Dear Colleagues:

Last month you received an email from the Provost introducing the COACHE (Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education) partnership and the faculty satisfaction survey.  If you are a full-time faculty, you also received an email from Collaborative on Academic Careers directing you towards the survey.  I would like to encourage each of you to complete this 25-minute survey for the following reasons:

• COACHE is an independent, research driven, comparative study with over 250 universities and colleges. The survey is confidential, faculty-specific and designed to assess the work factors that matter most to instructional/research faculty (e.g., tenure and promotion, collaboration and mentoring, resources and support, shared governance, appreciation and recognition, retention and negotiation, collegiality, etc.). As we work to strengthen the faculty experience at Mason, we need this level of specificity regarding faculty issues.
• The survey gives you an opportunity to identify what Mason, VSE and your department are doing well and should continue, as well as what you feel should be changed to improve your experience as a faculty member.
• As you know with studies, it is critical to have a high participation rate so the sample size is credible, and yields meaningful data that can effectively be used to inform future actions. The results will be made available by academic unit, and I believe by department unit, if the sample size is large enough.

As Dean, I am committed to supporting you as faculty and enhancing overall faculty engagement throughout the School. I intend to utilize the COACHE survey results to assist in guiding our School's programs and strategies. I also commit to work with the department chairs to support opportunities identified through the survey results at the department level to enhance the faculty work experience within VSE.

I greatly appreciate your input, and urge you to complete the 25-minute survey and share your experience and thoughts as a faculty member within the Volgenau School of Engineering.

Respectfully,

Ken

____________________________________

Kenneth S. Ball, Ph.D., P.E.

Dean, Volgenau School of Engineering

George Mason University

Nguyen Engineering Building

4400 University Drive, MS 4A3

Fairfax, VA 22030

Phone:  (703) 993-1500

FAX:       (703) 993-1734

E-mail:   [log in to unmask]

Web:      http://volgenau.gmu.edu

Twitter: @KenBallVa

[log in to unmask]">