This past Spring, UFAS members visited over a dozen departments in the College of Arts and Sciences to solicit feedback and concerns regarding how pay and working conditions at UW-Eau Claire can best be improved. Although volunteers were unable to meet with members of every department, and because we were unable to include the other colleges and administrative units in our canvassing, the information we received is clearly not representative of the campus as a whole. However, the results were somewhat illuminating.
The questionnaires asked respondents to rate ten issues on a scale from 1 (least important) to 5 (most important). The questionnaire also provided a space for respondents to write in other issues or concerns not specifically mentioned on the questionnaire.
In the end, we received 73 completed questionnaires. The results are illustrated in teh figure below (Behold the glory of Excel!). In general, the highest priority issues were related to pay. Equity and fairness in compensation was the most important to respondents, and they were as concerned about continuing increases in payroll deductions as other pay issues. The lowest priority issues were issues related to transportation, fees, and access to university facilities.
Among the write-in responses, the most common issue brought up (by 10 people) had to do with workload. Job security was also an issue mentioned by several of the academic staff who filled out questionnaires. Because the survey effort did not include administrative/professional academic staff, we suspect that job security would have also been mentioned frequently had we been able to include more academic staff in our survey.
So what are your priorities? What are your concerns? Email us and speak your mind.