Quality of Academic Life
New pressures coupled with evolving professional demands such as rising productivity standards, shrinking grant resources, and heavier teaching loads have led to work-related stress and burnout among faculty members. Faculty burnout has been linked to poor student outcomes, early retirement, lower research productivity, and diminished teaching quality — outcomes which place additional financial stress on the education system.
The purpose of the Quality of Academic Life Study is to utilize the Quadruple Aim for Higher Education as a guide to assess the prevalence of provider and faculty burnout among public colleges and universities in Mississippi.
With IRB approval, each public university in Mississippi was offered an opportunity to participate in a short, online survey during the first year of the study. The second year of the study calls for creating a digital clearinghouse of resources for combating burnout and improving quality of academic life. A follow-up survey will take place during the third year of the study.
This project is led by Dr. Bettina Beech, principal investigator and dean of the John D. Bower School of Population Health at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and a team of faculty and staff from each department within the school including the following: Dr. Joshua Mann, professor and chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine and director of the Office of Wellbeing; Dr. Leandro Mena, professor and chair of the Department of Population Health Science; Dr. Daniel Williams, professor of psychiatry; Dr. Marino Bruce, associate professor of medicine; Sondra Redmont, administrator of the Office of Wellbeing; and Alana Bowman, project manager in the Office of the Dean.
Click here to view Survey Data
