and academic staff. Of this allocation, over $150,00 was distributed to faculty through an equity formula developed through governance and approved by the Faculty Senate that compares faculty to their National peers. In addition, more than $65,000 went to addressing salary inequities for academic staff. The university continues to work with faculty and staff governance at refining these processes for distributing equity funds.
*Faculty and Staff cited that they needed to have additional academic support services to address incoming student populations with a greater range in academic preparedness:
Administration supported a substantial increase in support of academic services. The number of students served across all programs in the Tutoring and Learning Center (TLC), and their contact hours, grew by 28% this past year. Services included: expanded hours and satellite locations; hosted football study table; conducted in-class workshops; Math and Career Services Partnership, Advising, Disability Services, residential living and learning communities; piloted a Supplemental Instruction Program©; and intensive credit based training programs for bath and science tutors.
*Faculty and staff reported that there was not a consistent expectation for faculty to offer High Impact Learning Strategies within their department:
Administration retooled and just launched a streamlined General Education Program (GEP) in Fall 2013 embedding high impact practices such as an experiential learning component, a first year seminar, as well as a capstone project. Experiential learning is the synthesis of a hands-on experience such as in internship, externship, research or community project. UW-Stevens Point expects all students will demonstrate skills, processes, and resources needed to make a successful transition from college to the world.