how to retain and support your most important resource: your faculty

National Center forCompetency Testing

How to Retain and Support Your Most Important Resource: Your

Faculty

CCA 2008 Annual ConventionLas Vegas, Nevada

Kay BertrandVP of Education & Development

National Center for Competency Testing

Dr. Gary MeersVP of Education

MaxKnowledge, Inc.

http://www.maxknowledge.com/


Or “The Care and Feeding of Career College Faculty”

Maximizing Your Return On Investment


Goals for Session

Understanding the Roles Faculty Play in the Instructional Process

Developing Faculty Development and Retention Plans

Making Instructor Certification a Part of Faculty Growth

Identifying Strategies for Retention of Faculty

Keeping the Best



Understanding the Roles Faculty Play in

the Instructional Process


The Roles Faculty Play

Model: Serving as a model for the profession

Manager: Coordinating learning as a curriculum manager

Motivator: Motivating students to keep engaged in the learning process



The Roles Require a Significant Faculty Workload Prepare for classes (Numbers vary)

Present lectures/demonstrations

Lead discussions

Create/administer tests

Advise students

Determine student training needs

Personalize standardized curriculum



The Roles Require Three Kinds of Faculty Competence

Technical

Professional

Personal



In Their Roles, Instructors Need To: Be able to speak the language

Testing/assessment/learning preferences

Understand student relationships Cohorts/learning groups

Act like an instructor Model/manager/motivator

Know how they fit within the college Where am I on the food chain?

Create a personal support system Where do I go for advice?



Premise: Faculty Are The Key

When faculty can teach, students learn

When students can learn, they graduate

When students graduate, they get hired

When they are happy, they tell their friends



Developing Faculty Development and Retention Plans


Four Important Questions To Ask About Faculty Development and Retention

Can we afford to do faculty development?

Can we afford not to do faculty development?

How can we keep our faculty?

What will be our ROI through faculty development?



Cost of Replacing Faculty

Estimated costs of losing a faculty member is:

1 x the employee’s annual salary.

Example:

A college campus with 30 faculty and average salaries of $35,000, with a voluntary turnover of 15%, is losing

$157,500 per year in turnover costs.



Before Developing Faculty Development and Retention

Plans, You Must First:

1. Know Your Faculty

2. Address Strategies for Faculty Development


Know Your Faculty

Today’s Career College Faculty are comprised of individuals across several generations:

Traditionalists - born between 1934-1945

Boomers - born between 1946-1964

Generation X - born between 1965-1980

Generation Y - born after 1981

First Milennials - started college in 2000



Know Your Faculty: Recognizing Differences

Traditionalists will accept professional development

Boomers seek professional development

Gen X’ers require professional development

Gen Y’s and Millennials expect professional development



Know Your Faculty:The Faculty Continuum

Arriving as a

Subject Matter Expert (SME)

and striving to be an

Instructional Delivery Expert (IDE)



Know Your Faculty: Two Faculty Groups

Full Time

Adjunct/part time

Both have to be made to feel a part of the team and faculty



Faculty Survey Results

Positive caring relationships

Recognition of achievement

Pride in the organization

Opportunities for growth and advancement



Strategies for Faculty Development

Customize to faculty’s needs

Make training effective

Provide mentoring

Tie development goals to performance outcomes



Strategies for Faculty Development

Identify career paths for faculty

Make career coaching a part of the faculty development plan

Explore all forms of professional development such as online training



Creating Faculty Development Plans

Status assessment of faculty

Organized method of faculty development

Formal plans for faculty development

Appealing development sessions

Validate training by using outside consultants



Create a Professional Development Plan for Each Faculty Member

Sends a message of caring

Shows they have a future with the college

Includes specific opportunities for growth

Helps to make them a part of the faculty

Illustrates that the college is willing to invest in them

Can be another form of compensation



Quick Measures of Success

Feedback from instructors

Course & instructor evaluations

# Complaints (instructors & students)

# Issues requiring intervention



Developing Faculty Retention Plans

Faculty development and retention plans are not mutually exclusive

Faculty development plans are often created for new faculty

Faculty retention plans are generally created for experienced faculty



Challenges to Providing Faculty Support

Cost

Fast-paced business

Nonstop enrollment cycles

Small campuses

Need training “now”



Challenges to Providing Faculty Support

Lean operational teams

Multiple training needs

Busy schedules

Time away from work

Different campus locations

Individuals and small groups



Making Instructor Certification a Part of

Faculty Growth


Value of Instructor Certification

Motivator during faculty development

Third party assessment of development efforts

Part of a career ladder within your school

Source of personal and professional pride

Marketing advantage (competitive edge)

Legal support (issues of competence)



Strategies for Retention of Faculty


Why Faculty Leave

Job is not as expected

Position doesn’t fit talents and skills

Little or no feedback and coaching

No hope for career growth

Feel devalued

Feel overworked and stressed out

No trust or confidence in senior leaders



Helping Faculty to Understand Their Value

Communicate clear expectations

Set measurable performance standards

Give instructors performance feedback

Take time to listen and take feedback



Helping Faculty to Understand Their Value

Reward and recognize instructors efforts

Provide growth opportunities for top instructors

Let them know you want to keep them



Keys to Faculty Retention

Talk to instructors

Recognize good teaching

Get personal

Help them to succeed

Keep them in the loop



Steps to Getting Buy-in From Faculty

Determine what motivates your individual instructors

Notice how much recognition a faculty member needs

Understand social network needs of faculty

Find out about their desired benefits



Retaining Adjunct Faculty

Regular Communication

Solicit Input

Provide Feedback

Acknowledge their reasons for teaching



Keeping the Best


Valued Instructors Know They Are…

Mission critical

Appreciated

Contributing

Supported



Little Things that Make a Big Difference

Menu of benefits

Gift certificates

Conference attendance

Online training programs

Professional certification



Personal Attention

Visit their classrooms

Make a point of chatting with them at least once a week

Invest in them as human beings

Show you care about them



Immediate Payback: Classroom

Armed with new skills and tools…

Teaching becomes easier

Issues become more manageable

Unintentional sabotage is reduced

Student complaints are decreased



Long Term Benefits

Learning: More efficient, more effective

Retention: Happy students stick around

Default rates: Graduates get jobs

Future staff: Trained faculty mentor others

Accreditation: Development standards are met

Marketing: Happy graduates talk



Key to Faculty Retention is KASH

K nowledge of culture

A ppropriate compensation

S upports for instruction

H elp from colleagues


Contact Information

[email protected]

1-888-626-2407


how to retain and support your most important resource: your faculty

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