Category: Faculty Polls

UFF recently completed our 2024 Faculty Poll.  It included questions ranging from the general impression of the atmosphere on our campus and our current trajectory as well as more specific questions regarding administrators, bargaining priorities, and Legislative and Regulatory issues.

The results may be found on UFF’s webpage through the following link:

Without Comments:

https://uff-fsu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/FacPollResultsSP2024NoCommentsPost.pdf

With Comments:

https://uff-fsu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/FacPollResultsSP2024CommentsPost.pdf

Thanks to all who responded.   Administration does read these results carefully.   

UFF recently completed our 2023 Faculty Poll.  It included questions ranging from the general impression of the atmosphere on our campus and our current trajectory as well as more specific questions regarding administrators, bargaining priorities, and Legislative issues.

The results may be found on UFF’s webpage through the following link:

Without Comments:

https://uff-fsu.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/UFF-FSU.FacultyPollReportSpring2023-FinalPostNoComments.pdf

With Comments:

https://uff-fsu.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/UFF-FSU.FacultyPollReportSpring2023-FinalPost.pdf

Thanks to all who responded.   Administration does read these results carefully.   

In Spring 2022, 581 faculty members completed the UFF-FSU Faculty Poll.

• 88% felt that across-the board raises for cost of living should be a high priority.
• 45% said that the minimum across the board salary increase that would allow them to ratify the contract was what was needed to keep up with the current rate of inflation [7.9%, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics]
• 44% felt that UFF should work towards advocating for retirement benefits (25% a lot, 19% all it can).
• 78% opposed or strongly opposed legislation that would allow university presidential searches to be in secret.
• 84% opposed or strongly opposed legislation that prohibits any speech in the classroom that “might make students uncomfortable” because of racial, LGBTQ+, or other issues that speech might engender.
• 89% opposed or strongly opposed legislation that legislation to allow concealed carry permit holders to carry guns on campus.
• 64% opposed or strongly opposed legislation that would require union members to annually reauthorize payroll dues deduction.
• 68% agree or strongly agree that participation in faculty governance as an ethical obligation and engage accordingly.
• 51% agree or strongly agree that assignments to teach online should be given only to faculty who volunteer to teach online.
• 74% fell somewhat or very positive towards the UFF-FSU Chapter.

In the Comments:

• Salary inversion and inflation are the largest two issues currently.
• The growing inflation rate makes it imperative that the administration come through with funding raises to the base salary this year–not one-time bonuses
• FSU should be part of the tuition exchange program, as is UF, https://www.tuitionexchange.org/ a great benefit for their employees.
• We need safe working conditions.
• Non-renewal without just cause should not be allowed.
• Morale is at an all time low, I suspect there will be a brain drain given state government priorities, so its important for UFF to do what it can to prevent talented faculty from leaving the state.
• To allow two faculty members to take leave for the same birth. Currently, spouses who work at FSU cannot both take parental leave at the same time. This is truly an inequity for spouses who both work at FSU.
• Requiring public sector unions to have 50% in a right to work state is not desirable and needs to be defeated.
• I hope that UFF-FSU is taking a strong stand on these legislative issues regarding academic freedom and speech.
• We need to advocate for better pay and HR policies as relates to our staff colleagues.
• SALARY IS ALL THAT MATTERS AT THIS POINT.

Survey Responses With Comments:

https://uff-fsu.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/UFF-FSU-Spring-2022-Faculty-Poll-Results-Post.pdf

Survey Responses Without Comments:

https://uff-fsu.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/UFF-FSU-Spring-2022-Faculty-Poll-Results-PostNoComments.pdf

In Spring 2021, 580 faculty members completed the UFF-FSU Faculty Poll. 

Highlights from the survey!

• 80% felt that across-the board raises for cost-of-living increase should be a high priority.
• 54% felt that UFF should work towards advocating for healthcare (31% a lot; 23% all it can)
• 59% felt that UFF should work towards advocating for retirement benefits (31% a lot, 28% all it can)
• 72% opposed or strongly opposed legislation that would allow university presidential searches to be in secret.
• 87% opposed or strongly opposed legislation that would allow concealed carry permit holders to carry guns on campus.
• 64% agree or strongly agree that FSU administrators have inappropriately high salaries compared with FSU faculty.
• 69% agree or strongly agree that participation in faculty governance is an ethical obligation and engage accordingly.
• 51% agree or strongly agree that assignments to teach online should be given only to faculty who volunteer to teach online.
• 79% feel very positive or somewhat positive toward the UFF-FSU Chapter.

In the comments:

• Salary compression is getting worse and worse.
• Teaching professors have significantly lower salaries by about $20K than the national average.
• Important to get tuition scholarships for spouses and dependents.
• We need more tenure lines, and with a special focus of hiring African-American, Latinx, and Indigenous tenured / tenure-track faculty.

Nearly 600 FSU faculty members participated in the Spring, 2020 UFF-FSU Faculty Poll in late February and early March. They offered opinions on salaries, bargaining priorities, legislative issues, professional climate, administrator performance, the UFF-FSU Chapter, and various other matters. Many offered comments. Reports summarizing results, with or without comments are available.

Notably before the coronavirus pandemic loomed large on most Americans’ radar; a “pollster’s nightmare.”  A diverse and generally representative sample of FSU faculty views as of March 1, but no doubt a poll today would reveal new faculty concerns.

Highlights:

• Salary preferences shifted toward cost-of-living increases, now 87%, with both merit and market equity raises prioritized by 50-some percent.  Similar results in a forced-choice question, but both cost-of-living and market equity increases gained popularity while merit increases lost support.
• Non-salary priorities:  Healthcare, a phased retirement option that includes healthcare coverage, and retirement benefits were top priorities (for 60%-plus).
• General satisfaction with FSU’s direction and assessments of faculty morale were both down noticeably (7-10 percentage points).  Faculty are less satisfied and perceive lower morale among their colleagues.
• Percent of faculty agreeing that online teaching should be on a voluntary basis rose 5 percentage points, and the share agreeing that incentives should be used to induce online teaching rose about the same amount.
• Slight drop (3 percentage points) in faculty satisfaction with use of web applications such as FEAS and Academic Analytics for tracking faculty performance.
• Administrator evaluations:  Slight drops (2-3 points) for most.  President Thrasher still gets the best ratings, followed by department chairs and then deans.
• UFF-FSU Chapter rating also dropped 2 points.
• A drop in professional climate ratings for colleges (5 points).
• A relatively large drop in perceptions that faculty efforts are rewarded (8 points).

Spring 2020 Faculty Poll with Comments

Spring 2020 Faculty Poll without Comments