Institutional service: faculty engagement in student affairs

Christian Kevin Wuthrich

doi:10.7273/000005866

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine cognitive and organizational factors affecting faculty service to student affairs. In recent years, the accountability movement has called for greater out of class faculty student contact, some of which could be in the form of service. Examples of faculty involvement in student affairs service include: participating in student conduct boards; residence life programs; or, oversight activities sponsored by a registrar's office. Significant descriptive and theoretical focus has been given to faculty service during the past two decades. Yet, the literature fails to define service consistently so that research findings vary. While there is extant empirical work that focuses on a wide range of faculty work issues there is little emphasis on service and service in the student affairs realm in practice. The goal of this study is to explore how faculty opperationalize and conceptualize service at three comprehensive research universities. The study uses findings from interviews, document analysis, and observation to gain a better understanding of the campus environment and individual faculty member's conception of the service role. Three campuses and 18 faculty members are included in this study. The findings include an overview and analysis of faculty service roles in student affairs at each university case as well as a cross-case analysis and synthesis. The findings suggest that faculty ability and motivation to engage in service to student affairs is contingent on campus environmental factors related to institutional culture. Further, faculty hold integrated or compartmentalized views of their work roles that affect service participation. This study draws on cultural perspectives to explain that organizational attributes detracts from or supports service. The study concludes with a discussion of recommendations for policy, practice, and further research.

Institutional service: faculty engagement in student affairs

Files and links (1)

Abstract

Metrics

Details