III. Faculty Recruitment and Retention  

The Recruitment and Hiring Process (Q 5)
Click to view snapshot results of (Q 5)

Another survey question on the topic of recruitment offers insight into the personal experiences of the 238 respondents (30% of the total number of respondents) who joined the faculty within the past five years. (See Table 6.) More than four-fifths were satisfied with their interactions with their future unit head (82%) and the search committee (88%).

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Sixty-seven percent felt that the orientation they received to the local community was satisfactory, but only 48% were satisfied with the new faculty orientation program offered once they arrived on campus.

The start-up package was satisfactory to 56% of respondents, while only 46% of those who needed assistance with spousal relocation found this satisfactory. In fact, 34% said that they were not at all satisfied with this facet of their recruitment process.

Differences by School and Race

Because the number of respondents who answered these questions is relatively small, analysis by school and race is not appropriate.

Differences by Rank

Faculty responses varied consistently by rank. However, only 16 full professors who joined the Purdue faculty within the last five years responded to the survey, so their responses to this set of questions must be considered with caution.

Full professors were the most satisfied with each facet of the recruitment and hiring process. Also, except for satisfaction with interactions with their unit head where assistant and associate professors responded similarly, assistant professors reported the least satisfaction with the entire process. They were notably less satisfied than their more experienced peers with their orientation to the local community (62% vs. 77% for associate and 87% for full professors), the assistance they received with spousal relocation (40% vs. 50% for associate and 70% for full professors), and with their start-up package (54% vs. 64% for associate and 88% for full professors).

Differences by Gender

Women were less satisfied than men with their orientation to the local community (58% vs. 71%) and with the orientation for new faculty (41% vs. 52%). They were also less satisfied with the spousal relocation assistance they received (36% vs. 49%).