Research & Evaluation Services

A central goal of the ADVANCE Program is to be a resource to University administration and provide information that can guide institutional decision-making, particularly on issues that concern faculty. As part of our mission to improve faculty recruitment, retention, leadership, and climate, we offer individualized assessments and customized research services to schools, departments, and programs.

CLIMATE ASSESSMENTS

SALARY EQUITY

CUSTOMIZED SERVICES

COST SHARE MODEL

Climate Assessments

For almost 25 years, the ADVANCE Program has administered climate surveys to academic units at the University of Michigan. Climate assessments are internally focused on the workplace experiences of members of a unit, including faculty, staff, postdocs, graduate students and other community members. These studies assess perceptions of the unit’s climate, including the work and classroom environment. ADVANCE climate assessments are not designed to assess the user experience (e.g., undergraduate students and alumni). Findings can inform the unit as they make appropriate policy changes to enhance the environment for all members of the community.

ADVANCE climate assessments typically take approximately 3-4 months to complete from the initial meeting to the final report.

ADVANCE climate assessment deliverables include:

Demographic breakdown of each surveyed group by different identities which can include gender, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, first-generation status, nationality, disability, and/or LGBTQIA+ identity. These identity groups can be used to explore group differences.
High-level summary of the unit’s goals and the unit’s dynamics to provide context for the survey results. The executive summary looks across surveyed groups and is organized by strengths, mixed responses, opportunities, and key group differences.
Reports for each survey group which contain key findings, organized by strengths, mixed responses, and opportunities for improvement. Significant group differences are also described when an identity group is sufficiently represented in the sample.
Comprehensive appendix of figures, which aggregate responses to all survey items. The appendix also contains tables for the significant group differences.
A debrief meeting with department leadership to discuss findings, and provide support and resources to help enact appropriate policy changes.

For a more comprehensive overview with sample pages, please visit here.

Salary Equity

An ADVANCE Program salary equity analysis can assist chairs and deans in examining systemic salary patterns across gender, race-ethnicity, rank, and track at the departmental, school, and/or college levels. In addition, this analysis can assist chairs and deans with examining salary equity for individual faculty members. Following the recommendations in the American Association of University Professors publication, Paychecks: A Guide to Conducting Salary-Equity Studies for Higher Education Faculty, ADVANCE Program staff use multiple regression models to predict salary. This analytic approach incorporates factors known to predict salary (e.g., time at U-M, rank, administrative appointments) and includes variables that are not widely used at departmental and even school and college levels (e.g., high-earning departments). Our approach also examines possible inequities associated with gender and race/ethnicity.

ADVANCE Salary Analyses typically take 2-3 months to complete from the initial meeting to the final report.

ADVANCE salary equity deliverables include:

A short report that provides detailed information about the analytic rationale and approach, the results of each model (typically ADVANCE creates three salary models), a discussion of the findings, and unit considerations for next steps and putting results into action.
A spreadsheet with information about each predictor variable for all salary models.
A dashboard that dynamically visualizes faculty salaries.
If desired, a debrief meeting with department leadership to assist with the interpretation of the results, and provide support and resources to help enact appropriate policy changes.

Customized Research & Evaluation Services

The ADVANCE Program also partners with units to conduct tailored research and evaluation studies. ADVANCE can help units craft research questions, identify analysis opportunities, and produce data-driven recommendations. Methods may include surveys, interviews and/or focus group studies, and institutional data analysis.

Examples of recent requests have included:

Analyzing institutional data and creating a data file with summary statistics of race/ethnicity and gender composition of faculty within a school/college.
Analyzing existing ADVANCE survey data and writing a brief report describing comparisons of faculty climate experiences by field.
Developing interview and focus group protocols to understand faculty needs, analyzing the data, and writing a report summarizing trends and recommendations.
Designing and administering a survey, analyzing data, and writing a report describing the effect of caregiving on faculty–including recommendations for relevant policy changes.

Cost Share Model

ADVANCE uses a cost share model with the amount determined by the scope of the project, including the sample size, level of analysis, and final deliverables. The final cost-share amount is transferred from the partnering unit to ADVANCE at the completion of the project. The unit cost share amount typically ranges from $1,500 – $5,000+ for internal projects, depending on the scope and size of the requests. Special projects and external requests from outside U-M may differ.

For more information or to discuss how we can support your unit’s needs, please contact us at [email protected].