Higher education institutions thrive when faculty and staff collaborate harmoniously. Yet, a persistent faculty versus staff divide plagues many colleges, affecting institutional effectiveness, student outcomes, and campus culture. When faculty members and administrative staff work at cross purposes, institutions struggle to meet their missions effectively.
The path to transforming discord to harmony lies in understanding the root causes and implementing targeted strategies that unite groups. This article provides actionable approaches administrators can use to foster unity and share purpose among college faculty and staff.
Understanding the faculty versus staff divide
In higher education, college staff and faculty play distinct but interdependent roles. Faculty focus on teaching, research, and student mentorship, while staff handle administrative, operational, and support functions.
However, differing priorities, resource allocation disputes, and communication gaps often strain these relationships, resulting in a pervasive “staff vs. faculty” mentality.
Why does the divide persist?
Several factors keep the faculty versus staff divide alive despite good intentions:
- Historical structures: Traditional university hierarchies place faculty in academic departments while staff work in administrative units. These organizational silos naturally limit interaction and understanding between groups.
- Governance separation: Faculty senates typically exclude staff representation, while staff councils rarely include faculty members. The structural division sends a clear message that two groups operate in separate spheres.
- Leadership approaches: When administrators treat faculty and staff as distinct constituencies rather than unified team members, they perpetuate division.
- Misaligned incentives: Faculty earn recognition through publications and teaching excellence, while staff receive awards for operational efficiency and service quality. Without shared metrics for success, each group focuses only on its own priorities.
- Cultural differences: Academic culture values autonomy and intellectual freedom, while administrative culture emphasizes processes and compliance. These differing values create fundamental disconnects in daily interactions.
The impact of division on faculty success
When college faculty and staff fail to collaborate, the consequences ripple throughout the institution:
- Student experience deteriorates: Students encounter confusion when faculty members and staff provide conflicting information about policies or procedures. This inconsistency erodes trust and creates frustration that affects retention rates.
- Support services become fragmented: A student struggling academically needs faculty guidance and staff support services. When these groups work in isolation, students fall through the cracks instead of receiving comprehensive assistance.
- Institutional efficiency declines: Duplicated efforts and miscommunication waste valuable time and resources that support the educational mission.
- Campus morale suffers: Ongoing tension between groups creates a negative work environment that affects job satisfaction and employee retention for faculty and staff.
- Donor confidence weakens: Potential supporters hesitate to invest in institutions where internal conflicts overshadow the educational mission.
- Innovation stagnates: The best ideas often emerge at the intersection of academic and operational perspectives. Division prevents this creative cross-pollination.
Conversely, institutions with unified teams enjoy increased student retention, employee satisfaction, and community engagement.
Practical strategies for bridging the gap
Mending the rift between faculty and staff takes sustained effort and sustained commitment. The following strategies provide a roadmap for creating positive change and cultivating collaboration between college staff and faculty:
Having a shared vision
Unify college staff and faculty around a common purpose. Your institution’s mission should resonate equally with faculty teaching in classrooms and staff supporting operations. Articulate this mission in all communications, engage both groups in strategic planning sections, and ensure individual goals align with broader objectives. This unified vision creates a sense of shared purpose and direction, reducing the “us versus them” mentalities that damage institutional culture.
Fostering transparent communication
Reducing misunderstandings and building trust across roles creates an environment where productive collaboration becomes possible. You can accomplish transparent communication by:
- Establishing regular, open forums for dialogue between faculty, staff, and administration.
- Hosting regular town halls, listening sessions, and open-door meetings.
- Keeping everyone informed and gathering feedback.
- Using multiple platforms like email updates, intranet portals, and anonymous digital suggestion boxes.
Encouraging inclusive decision-making
Transparency and inclusive governance increase buy-in, ensuring decisions reflect campus-wide needs. You can amplify all voices in policy development and resource allocation by forming cross-functional committees and task forces with balanced faculty and staff representation. Clarify the decision-making framework and what factors influenced the final choices.
Facilitating structured collaboration opportunities
Create intentional spaces for faculty and staff to work together often — these can include annual retreats, interdepartmental workshops, and joint training sessions. Special projects, grant applications, or student success initiatives should feature mixed-role teams. Schedule ongoing meetings to review progress and adjust strategies based on collaborative input. These structured interactions forge strong relationships and break down silos through shared experiences and common goals.
Modeling collaborative leadership from the top
Administrators must actively participate in joint initiatives and model respectful, inclusive behavior. Leadership messaging should emphasize the importance of unity and collaboration. Develop and enforce policies that promote cooperation and accountability. This approach sets the tone for the institution and signals that collaboration is a leadership priority. When leaders demonstrate these values through actions, campus culture shifts accordingly.
Recognizing and celebrating joint achievements
It can also be effective to establish awards for outstanding collaboration, creating categories that highlight innovation through partnership or exceptional teamwork on successful initiatives. To spotlight these successful partnerships between college faculty and staff, share success stories in newsletters, campus events, and institutional websites. Recognition reinforces positive behaviors and motivates continued collaboration across traditional boundaries.
Implementing professional development for unity
Faculty and staff should co-lead development sessions and share expertise to encourage peer-to-peer learning that builds mutual respect and understanding. Offer workshops on empathy, communication, teamwork, and conflict resolution, and specialized training for department heads and supervisors on managing diverse teams. With shared skillsets, cooperation becomes second nature.
Encouraging mentorship and job-shadowing across roles
Foster understanding and professional growth by pairing faculty and staff in mentoring relationships. Mentorship programs should help participants learn about unique campus perspectives and challenges. Implement job-shadowing opportunities for staff and faculty to experience daily realities in different roles. Debrief these experiences through structured conversations that capture insights and lessons learned. These programs break down stereotypes and build empathy between groups.
Leveraging data and feedback for continuous improvement
Routinely survey faculty and staff about collaboration effectiveness, communication quality, and workplace climate. Use the feedback to identify pain points, set goals, and track progress over time. Share results and action plans across the campus community. This data-driven approach ensures strategies remain responsive to actual needs rather than assumptions. Regular assessment also creates accountability and helps institutions refine their techniques based on what works in their unique contexts.
Build stronger institutions through unified teams with Watermark
As higher education evolves, institutions that harness the combined strengths of faculty and staff will thrive. While conquering the faculty versus staff rift requires sustained commitment and strategic action, it results in better student outcomes, employee morale, and institutional agility.
Ready to transform your institution’s culture? Watermark offers a suite of faculty success tools to support collaboration, streamline workflows, and keep everyone rowing in the same direction. Request a demo today to see our game-changing solutions in action and take the first step toward a more united campus.
