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
Statewide Results
Statewide USS UPS Results (summary): A report that combines the results of both WSU UPS and USS staff together and compares them to the cumulative statewide six KBOR schools' UPS and USS staffs combined results.
Click here for the full report.
WSU-Specific Results
WSU UPS Results (summary): A report that breaks down the WSU UPS staff results and compares them to the combined UPS staff results at the six statewide KBOR schools.
Request a PDF of these results
WSU USS Results (summary): A report that breaks down the WSU USS staff results and compares them to the combined USS staff results at the six statewide KBOR schools.
Request a PDF of these results
Summary of the Statewide Results
This report is for Wichita State University. Responses to each survey question are provided for Statewide All Employees (USS and UPS combined) and WSU All Employees (USS and UPS combined). Responses are shown in tables and figures.
The Docking Institute’s independent analysis shows the following:
Compared to Statewide Employees, a larger percentage of WSU Employees have been employed by the institution for less than 10 years.
When asked to rank (from first to fourth) the importance of various items, “amount of pay or compensation” was ranked first among most respondents (82% of Statewide Employees and 82.6% of WSU Employees). The item with the next highest percentages ranking it first is “recognition for work performed” at 11.1% among Statewide Employees and 9.6% among WSU Employees.
Just over 70% of both WSU Employees and Statewide Employees report that their “work is greatly appreciated” by their immediate supervisors, around two-thirds of both groups say so about their co-workers, and a little more than half, 51.3%, of WSU Employees say so about their department head (less than half, 47.6%, of Statewide Employees say so).
Similar percentages of WSU Employees (21.9%) and Statewide Employees (19.4%) rate their morale as “extremely positive.” The single largest percentages of both groups rate their morale as “somewhat positive,” with WSU at 47% and Statewide at 47.6%.
Similar percentages of WSU Employees (40.2%) and Statewide Employees (41.1%) report that their morale has worsened “compared to two years ago.” This is the plurality of response for both groups. Slightly fewer (21.6%) WSU employees than Statewide Employees (25.4%) say morale has improved.
Of those indicating that their morale has worsened compared to two years ago, 70.7% of WSU Employees say salary increases haven’t kept up with increased costs, compared to more than the 63.5% of Statewide Employees who indicate such. Less than half (45.4%) of WSU Employees compared to only 52.5% of Statewide Employees report that they “had to take on additional work duties with no/minimal increases in pay.”
Of those reporting that their morale has improved or stayed the same compared to two years ago, similar percentages of WSU Employees and Statewide Employees report the single largest reasons being that “the future of my position is certain and stable” (WSU at 26.2% and Statewide at 26.7%) and “the morale of those around me has improved” (WSU at 24.6% and Statewide at 27.1%).
Similar percentages of WSU Employees (51.8%) than Statewide Employees (53.5%) report that their wages are at least “somewhat reasonable.”
A slightly smaller percentage of WSU Employees (29.2%) than Statewide Employees (33.3%) report having a second job. Of those without second jobs, 45.4% of WSU Employees and 41% of Statewide Employees report “considering taking a second job.”
Of those with second jobs or considering taking second jobs, 37.2% and 41.6% (WSU and Statewide, respectively) report that a second job will help them “provide better for their families,” while 40.8% and 38.1% (WSU and Statewide, respectively) report that a second job will help them pay down debts and bills.
Of those with second jobs or considering taking second jobs, most (58% or more) WSU Employees and Statewide Employees report that health insurance benefits, stable work, enjoyable work, and to maximize retirement benefits are reasons to remain at the university. Health insurance is the leading reason, with over 80% of both groups (80.5% at WSU and 85.5% Statewide) indicating it to be important.
More than 85% of both WSU Employees and Statewide Employees “agree” or “strongly agree” that they “enjoy the things they do at work.” About 85% of WSU Employees compared to about 81% and Statewide Employees “agree” or “strongly agree” that they are “sufficiently trained to complete their duties. About 80% of both WSU Employees and Statewide Employees “agree” or “strongly agree” they have a generally positive work environment. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of WSU Employees “agree” or “strongly agree” that their workloads are “reasonable,” compared to a slightly smaller 56% of Statewide Employees who agree.
Slightly fewer WSU Employees (66.8%) than Statewide Employees (70.1%) consider “improved healthcare benefits” to be at least “very important.” Over two-thirds of both groups consider “flextime or flexible hours” at least “very important,” while over 60%of both groups consider working remotely some of the time to be at least “very important.” Over half of both groups consider professional development opportunities, tuition assistance to another university, and tuition assistance to a community college or technical school to be at least “very important.”
The single largest percentage of both WSU Employees (44.8%) and Statewide Employees (46.3%) rate the health insurance through the state of Kansas “fair value at fair cost.” The second largest percentage of both groups rate it as “fair value at high cost,” with this being 27.2% of the response at WSU and 29.3% Statewide.
Given a list of ways that budget limitations may have impacted their job, over half of both groups and very similar percentages of each group say, “duties increased” (around 61%), “amount or quantity of work increased” (around 58%), and “completing more advanced duties or tasks increased” (around 51%).
A slightly lower percentage of Statewide Employees (32.8%) than WSU Employees (35.8%) report that they have looked for a different job within the past year or so.
Of those looking for a different job, 60.1% Statewide but only 46.7% of WSU Employees report that they are interested in other on-campus employment. In response to a separate question, 90.8% of Statewide compared to a higher 96.2% of WSU Employees report being interested in off-campus employment.
WSU-Specific Results
This report is for Wichita State University. Responses to each survey question are provided for all (Statewide) UPS Employees and WSU UPS Employees. Responses are shown in tables and figures.
The Docking Institute’s independent analysis shows the following:
WSU UPS Employees tend to be employed fewer years at the university compared to Statewide UPS Employees as a whole.
When asked to rank (from first to fourth) the importance of various items, “amount of pay or compensation” was ranked first among most respondents (81.2% of Statewide UPS Employees and 82.2% of WSU UPS Employees). The item with the next highest percentages ranking it first is “recognition for work performed” at 11.7% among Statewide UPS Employees and 9.7% among WSU UPS Employees. Similar percentages (about 34%) of both groups ranked “recognition for work performed” second.
Over 70% of both WSU UPS Employees and Statewide UPS Employees report that their “work is greatly appreciated” by their immediate supervisor, and about two-thirds (66%) of both groups report that their “work is greatly appreciated” by co-workers. Just 50.8% of WSU UPS Employees report that their “work is greatly appreciated” by department heads, compared to 48.7% of Statewide UPS Employees who say so.
A slightly larger percentage of WSU UPS Employees (22.8%) than Statewide UPS Employees (20.1%) rate their morale as “extremely positive.” The largest percentage of both groups rate their morale as “somewhat positive” (46.9% of WSU UPS Employees and 49.1% of Statewide UPS Employees).
Similar percentages of WSU UPS Employees (39.9%) and Statewide UPS Employees (40.8%) report that their morale has worsened compared to two years ago.
Of those indicating that their morale has worsened compared to two years ago, a higher percentage (70.7%) of WSU UPS Employees than Statewide UPS Employees (61.9%) report that their “salary increases haven’t kept up with increased costs.” Considerable percentages of both groups (44.5% of WSU UPS Employees and 51.1% of Statewide UPS Employees) report that they “had to take on additional work duties with no/minimal increases in pay.”
Of those reporting that their morale improved or stayed the same, similar percentages of WSU UPS Employees (26%) and Statewide UPS Employees (26.2%) report that the “future of my position is certain and stable” and that the “morale of those around me has improved” (25.3% at WSU and 27.4% Statewide).
A slightly larger percentage of Statewide UPS Employees (55.7%) than WSU UPS Employees (52.5%) report that their wages are at least “somewhat reasonable.”
Similar percentages of WSU UPS Employees (29.2%) and Statewide UPS Employees (31.6%) report having a second job. Of those without second jobs, 45.3% of WSU UPS Employees and 41.5% of Statewide UPS Employees report “considering taking a second job.”
Of those with second jobs or considering taking second jobs, 39% and 40.6% (WSU and Statewide, respectively) report that a second job will help them “provide better for their families.”
Of those with second jobs or considering taking second jobs, more than 75% of both WSU UPS Employees and Statewide UPS Employees indicate health insurance benefits and stable employment are reasons for continued university employment. Almost two-thirds of both groups report enjoyment of the work as a reason and about 60% report maximizing their retirement benefits as a reason for continued university employment.
80% of WSU UPS Employees and Statewide UPS Employees “agree” or “strongly agree” that they “enjoy the things they do at work,” that they are “sufficiently trained to complete their duties,” and have “generally positive work environments.”
Regarding incentives or opportunities, more than 60% of WSU UPS and State UPS Employees consider “flextime or flexible hours,” “improved healthcare benefits,” and “working remotely some of the time” as “very important” or “extremely important.” Over half of both groups report “tuition assistance at another university,” “tuition assistance at a community or technical college,” and “professional development opportunities” as “very important” or “extremely important.”
The single largest percentage of both WSU UPS Employees (44.8%) and Statewide UPS Employees (46.4%) rate their health insurance through the State of Kansas as “fair value and fair cost.” Almost 30% of both groups find health insurance to be of “fair value at high cost.”
More than 60% of both WSU UPS Employees and Statewide UPS Employees report than their “duties have increased.“ Almost 60% of each group report that the “quantity of work they perform has increased,” and just over 50% of both groups report that they are having to “complete more advanced duties or tasks.”
Over a third of WSU UPS Employees (36.2%) and Statewide UPS Employees (33.6%) report looking for a different job within the past year or so.
Of those looking for a different job, 60.5% of Statewide UPS Employees and 47.4% of WSU UPS Employees report that they are interested in other on-campus employment, and in response to a separate question, 90.9% and 96.6% (Statewide and WSU, respectively) report being interested in off-campus employment.
This report is for Wichita State University. Responses to each survey question are provided for all (Statewide) USS Employees and WSU USS Employees. Responses are shown in tables and figures.
The Docking Institute’s independent analysis shows the following:
Compared to Statewide USS Employees, a slightly smaller percentage of WSU USS Employees have been employed at their university for 20 years or more.
When asked to rank (from first to fourth) the importance of various items, “amount of pay or compensation” was ranked first among most respondents (87.1% of Statewide USS Employees and 89.3% of WSU USS Employees). The item with the next highest percentages ranking it first is “recognition for work performed” at 6.7% among Statewide USS Employees and 7.1% among WSU USS Employees. Similar percentages of Statewide USS Employees (37.2%) and WSU USS Employees (35.7%) ranked “additional incentives or perks” second.
Over 60% of both WSU USS and Statewide USS indicate that their “work is greatly appreciated” by their immediate supervisors, while over 50% say their “work is greatly appreciated” by their co-workers. A larger percentage of WSU USS Employees (58.1%) than Statewide USS Employees (41.2%) report that their “work is greatly appreciated” by department heads.
A smaller percentage of WSU USS Employees (6.5%) than Statewide USS Employees (15.5%) rate their morale as “extremely positive.” The single largest percentages of both groups rate their morale as “somewhat positive” (48.4% at WSU and 37.7% of Statewide USS Employees).
A slightly larger percentage of WSU USS Employees (45.2%) than Statewide USS Employees (42.8%) report that their morale has worsened “compared to two years ago.”
Of those whose morale has worsened compared to two years ago 71.4% of WSU USS Employees and 72.9% of Statewide USS Employees indicate as a reason that “salary increases haven’t kept up with costs.” Majorities of both groups also indicate they “had to take on additional work duties with no/minimal increases in pay.”
Of those reporting that their morale has improved or stayed the same compared to two years ago, 29.4% of WSU USS Employees and 29.6% of Statewide USS Employees report as a reason that “the future of my position is certain and stable.”
About 40% of both Statewide USS Employees and KSU USS Employees report that their wages are “somewhat reasonable,” “reasonable,” or “extremely reasonable.”
A smaller percentage of WSU USS Employees (29%) than Statewide USS Employees (43.7%) report having a second job. Of those without second jobs, 45.5% of WSU USS Employees and 37.1% of Statewide USS Employees report “considering taking a second job.”
Of those with second jobs or considering taking second jobs, 50% and 47.4% (WSU and Statewide, respectively) report that a second job will help them “provide better for their families.”
Of those with second jobs or considering taking second jobs, more than 70% of both groups indicate health insurance benefits and working to maximize retirement benefits are reasons for continued university employment. And 63.2% of WSU USS Employees indicate stability in employment as reason, compared to 81% of Statewide USS.
Regarding incentives or opportunities, 87.1% of WSU USS Employees and 78.8% of Statewide USS Employees “agree” or “strongly agree” that they “enjoy the things they do at work.” More than 75% of both groups “agree” or “strongly agree” that they are “sufficiently trained to complete their duties,” while about two-thirds have “generally positive work environments.”
Almost 70% of WSU USS and State USS Employees consider “improved healthcare benefits” as at least “very important.” Over 50% of WSU USS Employees consider “working remotely some of the time” and “professional development opportunities as “extremely important” or “very important.”
In rating their health insurance through the State of Kansas, the single largest percentage of both groups (45.2% at WSU and 46.3% Statewide) rate it as “fair value at fair cost.”
More than 60% of both groups report than their “duties have increased” (62.1% at WSU and 70.3% Statewide). Majorities of both groups indicate that they are having “to complete more advanced duties or tasks” (55.2% at WSU and 59.6% Statewide).
A lower percentage of Statewide USS Employees (27.6%) than WSU USS Employees (29%) report looking for a different job within the past year or so.
Of those looking for a different job, 56.9% of Statewide USS Employees and 33.3% of WSU USS Employees report that they are interested in other on-campus employment, and in response to a separate question, 90.1% and 88.9% (Statewide and WSU, respectively) report being interested in off-campus employment.”