In this document:
After selecting priorities from the forced-choice question on Theme 1, respondents were invited to respond to two open-ended questions on this subject. The first question asked respondents to suggest additional high priority strategies to improve educational effectiveness, and the second question asked about how progress in this area should be evaluated.
A large number of comments were made by university employees concerning additional areas that need priority attention (Table 1-12). A few typical open-ended comments made by each group are included below to provide more detail on each of these additional strategies. Very few comments were made concerning how to evaluate progress in this area, and so none are included below.
Although salary was included in the second question on the survey, respondents could only view one question at a time. When presented with the forced-choice question on the first theme of institutional effectiveness, university employees responded in the open-ended question that employee salaries should be a high priority. However, sample open-ended comments on salary are included in the next section under Theme 2: Staffing for Effectiveness.
Employee workload, although arguably another staffing concern, also emerged as a high priority though the open-ended comments on Theme 1. Typical comments are included here.
| Category | Number of Mentions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty | Lecturer | Staff | Administrator | |
| Salary | 12 | 3 | 16 | 1 |
| Employee Workload | 16 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| Facilities Space | 10 | 2 | 7 | 4 |
| Administration | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Communication | 2 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
| Employee Retention | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Student Retention | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Student Success | 8 | 4 | ||
| Student Diversity | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Employee Voice / Rights | 5 | 4 | ||
| Employee Diversity | 6 | 1 | 1 | |
| Collaboration | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Community Goals | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Classroom Technology | 5 | 1 | ||
| Employee Accountability | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| Admission Standards | 3 | 1 | ||
| Library | 3 | 1 | ||
| Research Support | 4 | |||
| Employee Morale | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Mission | 3 | |||
| Parking | 1 | 2 | ||
| Student Morale | 1 | 2 | ||
| Technology Leadership | 3 | |||
| Advising | 2 | |||
| General Education | 2 | |||
| Graduation Rate (Years) | 2 | |||
| Job Growth Potential | 1 | 1 | ||
| Professional Development | 1 | |||
The sizeable increase of students over the past decade has not been accompanied by an equal increase in the size of the campus. Many aspects of employee and student life on campus are constrained by the current amount of space as well as its allocation across programs, as indicated by the following comments,
The strategies under administration were voiced most frequently by tenured and tenure-track faculty, which is not surprising given that department chairs are still officially considered faculty. CSULB has over 151 undergraduate and graduate degree programs (not counting options, minors, or certificates) spread among more than 90 academic departments, programs, and units. The ongoing proliferation of courses, degrees, and units has added to administrative complexity at all levels. However, staff, lecturer faculty, and administrators also perceived administrative burdens to be increasing.
