National Center for Competency Testing How to Retain and Support Your Most Important Resource: Your Faculty CCA 2008 Annual Convention Las Vegas, Nevada Kay Bertrand VP of Education & Development National Center for Competency Testing Dr. Gary Meers VP of Education MaxKnowledge, Inc.

National Center for Competency Testing Or “The Care and Feeding of Career College Faculty” Maximizing Your Return On Investment

National Center for Competency Testing 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

National Center for Competency Testing Understanding the Roles Faculty Play in the Instructional Process

National Center for Competency Testing 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

National Center for Competency Testing 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

National Center for Competency Testing The Roles Require Three Kinds of Faculty Competence  Technical  Professional  Personal

National Center for Competency Testing 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?

National Center for Competency Testing 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

National Center for Competency Testing Developing Faculty Development and Retention Plans

National Center for Competency Testing 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?

National Center for Competency Testing 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.

National Center for Competency Testing Before Developing Faculty Development and Retention Plans, You Must First: 1.Know Your Faculty 2.Address Strategies for Faculty Development

National Center for Competency Testing Know Your Faculty Today’s Career College Faculty are comprised of individuals across several generations:  Traditionalists - born between  Boomers - born between  Generation X - born between  Generation Y - born after 1981  First Milennials - started college in 2000

National Center for Competency Testing 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

National Center for Competency Testing Know Your Faculty: The Faculty Continuum Arriving as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and striving to be an Instructional Delivery Expert (IDE)

National Center for Competency Testing 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

National Center for Competency Testing Faculty Survey Results  Positive caring relationships  Recognition of achievement  Pride in the organization  Opportunities for growth and advancement

National Center for Competency Testing Strategies for Faculty Development  Customize to faculty’s needs  Make training effective  Provide mentoring  Tie development goals to performance outcomes

National Center for Competency Testing 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

National Center for Competency Testing 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

National Center for Competency Testing 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

National Center for Competency Testing Quick Measures of Success  Feedback from instructors  Course & instructor evaluations  # Complaints (instructors & students)  # Issues requiring intervention

National Center for Competency Testing 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

National Center for Competency Testing Challenges to Providing Faculty Support  Cost  Fast-paced business  Nonstop enrollment cycles  Small campuses  Need training “now”

National Center for Competency Testing Challenges to Providing Faculty Support  Lean operational teams  Multiple training needs  Busy schedules  Time away from work  Different campus locations  Individuals and small groups

National Center for Competency Testing Making Instructor Certification a Part of Faculty Growth

National Center for Competency Testing 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)

National Center for Competency Testing Strategies for Retention of Faculty

National Center for Competency Testing 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

National Center for Competency Testing Helping Faculty to Understand Their Value  Communicate clear expectations  Set measurable performance standards  Give instructors performance feedback  Take time to listen and take feedback

National Center for Competency Testing 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

National Center for Competency Testing Keys to Faculty Retention  Talk to instructors  Recognize good teaching  Get personal  Help them to succeed  Keep them in the loop

National Center for Competency Testing 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

National Center for Competency Testing Retaining Adjunct Faculty  Regular Communication  Solicit Input  Provide Feedback  Acknowledge their reasons for teaching

National Center for Competency Testing Keeping the Best

National Center for Competency Testing Valued Instructors Know They Are…  Mission critical  Appreciated  Contributing  Supported

National Center for Competency Testing Little Things that Make a Big Difference  Menu of benefits  Gift certificates  Conference attendance  Online training programs  Professional certification

National Center for Competency Testing 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

National Center for Competency Testing Immediate Payback: Classroom Armed with new skills and tools…  Teaching becomes easier  Issues become more manageable  Unintentional sabotage is reduced  Student complaints are decreased

National Center for Competency Testing 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

National Center for Competency Testing Key to Faculty Retention is KASH K nowledge of culture A ppropriate compensation S upports for instruction H elp from colleagues

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