Promoting Faculty Involvement in Student Retention Presented by Joe Cuseo

1. Promoting Faculty Involvement in Student Retention Presented byJoe Cuseo

2. Introduction • Dr. Joe Cuseo • Professor of Psychology • Marymount College

3. Three Key Questions 1. The Why of It * Why is faculty involvement in retention important? * Why is faculty involvement in retention lacking? 2. The What of It * What forms of faculty involvement are likely to have the greatest impact on student retention? 3.The How of It * How can faculty be educated and motivated to become involved in student retention initiatives?

4. The Why of It • Why is Faculty Involvement Important? • Why is Faculty Involvement Lacking?

5. Potential Positive Outcomes of Faculty Involvement * Student retention/persistence to graduation * Academic achievement/performance * Critical thinking * Personal and intellectual development * Educational aspirations * Satisfaction with faculty * College satisfaction * Perceptions of college quality (Sources: Astin, 1977, 1993; Kuh, 1991, 1995; Kuh et al., 1991, 1994; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991, 2005; Tinto, 1993).

6. Probable Causes for Lack of Faculty Involvement * Lack of Preparation in Graduate School * Lack of Orientation upon Entering the Professoriate * Lack of Professional Development * Lack of Professional Recognition & Reward

7. The What of It • What forms of faculty involvement have the greatest impact on student retention? • Faculty Use of Active & Interactive Pedagogy in the Classroom • Faculty Use of Success-Promoting Teaching & Grading Practices

8. Faculty-Student Contact Outside the Classroom Examples * Student-centered academic advising (versus perfunctory course scheduling) * Faculty participation in new-student orientation by leading small-group discussions relating to summer reading or short reading given during orientation. * Faculty interaction with students at a reception following new-student convocation to provide students with information about their disciplines and careers related to their disciplines. * Faculty mentors or coaches for first-year students.

9. Examples * Faculty sponsors/moderators of student clubs or organizations. * Faculty sponsors of departmental clubs for new students interested in or majoring in their field. * Faculty sponsor service-learning experiences for students in areas relating to their academic discipline. * Faculty members visit student residences to conduct small-group discussions relating to course content, test-review sessions, tutoring, or academic advising.

10. Examples * Faculty make themselves available as interviewees for new students. For example, students interview a faculty member in their major or a potential field of interest as an assignment in their first-year experience course. * Faculty-student contact on college committees, taskforces, or councils (e.g., student retention committee, student retention advisory council, or student involvement taskforce). * Faculty-student research teams (e.g., student research assistants whose work culminates in a product for use as a senior honors thesis; joint conference presentation with a faculty member, or professional publication co-authored with a faculty member).

11. The How of It: How can faculty be educated and motivated to become involved in student retention initiatives?

12. Involvement & Support of High-Level Administrators * Public Comments & Communiqués * Visible Presence at Retention-Related Meetings & Events * Provision of Retention-Related Resources

13. Formal Organizational Structures & Functions * Designated Retention Task Force or Standing Committee * Designated Retention Director or Coordinator

14. Intentional Faculty-Involvement Programs & Policies * Faculty Recognition & Awards * Faculty Incentives & Rewards

15. Next Steps • Faculty Recruitment & Selection • New-Faculty Orientation • Faculty Development • Faculty Evaluation • Faculty Recognition & Reward

16. Resources • Boyer, E. L. (1991). Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities of the professoriate. Princeton, NJ: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. • Cuseo J. (2007). Promoting faculty involvement in first-year experience programs and student success initiatives. Unpublished document, available by request. (Contact Joe Cuseo: jcuseo@earthlink.net)  • Cuseo, J. (2008). Got faculty? Promoting faculty involvement in FYE programs and initiatives. ESource for College Transitions (electronic newsletter published by the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience), 6 (2), pp. 3-5. • Cuseo, J. (2009). Got faculty? Promoting faculty involvement in FYE programs and initiatives, Part II.. ESource for College Transitions (electronic newsletter published by the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience), 6 (3), pp. 3-4, 6.   • Cuseo, J. (2009). The faculty portfolio: A vehicle for stimulating student-centered, mission-driven faculty behavior. Unpublished document, available by request. (Contact Joe Cuseo: jcuseo@earthlink.net) • O'Meara, K., & Rice, R. E. (2006). Faculty priorities reconsidered: Rewarding multiple forms of scholarship. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 

17. Contact Information • Thank you • jcuseo@earthlink.net