SOUTHEAST LEADERSHIP FLUNKS SURVEY

Southeast Missouri State University faculty members are generally pleased with their jobs and have other positive views about the university, but the administration gets low marks, a survey shows.

Most faculty members say they wouldn't change careers. And 57 percent said they were either neutral or satisfied with the university.

Two hundred thirty-two faculty members responded to the survey, or more than 64 percent of the school's teachers.

The survey was conducted by a Faculty Senate committee whose goals include improving faculty morale. A majority said morale had declined in the past five years.

In the survey, faculty members said Southeast does a good job of providing students with a general education and preparing them for careers. They also stressed the importance of their own academic departments.

But 54 percent voiced displeasure with the administration, rating it as very unsatisfactory or unsatisfactory.

In another part of the survey, the faculty overwhelmingly claimed the institution isn't managed effectively and said the administration is autocratic.

The survey results were distributed to faculty members this week. Terry Sutton, chairman of the Faculty Senate, wasn't surprised by the results.

An economics professor, Sutton has taught at three schools. He said college teachers across the nation tend to gripe about their administrators.

"I don't remember ever being at a place where the faculty thought the administration was good."

Southeast's president, Kala Stroup, said the survey results mirror national studies. "I think we see that all across higher education."

Still, she said faculty members at Southeast have a lot of input into university decisions. They serve on a variety of university committees, including the Budget Review Committee.

Art Wallhausen, assistant to the president, said the survey shows that some people feel the university doesn't listen to them. But Wallhausen said the survey results aren't something to be upset about.

The survey was patterned after a 1989 study by the Carnegie Foundation, which surveyed 10,000 college and university teachers nationwide.

Rick Althaus, who is a political science professor and vice chairman of Faculty Senate, said many faculty members complain they are saddled with ever-increasing paperwork and other non-teaching duties. Sutton echoed that view.

Sutton said merit pay for teachers has become a divisive force on campus, forcing faculty members to concentrate more on publishing scholarly works than classroom teaching.

"I think merit pay is the worst thing that has happened to higher education since it started in this country," he said.

The Faculty Senate has spent the last five years debating merit pay plans, he said.