Dataset Information

Survival Analysis of Faculty Retention and Promotion in the Social Sciences by Gender.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Recruitment and retention of talent is central to the research performance of universities. Existing research shows that, while men are more likely than women to be promoted at the different stages of the academic career, no such difference is found when it comes to faculty retention rates. Current research on faculty retention, however, focuses on careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We extend this line of inquiry to the social sciences.

Methods

We follow 2,218 tenure-track assistant professors hired since 1990 in seven social science disciplines at nineteen U.S. universities from time of hire to time of departure. We also track their time to promotion to associate and full professor. Using survival analysis, we examine gender differences in time to departure and time to promotion. Our methods account for censoring and unobserved heterogeneity, as well as effect heterogeneity across disciplines and cohorts.

Results

We find no statistically significant differences between genders in faculty retention. However, we do find that men are more likely to be granted tenure than women. When it comes to promotion to full professor, the results are less conclusive, as the effect of gender is sensitive to model specification.

Conclusions

The results corroborate previous findings about gender patterns in faculty retention and promotion. They suggest that advances have been made when it comes to gender equality in retention and promotion, but important differences still persist.

SUBMITTER: Box-Steffensmeier JM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4651362 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Survival Analysis of Faculty Retention and Promotion in the Social Sciences by Gender.

Box-Steffensmeier Janet M JM Cunha Raphael C RC Varbanov Roumen A RA Hoh Yee Shwen YS Knisley Margaret L ML Holmes Mary Alice MA

PloS one 20151118 11

<h4>Background</h4>Recruitment and retention of talent is central to the research performance of universities. Existing research shows that, while men are more likely than women to be promoted at the different stages of the academic career, no such difference is found when it comes to faculty retention rates. Current research on faculty retention, however, focuses on careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We extend this line of inquiry to the social sciences.<h4>Met ...[more]

PMID: 26580565

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Project description:Background and purposeRecruitment and retention of competent faculty members are important in maintaining and improving the quality of education and research performance of universities. The aim of the present study was to find out the faculty members' views, experiences, and attitudes to identify the reasons for faculty attrition and retention in regional medical schools in Iran.MethodsIn this qualitative study, we used a content analysis method. The participants included 12 faculty members who had been transferred to type I universities, four faculty members who had applied for transfer, four with more than 10 years of experience and working in the type 3 universities with no intention to be transferred. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, which were conducted either face-to-face or via phone calls. The interview was developed for this study (Supplementary file). To measure the trustworthiness of the data, we evaluated four components of credibility, transferability, dependability, and conformability, as proposed by Lincoln and Guba.ResultsThe findings were classified into three categories and 14 subcategories. The first category was "retention facilitators" including four subcategories of facilitated communication, proximity to major universities, gaining experience, and support by authorities. The second category was "retention threats" including six subcategories of social infrastructure, individual dimension, occupation dimension, economic dimension, sense of respect, and executive management. The third category was "retention strategies" which included four subcategories of recruitment and promotion processes, inter-university collaboration with type I universities, facilitation of the scientific growth, and fulfilment of the safety needs.ConclusionSeveral factors play a role in the faculty members' retention in regional medical schools in Iran. Authorities can create a more positive environment by devising a suitable reward system, supporting academic activities, and increasing the level of faculty autonomy practically to develop a sense of belonging among them and reduce the intention to be transferred among their human resources.

Project description:Diversity enriches the educational experience by improving intellectual engagement, self-motivation, citizenship, cultural engagement, and academic skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and writing for students of all races. Faculty role models from similar backgrounds are essential for students from traditionally underrepresented groups as it sends a powerful message of support, belonging, and the confidence to pursue higher education. However, in the biomedical sciences, the percentage of historically underrepresented tenure-track faculty is far lower than that of their white colleagues. For this to change, a strong strategic plan and commitment from the university are imperative. This scoping review will assess the size and scope of available peer-reviewed research literature on diversity programs that aim to increase the recruitment and retention of biomedical sciences research faculty and are implemented and evaluated at American Universities. The information provided in this scoping review will help universities identify novel, successful diversity-based approaches for recruiting and retaining biomedical science faculty that might suit their own unique academic and geographic needs and be incorporated into their diversity initiatives and policies. The review follows the Population-Concept-Context methodology for Joanna Briggs Institution Scoping Reviews. Relevant peer-reviewed studies published in English between June 1, 2012, to June 1, 2022, will be identified from the following electronic databases; MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus (Elsevier), EMBASE (Elsevier), CINAHL (EBSCO), and ERIC (EBSCO). The search strings using the key variables "biomedical research faculty," "recruitment/retention," "diversity/ minority/ underrepresented, and "mentoring" will be conducted using Boolean logic. Two independent reviewers will conduct all title and abstract screening, followed by a full article screening and data extraction. Due to the possible heterogeneity of the studies, we hope to use either a narrative analysis and/or descriptive figures/tables to depict the results.

Dataset Information

Survival Analysis of Faculty Retention and Promotion in the Social Sciences by Gender.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Survival Analysis of Faculty Retention and Promotion in the Social Sciences by Gender.

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