Higher Education
CEW explores the status, satisfaction, and career development of women faculty. Our research has also looked at how women academics use family-friendly policies.
Tenure Clock, Modified Duties, and Sick Leave Policies: Creating 'A Network of Support and Understanding' for University of Michigan Faculty Women During Pregnancy and Childbirth by Jean Waltman and Louise August – A report of CEW's 2003-2004 web-based survey.
It Isn't Over: The Continuing Under-Representation of Female Faculty, paper presented at AIR, May 18, 2006, Louise August. Further analysis of the employment progression of respondents to the CEW Faculty Work-Life Study indicates disparities in tenure attainment, promotion and attrition between male and female faculty.
Attrition Among Female Tenure-Track Faculty, paper presented at AIR, May 18, 2006, Louise August. Based on CEW's Faculty Work Life Study. A series of logistic regressions was conducted to examine faculty attrition using actual departure rather than self-reported departure intentions. The findings suggest that women experience their academic careers differently from men, and that different factors contribute to their decisions to leave.
Our research considers features of academic climate that enhance or detract from satisfaction of faculty and staff, particularly women and people of color. Research covers faculty of all ranks from junior to senior.
Resources for Deans and Chairs – a series of brief papers for chairs who wish to improve departmental climate, especially for junior faculty.
Enabling Junior Faculty Success: How departments can provide support to junior faculty.
Developing a Transparent Tenure Process: Strategies for designing a tenure process with clear standards and mechanisms.
Principles for Best Practices: A collection of Suggestd Procedures for Improving Climate for Women Faculty Members
Newly Released! Family-Friendly Policies in Higher Education: A Five-Year Report 2007
This research brief asseses the changes and progress in the provision of family-friendly policies by U.S. institutions of higher education from 2002-2007. Comparisons of results of the 2002 and 2007 surveys are included, as is a report on the status of such policies in 2007.
Designing and Implementing Family-Friendly Policies in Higher Education, by Gilia Smith and Jean Waltman. 2006. This publication offers suggestions for creating effective, flexible policies at institutions of higher education and includes specific examples from various colleges and universities.
Family-Friendly Policies in Higher Education: Where Do We Stand? 2005. An overview of family-friendly policies in effect at different types of colleges and universities across the nation.
"Gender, Family, and Flexibility in Academia" by Jeanne E. Miller and Carol Hollenshead in Change November/December 2005.
“Work/family policies in higher education: Survey data and case studies of policy implementation" by Carol S. Hollenshead, Beth Sullivan, Gilia C. Smith, Louise August, and Susan Hamilton is a chapter of "The Challenge of Balancing Faculty Careers and Family Work" New Directions in Higher Education no. 130, 2005, 41-65.
The Michigan Faculty Work-Life Study 1999 presents the findings of a survey of over 1,000 U of M faculty members concerning career satisfaction. Included were questions on climate issuess, organizational structure, policies, and resources, workload and productivity, family work-life issues, and career satisfaction and retention.This report was conducted in collaboration with the U-M Center for the Study of Higher and Post-Secondary Education of the School of Education. You can download the Executive Summary or the complete report. The tables are also available in PDF format
Women at the University of Michigan: A Statistical Report on the Status of Women Students, Staff and Faculty on the Ann Arbor Campus, 4th ed., 2003. Compiled by staff from CEW, Human Resource Records and Information Services, and the Office of Budget and Planning. www.umich.edu/~hraa/womenatum> The report presents an accurate measure of the relative standing of women in the University, identifies areas where inequities exist, and provides benchmarks for setting goals and measuring progress.
Non–tenure track faculty, whether called adjuncts, part-timers, research faculty, or contingent faculty now make up a significant portion of the faculty workforce. CEW research identifies and describes the work conditions and work lives of these faculty based on institution-level information.
Making the Best of Both Worlds: Findings from a National Institution-Level Survey on Non-Tenure Track Faculty. 2007 Results of a nationwide survey of four year colleges and universities sponsored by the Sloan Foundation highlighting the numbers, working conditions and perceived contributions of non tenure track faculty. Includes a discussion of how institutions can integrate these faculty as vital members of their professional teams and a chart book of research findings.
Non Tenure Track Faculty: The Landscape at U.S. Institutions of Higher Education 2006. CEW presents preliminary findings and analyses based on our 2005 survey regarding institutional policies and practices concerning full and part time instructional faculty in non tenure track positions. The online survey asked administrators to provide information on non tenure track faculty at their institutions, including their utilization, their working conditions, benefits and compensation, and mobility between tenure track and non tenure track positions.
The Non Tenure Track Faculty Executive Summary includes key findings along with methodology and background. The full report, Non Tenure Track Faculty: The Landscape at U.S. Institutions of Higher Education includes the Executive Summary as well as tables and charts reporting analyses of the survey data.
Access to higher education remains a crucial opportunity for improving women’s lives, for increasing economic stability in individuals and families, and for improving Michigan’s troubled economy. CEW research focuses on the barriers to educational access for women and those living in poverty.
Staying in School After Welfare Reform: How Beyond Welfare, Inc. Supports Student Mothers in Higher Education by Leslie Rebecca Bloom, Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and Program in Women's Studies, Iowa State University, Visiting Scholar, CEW, Fall 2004.
This paper examines how one specific program, Beyond Welfare, supports participants in higher education who are welfare recipients by considering the experiences of a selection of student mothers who are participants of Beyond Welfare.
Struggling to Stay in School: Obstacles to Post-Secondary Education under the Welfare-to-Work Regime in Michigan by Valerie Polakow and Peggy Kahn 2000. Documents the experience of low-income single mothers in Michigan pursuing postsecondary education while receiving public assistance.
Access and Barriers to Post-Secondary Education Under Michigan’s Welfare to Work Policies – Policy Background and Recipients’ Experiences 2002. A report examining educational opportunities and barriers to access for Michigan's welfare recipients was released through CEW by CFITE, the Coalition for Independence Through Education. An organization of Michigan educators, researchers, advocates, student parents, college administrators and others who advocate for welfare recipients' access to college, the Coalition supports opportunities for low-income parents to complete college.
CEW Research
From its inception, CEW has included research among its activities, exploring the lives of women, issues related to women's educational and employment options, and leadership. Through its research, CEW enriches our understanding of gender, improves practice and influences on policy development. CEW’s research program covers the adjacent areas of interest.
Center for the
Education of
Women
University of
Michigan
330 E. Liberty St.
Ann Arbor, MI
48103
734.764.6005