Academic RSO Survey Summary

[John C White <ohjcw@utxdp.dp.utexas.edu>]

Many thanks to all of you who responded.  The preliminary analysis of the
data is as follows.  Replies continue to trickle in, and I have requestedtwo
other surveys already compiled.  I intend to seek publication of an analysis
of all information within this calendar year.  I urge all Academic RSOs to
attend the Campus Radiation Safety Officers' meeting next year in Victoria,
B.C., near Seattle/Vancouver.  As the CRSO organization moves forward, our
profession will benefit.
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Number of Colleges Surveyed:  58
  51 in US     4 in Australia     3 in Canada

RSO Information:
  34 RSOs report to Director/Equivalent
       9 have job description/title of RSO
      20 have job description/title of Manager/assistant Director
       5 have job description/title of Coordinator

  21 RSOs report to AVP/VP/Equivalent
       5 have job description/title of RSO
      16 have job description/title of Director

   2 RSOs report to Assistant Director/Equivalent

   1 RSO reports to Chairman, Radiation Safety Committee

Education (Highest Level):
  17 have BS
      12 of these report to Director
       4 report to AVP/VP
       1 reports to Ass't Director

  30 have MS
       14 of these report to AVP/VP
       15 report to Director
        1 Reports to Chairman, Radiation Safety Committee

  11 have PhD
        5 of these report to AVP/VP
        6 report to Director

Certification:
  17 are CHP/Equivalent
   3 have passed Part I of CHP exam
  38 have no certification

Assistant RSO runs operations:
  At 7 institutions, the RSO is a title-only position, 6 designated for
program size/medical institution reasons, 1 for historical/personal reasons,
and the Assistant RSO/Radiation Safety Manager runs the program.

Salary Range:
  Although this info was not solicited, 30% of the respondents quoted salaries.
The range was from $40k to $75k.  Average is $52k, Median is $54k.

Problems quoted were primarily of the nature of 1) Dealing with Administration
regarding 1A) Budgetary issues and 1B) Authority issues, 2) Limited resources
on Academic/Campus problems from professional organizations, 3) Inadequate
staffing/budgeting, and 4) Lack of relevance of ABHP certification to Campus
environment.

Again thanks to those who responded to my request for this survey. The problems
of an Academic Radiation Safety professional seem to be unique within the
Health Physics Society, and no cogent voice for this group seems to be present.
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Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

John C. White RSO
The University of Texas at Austin OEHS
304 E. 24th St., SER 202
Austin, TX  78712-1024
(512) 471-2042
(512) 471-6918 FAX
OHJCW@UTXDP.DP.UTEXAS.EDU