July 18, 2016

SVSU named 2016 ‘Great College to Work For’

Saginaw Valley State University has been recognized as among the nation’s best college workplaces, according to a new survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education, a top trade publication for colleges and universities.

“We receive this honor with great enthusiasm, because it speaks to our commitment to support students and one another” said Donald Bachand, SVSU president. “Our faculty and staff work incredibly hard; they are determined to challenge students but also are so willing to share their time and resources to help students succeed.”

SVSU is one of only 93 institutions to achieve the “Great College to Work For” recognition. The results, released today in The Chronicle’s ninth annual report on The Academic Workplace, are based on a survey of 281 colleges and universities that applied for the program. This is the first time SVSU has participated in the survey.

SVSU was honored in the medium university category, which includes schools with 3,000 to 10,000 students.    

SVSU joins the University of Michigan as the state’s only institutions to earn the distinction.

“Today’s announcement is recent, but this has been a great place to work throughout my 30-plus years as a professor, a dean, a provost, and now as a president,” Bachand said. “I am extremely proud of my colleagues at every level of this university. They respect one another and they take their jobs seriously.”

SVSU was honored in three categories: compensation and benefits; facilities, workspace and security; and teaching environment.

The survey results are based on a two-part assessment process: an institutional audit that captured demographics and workplace policies, and a survey administered to faculty, administrators, and professional support staff. The primary factor in deciding whether an institution received recognition was the employee feedback.

“Nine years in, The Chronicle’s Great Colleges to Work For program is well known as a mark of a college or university that puts thought and effort into serving the needs of its faculty and staff,” said Liz McMillen, editor of The Chronicle. “The colleges and universities that make the list are highly rated by their employees for creating great working environments, an important achievement that helps them recruit top academic and administrative talent.”

To administer the survey and analyze the results, The Chronicle worked with ModernThink LLC, a strategic human capital consulting firm that has conducted numerous “Best Places to Work” programs, surveying hundreds of thousands of employees nationwide.

“It’s easier to be a great workplace during good times, but it’s when times are tough that the commitment to workplace quality really gets tested,” said Richard K. Boyer, principal and managing partner, ModernThink LLC. “And those institutions that measure up during times of economic hardship reinforce their already strong cultures and put even more distance between them and their peer institutions for whom they compete for talent.”

Great Colleges to Work For is one of the largest and most respected workplace-recognition programs in the country. For more information and to view all the results of the survey, visit The Chronicle’s Web site at http://chronicle.com/AW16.

About Saginaw Valley State University:  Saginaw Valley State University is a comprehensive university with more than 90 programs of study for its nearly 10,000 students. Located on a suburban campus in Michigan’s Great Lakes Bay Region, SVSU is committed to quality teaching in the classroom, field-based learning outside, NCAA Division II athletics and a broad range of academic and extracurricular opportunities for students to excel.

In 2015, SVSU received the Community Engagement classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, a distinction achieved by only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities. By their senior year, 84 percent of students have engaged with community employers and agencies in internships, field placements or some other component of their academic preparation. National research has shown that students who are engaged in the community and on campus are more likely to be successful academically, and to have the critical thinking, problem-solving skills, self-efficacy, and adaptability desired by employers.

About The Chronicle of Higher Education: The Chronicle of Higher Education is the top professional source for news, jobs, and information for college and university administrators and faculty. The Chronicle provides institutions with multiple paths to effectively communicate and engage with the largest audience and most influential decision makers in higher education in print and online. Visit http://chronicle.com/AW16 to learn more.

About ModernThink LLC: As a research and consulting leader in workplace issues, ModernThink has supported a wide variety of “Best Place to Work” initiatives. Through these programs, the firm has gained substantial survey and industry expertise, including specific insight into higher education. ModernThink knows what it takes to build a great place to work and shares that know-how with its clients. The ModernThink team of organizational development experts is dedicated to helping colleges follow through and capitalize on feedback from employees and benchmark data from peers to drive meaningful change at their institutions. Learn more at http://www.modernthink.com.