Working conditions at a regional university in assessments of faculty

Abstract

The article presents the results of an empirical study, the purpose of which was to determine the assessment of the working conditions at the regional university by the professor-staff. The study was carried out as part of the project “Transitive University in the face of global, national and regional challenges” at the Udmurt State University in September – October 2019. The sample consisted of 204 full-time professors (28 % of the total – 717 people). The results are divided into the following groups: assessment of various aspects of working conditions; assessment of the activities of university services; the most important problems of the faculty. Professors tend to highly appreciate those working conditions that are associated with their own contribution to the educational process: the moral and psychological climate in the team and observance of labor discipline. The lowest ratings were received: the opportunity to participate in field conferences, the effectiveness of the effective contract, the ability to provide benefits for the professors-staff, which, in turn, indicates an insufficient level of satisfaction with the incentives for professors. The main claims of the faculty to university services are reduced to excessive bureaucratization of management and educational processes. The most frequently mentioned requirements for the administration of the university regarding the improvement of working conditions are improving the efficiency of workflow, creating an electronic educational and managerial environment of the university. Among other problems that concern professors, there is a low interest of students in studying and the need to take exams and tests several times. Further clarification and separate studies require two issues identified as potentially problematic – this is the diagnosis of professional burnout of teachers and the provision of conditions to minimize its risks and consequences, as well as the difficulty in developing mechanisms to increase the effectiveness of interaction between professors and foreign students, overcoming language and cultural barriers.