Last spring, approximately 600 faculty and 1,350 administrators participated in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s first “Great Colleges/Universities to Work For” survey. Results released this summer show Temple ranked “best in class” for health insurance and housing assistance programs.

These rankings put Temple at the top of the 25 large institutions (those with more than 2,500 employees) that participated in the survey. That would include schools like Cornell, Duke, Emory, Ohio State, Stanford, SUNY Buffalo and University of Southern California.

Of particular note, Temple faculty and staff rated the university’s health insurance benefits package so high that Temple was one of the top five schools among similarly sized schools. Among faculty, 78 percent of TAUP members responded favorably that Temple’s benefits met their needs compared to 75 percent at the other institutions participating in the survey.

“This is not a surprising result,” said Jennifer Silvestri, assistant vice president of employee benefits. “We frequently hear faculty and staff comment on how great Temple’s benefit package is, especially with respect to healthcare coverage.”

The survey compared Temple to 25 other institutions with more than 2,500 employees. The survey focused on workplace quality — ranging from concrete issues like benefits, facilities and opportunities for career development — to questions about employee engagement, relationships among faculty, administration and staff, and confidence in senior leadership.

Human Resources is now reviewing all survey results and plans to share a comprehensive report with the university. The overall tone is reflected in comments expressed by individual faculty responding to the survey.

“This is an institution that is full of energy, purpose, mission and direction," said one respondent. “The new president is dynamic, inspirational and charismatic. I love teaching and this institution values teaching.”

Said another: “The sense of shared mission — a commitment to the wider community; the new administration’s respect for faculty, a welcome change; my colleagues’ and my chair’s commitment to the institution and each other; the wonderful, diverse, quirky group of students.”

In another recent survey, conducted in 2007 by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, Temple’s health benefits were also rated exceptional compared to 420 participating institutions.

Among the findings:

• Temple continues to have one of the lowest co-pays for doctor’s office visits at $10, with no co-pay for Temple physician visits, compared to an average co-pay of $20 at other participating institutions.
• The university’s benefits compare favorably in terms of paycheck deductions for health insurance.
• Temple requires no healthcare plan deductible, while 38 percent of universities and colleges have a deductible for in-network services averaging $300 for individuals and $750 for families.