Faculty are the backbone of higher education. They drive teaching, research, and community engagement, and they directly shape student experiences. Yet, turnover among faculty—both tenured and non-tenured—has become a growing concern for colleges and universities.
Replacing faculty is not only expensive but also disruptive. Students lose continuity in the classroom, research projects can stall, and departments often struggle to fill gaps with qualified talent. While many institutions attempt to address turnover with salary adjustments or one-off initiatives, these efforts often fail because they don’t address the root cause of disengagement.
This is where engagement surveys powered by apc’s Employee Experience Grade (exg™) provide a new level of insight, helping leaders proactively retain their best faculty.
The Cost of Faculty Turnover
Financial Burden
Replacing a faculty member is estimated to cost 1.5 to 2 times their annual salary. These costs include recruitment, hiring committees, onboarding, and the lost productivity during transition periods. For research-intensive faculty, the financial toll can be even higher when grant continuity and lab management are disrupted.
Student Impact
Faculty turnover affects student learning in tangible ways:
- Disruption of courses and academic programs.
- Loss of mentorship opportunities.
- Reduced continuity in advising and curriculum development.
Institutional Reputation
When turnover rates are high, institutions may struggle to attract top-tier faculty and students. Disengagement can ripple outward, diminishing the institution’s reputation and long-term competitiveness.
Why Faculty Leave
Faculty departures are often linked to disengagement rather than purely dissatisfaction with salary. Common drivers include:
- Lack of recognition: Accomplishments go unnoticed, diminishing motivation.
- Workload imbalance: Teaching, research, and service responsibilities compete for limited time.
- Limited growth opportunities: Lack of professional development or advancement pathways.
- Weak connection to leadership: Poor communication or perceived lack of support.
- Burnout: High demands coupled with insufficient resources or support systems.
Without measuring these issues directly, leaders often rely on assumptions—missing the chance to intervene early.
How Engagement Surveys Help
Engagement surveys allow institutions to move beyond assumptions and capture faculty experiences in real time. apc’s exg™ methodology provides visibility into the full faculty lifecycle, from hiring to retention, uncovering both strengths and vulnerabilities.
New Hire and Post-Onboarding Surveys
The first year is critical. Many faculty decide early whether they see a future at the institution. Post-onboarding surveys measure whether new hires feel supported, integrated, and prepared for success.
Engagement and Pulse Surveys
Faculty roles are dynamic, shifting with course loads, research demands, and institutional priorities. Regular engagement surveys, paired with short pulse surveys, provide continuous insights into workload stressors, recognition levels, and alignment with institutional goals.
Exit Surveys
When faculty do leave, exit surveys reveal the root causes. Were they seeking stronger professional development? Was workload unsustainable? These insights not only clarify individual departures but also guide improvements for remaining staff.
The Role of exg™ in Reducing Turnover
apc’s Employee Experience Grade (exg™) offers institutions a proven methodology to pinpoint and address disengagement. Its benefits include:
- Comprehensive insights: Engagement is measured across multiple dimensions, not reduced to a single score.
- Customization: Surveys can be tailored to reflect faculty-specific challenges, from research expectations to tenure processes.
- Actionability: exg™ results highlight specific areas leaders can improve, such as recognition, communication, or workload balance.
- Benchmarking: Institutions can compare their faculty engagement scores with peer organizations, identifying gaps and competitive advantages.
A Hypothetical Case Example
Consider a liberal arts college struggling with turnover among mid-career faculty. Satisfaction surveys showed pay levels were competitive, leaving leadership puzzled about the underlying issue. After implementing exg™, results revealed that faculty felt excluded from institutional decision-making and lacked recognition for service contributions.
In response, the college established faculty advisory councils and revamped recognition programs. Within two years, faculty turnover decreased by 15%, while engagement scores rose significantly.
The Broader Benefits of Retaining Faculty
Reducing turnover is only one outcome. Engagement surveys contribute to:
- Higher morale: Faculty who feel valued are more motivated and collaborative.
- Improved student outcomes: Engaged faculty invest more in mentoring and teaching.
- Institutional resilience: When faculty remain engaged, universities are better equipped to handle external pressures like funding cuts or enrollment shifts.
Why Now Is the Time for Engagement Surveys
The higher education workforce is undergoing rapid change. Burnout, generational shifts, and new expectations around flexibility have created a critical need for institutions to measure and respond to engagement proactively. Those that rely solely on satisfaction metrics risk falling behind.
Engagement surveys powered by apc’s exg™ give leaders the visibility they need to reduce turnover, retain top faculty, and strengthen long-term institutional health.
Final Thoughts
Faculty turnover is one of the most costly challenges facing higher education today. Traditional satisfaction surveys fail to provide the insights leaders need to retain talent. By leveraging apc’s Employee Engagement Surveys powered by exg™, institutions can identify the root causes of disengagement, implement targeted solutions, and create environments where faculty thrive.
Don’t wait for turnover to become a crisis. Start reducing faculty attrition today with apc’s Employee Engagement Surveys powered by exg™.
