A case study of the implications of faculty workload and compensation for improving academic quality

The job satisfaction of employees is just as important as customer satisfaction in terms of organizational performance. In this paper, employee satisfaction is evaluated in a unique service environment: higher education. This case study specifically focuses on how information regarding faculty workload, salary, and benefits can be used to improve academic quality. The preliminary research was conducted via a questionnaire distributed to 182 faculty members at a small private college. The response rate was 67 per cent. One major finding is that most of the faculty surveyed do not believe they are fairly compensated, nor do they feel they are getting institutional recognition for their contributions. As a result, half of the faculty in this survey sought professional income outside the college. Hence, the issue of their commitment to the university, and academic quality, arises.