July 3, 2007
TO: Deans and Department Chairs
FROM: Patrick Farrell, Provost
RE: Faculty Exit Interviews Procedures Revised
Approximately three percent of our faculty members retire each year and two percent depart for other reasons (e.g., a competitive offer from elsewhere, failure to get tenure, personal or family circumstances, etc.). These departure rates are similar to or lower than those at our peer institutions.
In spring 2004, the campus began offering faculty who leave UW-Madison an opportunity to discuss their UW-Madison experience in an exit interview. The outcomes of the process provided some insight into what we can do to improve the faculty experience and what we can do to improve faculty retention, although a more systematic study will provide us with more useful information.
This spring, researchers from the Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI) will begin a faculty attrition study, which will replace the requirement for schools and colleges to annually report to the Provost’s Office results of the exit interviews conducted for faculty who leave the university. The WISELI researchers will invite all male and female faculty who have left UW-Madison (for reasons other than retirement) to participate in an interview. The interview is voluntary, and all information will remain confidential. It is expected that approximately 50 to 75 individuals will agree to participate each year. The researchers will follow a scripted interview protocol (attached) to ensure standardized collection of data. Results from these data will be reported yearly and will include descriptive analyses, as well as the identification of broad, overarching themes.
This ongoing research study is intended to complement the exit interview processes you wish to keep in place at both the departmental and school/college levels. The goal is to provide the campus community with information that can be used to improve our rates of retention and make the UW-Madison a welcoming place for all.
If you have any questions, please contact Christine Maidl Pribbenow or Jennifer Sheridan at wiseli@engr.wisc.edu or 263-1445.
xc: John Wiley, Chancellor
Laurie Beth Clark, Vice Provost for Faculty and Staff
Laurie Mayberry, Assistant to the Provost
Campus Ombudspersons
Rosa Garner, Ombudsperson, School of Medicine and Public Health
Carla Raatz, Director, Office of Human Resources
Luis Pinero, Director, Office for Equity and Diversity
Jennifer Sheridan, WISELI Christine Maidl Pribbenow, WISELI