Summary of Survey Responses From
Past Faculty Research Fellows
Nancy Shulock,
Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Sacramento State
Robert W. Wassmer,
Associate Professor, Graduate Program in
Public Policy and Administration, Sacramento State
April 1999
Robert Wassmer and Nancy Shulock are the past directors of the Faculty
Research Fellows Program. Nancy also holds the position of assistant professor
in the Graduate Program in Public Policy and Administration at Sacramento State. The
following results are derived from a survey sent to all past recipients
of Faculty Fellows grants as of February 1999.
Survey Response Rate: 22/27 or 81%
Academic Rank of Faculty Research Fellow Responding:
1 Emeritus, 15 Full Professors, 3 Associate Professors, 2 Assistant Professors,
1 Lecturer
Tenure Status: 20/22 or 91% tenured at time of project
Questions
Worked in Policy Community Before?
Yes - 86%
No - 14%
How did you learn of the opportunity to submit a proposal to
Faculty Research Fellows Program?
Campus research and projects office - 82%
Department chair - 0%
Other faculty - 14%
Other - 4%
With 1 being most important and 5 least important, please rank
following in regard to reasons for your decision to apply for Faculty
Research Fellows program funds - average score (standard deviation) of
those given ranking:
Publication - 2.6 (1.0)
Support for existing research - 2.1 (1.1)
Contacts in state policy making environment - 1.8 (1.0)
Supplemental income - 3.1 (1.0)
Other - 2 (1.4)
How useful has your participation been to your professional development
and advancement at university?
Very useful - 23%
Somewhat useful - 59%
Not useful - 9%
Not relevant to my situation - 4.5%
No answer - 4.5%
Did you or will you have any difficulty documenting this project
as scholarly work for purposes of retention and promotion?
Yes - 0%
No - 36%
Possibly - 28%
Not relevant to my situation- 36%
How did you categorize your project in your retention, tenure,
and promotion file?
Scholarship- 54%
Professional service - 17%
Community service - 12%
Not included - 17%
Does the categorization of your project as scholarship depend
on it resulting in a refereed journal publication or presentation at a
scholarly meeting?
Yes- 42%
No - 58%
Does the benefit of the project for your professional development
depend on the final disposition of report; i.e. whether it was used by
legislature or governor?
Yes - 24%
No - 52%
Not relevant - 24%
Was participation in this project of benefit to your teaching?
Yes, a very positive and direct benefit - 41%
Yes, it was of minor benefit - 45%
No benefit - 9%
Not relevant - 5%
What is the attitude in your department or college toward doing
scholarly work for policy audiences?
Especially valued - 63%
Audience not a relevant factor - 25%
Raises some negative issues or concerns - 12%
Has participation this project led to any refereed journal articles
on topic of your report?
Yes- 5% (one person: American Educational Research Association Journal)
No - 95%
Has participation in this project led to any conference presentations
on topic of your report?
Yes - 43%
No - 57%
Has participation in program led to any new or useful contacts
with policymakers, legislative staff, or executive staff?
Yes - 36%
No - 64%
Are you aware of your report being used by any legislative committee
or government agency?
Yes - 41%
No - 59%
Do you think that the short timeline that the program operates
on is a positive or negative aspect of the program?
Positive - 79%
Negative - 16%
Other - 5%
How did the amount of money awarded to you for the project compare
to the time and material devoted to the project?
More than I needed - 0%
About right - 60%
Too little - 40%
For more information, contact William D. Leach, Project Director, at
.
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