The Perceived Impact of Faculty-in-Residence Programs on Faculty Development

Abstract

Faculty-in-Residence (FIR) programs, where students interact with faculty outside of the classroom, have shown positive effects on student success. However, most research does not look at FIR programs from a holistic perspective that examines the impact on faculty. This study investigates the perceived impact on faculty participating in FIR programs. The results add to current literature that faculty-student interactions outside of the classroom are significant for students and faculty, specifically faculty perceptions of performance in teaching and service. The results also indicate positive perceptions by faculty in research performance due to participation in the FIR program. This finding is surprising given previous research, which shows faculty who participate in FIR programs feel disadvantaged in terms of their research agenda. Furthermore, the investigation uncovers how the organizational design of the institution implementing the FIR program impacts the perceptions of program purpose and efficacy. Practitioner Notes 1. Participation in FIR programs help facilitate FIR faculty development, which in turn creates greater opportunities for student engagement, student sense of belonging and student success. 2. Faculty and student interactions outside of the classroom are significant for students and faculty, specifically faculty perceptions of their performance in teaching and service. 3. Involvement in the FIR program fosters positive perceptions by faculty to expand their research agendas with increased opportunities to collaborate with other disciplines. 4. Beyond the positive results of FIR faculty perceptions on their teaching, research, and service performance, transcending themes of diversity, empathy, networking, and organization were uncovered, which enhanced FIR faculty professional development. 5. To achieve overall positive impact of FIR programs, program goals, objectives, need to be aligned and agreed upon by the university, residential life administrators, and faculty.