Satisfaction Survey Results

Message from Staff Senate President

Dear Shocker family,

This past spring, the UPS-USS Council of the Kansas Board of Regents worked together to conduct a survey on its campuses with support from the universities’ administrative leaders. This council represents both Unclassified Professional and University Support Staffs at the six Regents universities — Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University, Pittsburg State University, University of Kansas and Wichita State University. The survey focused on topics related to employee satisfaction.

The poll was conducted online during the month of April by the Docking Institute and was emailed to 9,613 total Unclassified Professional and Support Staff employees at the six participating universities across Kansas. In all, the Docking Institute received 3,516 completed surveys, providing a response rate of 36.6%.

At Wichita State University, surveys were emailed to 1,951 UPS and USS employees. The Docking Institute received 517 completed surveys, resulting in a response rate at WSU of 26.5%. The response rate decreased considerably from the 2022 survey, when 37.5% of staff members responded. It should be noted that only 31 USS employees responded to the survey.

We want to extend a special thanks to President Rick Muma for agreeing to fund the survey for Wichita State University employees.

On behalf of the Staff Senate, I am pleased to share the full reports and some key findings from the survey. First, the results of the poll are available in two reports:

  • The WSU UPS report breaks down the WSU UPS staff results and compares them to the combined UPS staff results at the six statewide KBOR schools.
  • The WSU USS report breaks down the WSU USS staff results and compares them to the combined USS staff results at the six statewide KBOR schools.

A combined UPS and USS has been requested and will be available to share in the coming months. Additionally, a comment summary of the answers to open-ended questions is being summarized and will be shared at a later date.

The results of the Docking Institute survey will be presented to KBOR at its December meeting.

Here are a few of the key findings:

  • More than 70% of WSU UPS employees and 60% of WSU USS employees said their work is greatly appreciated by their immediate supervisors. Over half of both groups also feel appreciated by their coworkers. In fact, WSU USS employees reported higher appreciation from department heads (58%) compared to the statewide average (41%).
  • About 45% of USS employees and 40% of UPS employees said morale had worsened in the past two years. Salary stagnation and added duties without additional pay were the main reasons cited. Concerns about leadership, workplace culture and workload were also noted.
  • Pay and compensation ranked as the most important issue for both University Support Staff (USS) and Unclassified Professional Staff (UPS). Nearly 90% of WSU USS employees and more than 80% of WSU UPS employees placed it at the top of their priorities.
  • Employees placed high importance on flexible scheduling, hybrid work options, improved health care benefits, tuition assistance and professional development. Parking, workload balance and leadership transparency were also frequent concerns.
  • Nearly 30% of USS employees and more than a third of UPS employees said they are looking for another job. Most of those reported interest in leaving for off-campus employment. This is consistent with the statewide average.
  • Roughly 80% of WSU UPS employees and 87% of WSU USS employees said they enjoy the things they do at work and feel sufficiently trained to complete their duties. This is higher than the statewide average.

As we move forward, our WSU Staff Senate, along with WSU administration, will look closely at the results of the survey to determine what initiatives we can develop on our campus to act on the issues and topics brought forth in the responses. If you have any comments, suggestions or questions as we move forward in this process, don’t hesitate to reach out to me or to your senate representative. We will keep everyone informed through senate updates as we work on developing plans for improvement.

I greatly appreciate your participation in the survey and your commitment to ensuring that Wichita State University remains a great place to work!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jacob Mendez
WSU Staff Senate President, 2024-2025