Office of the ProvostInitiativesCOACHE Survey

Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) Survey

Two students sit at tables studying in the Compton Union Building on the WSU Pullman campus.

What is COACHE?

The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) is a national, research-based initiative that is designed to help us better understand and initiate plans for improving the quality of work-life for faculty.

COACHE conducts an annual survey from universities across the U.S. The survey items fall into ten domains and some items address global satisfaction. Universities also have the option to include custom items. The ten domains are:

  • Nature of Work (Scholarship, Service, Teaching)
  • Tenure and Promotion
  • Interdisciplinary Work
  • Collaboration and Mentoring
  • Resources and Support
  • Shared Governance
  • Department Engagement, Quality, and Collegiality
  • Institutional Leadership
  • Appreciation and Recognition
  • Retention and Negotiations

WSU’s 2026 COACHE Survey

The COACHE survey is sponsored by WSU’s Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President. The survey will launch in February 2026 and close in April 2026.  Faculty will receive an email directly from COACHE with instructions to complete the online survey.  If you have immediate questions, please contact Lisa Guerrero (laguerre@wsu.edu).

Guiding Principles

The COACHE survey tool helps us understand the status of faculty affairs at WSU and initiate value-driven responsive and proactive measures. These values include the importance of:

  • Empowering faculty to reach their highest potential in teaching, scholarship/creative activities, and service.
  • Promoting the highest standards for integrity, fairness, and transparency when evaluating data, planning, reporting, making decisions, and executing programs for faculty affairs.
  • Facilitating a culture of collaboration and shared purpose that is interdisciplinary for teaching, scholarship/creative activities, and service, and that removes barriers between administrative programs in faculty affairs, academic affairs, graduate education, and scholarship and creative arts.
  • Promoting inclusivity and diversity among faculty by ensuring fair opportunities for all faculty, and by fostering an environment that values and respects different perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences.
  • Promoting the principles of academic freedom whereby faculty can pursue innovative scholarship and teaching consistent with their expertise and interests.
  • Promoting professional development by advancing ongoing and new opportunities for faculty mentoring programs, workshops, and resources to enhance teaching, scholarship and creative arts, leadership, and career advancement.
  • Promoting work-life policies and practices that support faculty well-being, and that foster a healthy and supportive work environment.
  • Ensuring that faculty members are equipped with the necessary tools and support to effectively contribute to student success, fostering a student-centered approach to teaching and learning.

Questions?

For questions or to learn more about WSU’s COACHE survey, please contact provosts.office@wsu.edu or (509) 335-5581.

Initiative Information