More than 70% of faculty report cuts in professional development while nearly two-thirds report declining well-being, raising concerns about long-term impacts on teaching, research and student success
DETROIT, March 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — NCFDD—a faculty success organization founded in 2010 that partners with 300+ institutions to reduce isolation, increase research productivity, and support sustainable academic career paths—today released findings from its 2026 State of Faculty Development Survey of 1,098 faculty members and academic leaders across the country, revealing a growing gap between rising professional expectations and declining institutional support.
“Even when faced with unparalleled uncertainty around the future of higher education and their own career paths, faculty are not stepping back from their work — they are stepping up,” said Geoff Watson, CEO of NCFDD. “But as institutional resources decline and expectations continue to expand, colleges and universities risk eroding the very conditions that sustain teaching quality, research productivity, and ultimately student success. Faculty development is no longer a nice-to-have — it is essential infrastructure.”
As higher education navigates federal research funding instability, rapid AI adoption, enrollment pressure, and institutional budget tightening, faculty are placing greater importance on professional development — even as funding shrinks.
Growing faculty support gap. More than two-thirds of faculty report that professional development has become more important to them over the past year. Yet more than seven in ten (71.2%) report that institutional funding for professional development has decreased. Only 15.9% report any increase. Nearly 64% of faculty also report that their well-being has declined over the past year.
Faculty development is viewed as essential infrastructure. The findings suggest that faculty increasingly view professional development as foundational to sustaining academic work. When asked to identify high-priority development needs, 77.3% identified faculty well-being as a top priority, followed by work-life balance and time management (72%), writing and publishing productivity (71%), mentoring and faculty development (69%), and leadership development (67%). In eight of ten development categories measured, more than 60% report high need.
Biggest gaps among early career and adjunct faculty. Early-career and adjunct faculty report particularly sharp declines in well-being, and faculty at research-intensive institutions report lower well-being overall, suggesting that strain is especially acute in roles and settings where productivity pressures are highest.
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Rising expectations, declining resources. At the same time, institutional investment remains limited. Even in grant funding assistance — the highest-rated support category — only 29.2% report strong institutional investment. In areas faculty identify as most urgent, such as well-being and mentoring, only about 10% report strong investment.
Research funding instability is compounding pressure. Nearly one in three (31.9%) report delays or increased uncertainty in funding decisions. More than one in four (26.3%) report being unable to secure new funding. Seventeen percent report shifting research focus due to funding changes, and 15.7% report losing existing funding.
Faculty are turning elsewhere for support—and doubling down on community. Faculty who saw research funding cut also report lower well-being and weaker professional community support. Sixty-four percent rely on peer or social networks for professional support, while only 31% rely on institution-wide networks. In fact, some faculty are paying out of pocket or relying on unpaid peer labor to access mentoring, writing support, and leadership development to fill gaps left by declining funding.
According to open-ended responses collected through the survey, faculty describe operating in a state of “constant triage,” with one respondent writing, “Everything feels urgent and nothing feels sustainable,” capturing the strain of rising expectations without corresponding support.
Another respondent noted that “support disappears just as expectations increase,” while another described institutional hesitation as “a quiet withdrawal from faculty development altogether.”
“Faculty are being asked to do more than ever at a moment when institutions are grappling with real financial constraints,” said Dr. Brian Bridges, former New Jersey secretary of higher education and former vice provost at Ohio University. “It has important consequences for teaching quality, research capacity and student success. If institutions are serious about strengthening outcomes and rebuilding trust in higher education, investing in faculty support must be part of the equation.”
The survey suggests that professional development is increasingly functioning as core academic infrastructure that can help position institutions to sustain teaching quality, research output and student engagement, even during a period of prolonged funding uncertainty and disruption..
NCFDD’s 2026 State of Faculty Development Survey collected 1,098 responses from faculty and academic administrators, primarily based in the United States and representing a range of institution types, with the largest share from research-intensive universities. Respondents included assistant professors (28.9%), associate professors (26.6%), full professors (17.5%), department chairs (8.7%), and senior academic administrators (7.4%).
Visit NCFDD to view the full report and findings.
About NCFDD: Founded in 2010, the NCFDD is the leading provider of professional development in higher education. NCFDD helps more than 300 colleges and universities improve faculty retention, increase research output, and create stronger academic cultures. NCFDD supports faculty in realizing their potential across all career stages, achieving research and writing productivity, career clarity, and sustainable work-life integration. Learn more at www.ncfdd.org.
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