The faculty survey was administered by the Center for Scholarly and Creative Excellence (CSCE) on behalf of the Research and Development Committee (R&D) and the Undergraduate Research Council (URC). The R&D Committee is the advisory board to CSCE. The URC is advisory to the Center for Undergraduate Scholar Engagement (CUSE). The information collected will be used as the basis for revisions and additions to the programming and services offered to support faculty and student research, scholarship, and creative activity.

The survey was created with the intent to:

1) better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on faculty scholarship.

2) better understand the barriers - whether COVID-19-related or not - preventing faculty from engaging in scholarly and creative activities to the extent they desire.

3) gather information about ways University administrators and offices can assist faculty in their scholarly endeavors.

4) gauge faculty perceptions of the value of scholarship at multiple levels of the University.

About the survey:

The survey was administered in November of 2021 to all GVSU tenured and tenure track faculty; 42.1% completed some portion of the survey, and 33.3% completed the entire survey. The survey included both quantitative and qualitative (open-ended) questions, thus providing faculty some flexibility in how they could share their perspectives and experiences.

While CSCE and related offices often solicit feedback from faculty regarding their funding programs and policies/procedures, feedback is sought and provided on an informal level and solicited primarily from faculty that participate in CSCE programs and funding mechanisms. Thus, this survey represents a more formal, systematic, and wider-ranging assessment of faculty experiences and impressions.

We are hopeful that this report will foster constructive dialog among both faculty and administration about the role scholarly and creative activity should play in the professional lives of faculty, the academic lives of students, and GVSU’s interactions with the broader community.

Dissemination and Action Items

The Executive Summary of the survey results was shared with the Provost Cabinet in August of 2022, as part of a conversation about engaged scholarship. Provost Cabinet discussed how best to integrate scholarship into strategic visioning and strategic planning for the division. These discussions resulted in the addition of scholarship, research, and innovation as a strategic commitment for Academic Affairs in September 2022.
 
The project team shared a draft of the full survey report with the Research and Development Committee, and Undergraduate Research Council in August 2022. Both committees provided feedback and comments to the project team. The final report was presented to ECS at the October 8, 2022 meeting. A recording of the presentation is available.
 
The survey results were shared with the university community on October 12, 2022. The Research and Development Committee, and Undergraduate Research Council will be hosting a series of fora in November 2022 to discuss survey findings and possible action items to strengthen and inform engaged scholarship at GVSU.

Access to the Executive Summary

Access to the Full Report