Turnover Intentions of the Faculty at a Teaching-Focused University

Abstract

Research on turnover in academia suggests faculty primarily resign to obtain higher salaries and for personal reasons; however, the samples of most such studies have been from research institutions. Correlates were examined for turnover intentions among 190 faculty members at a university that emphasized teaching. Although current turnover intention was low, seven measures of satisfaction explained 31.5% of the variability in turnover intent, and satisfaction with pay, work itself, and teaching/service load together explained 26% of the variance. Findings support the hypothesis that salary is an important element in explaining turnover consideration at teaching institutions. Although satisfaction with collegial relations was related significantly to turnover intent, it was not as important as some of the other characteristics.