This study explored the role of the faculty in developing and enhancing SEM on postsecondary educational institution campuses. Our hope is that through the sharing of promising practices in this area, each of us will see how we might increase faculty engagement in SEM on our own campuses. We also hope that our research will contribute to the development of some new ways of coupling institutional effectiveness both in and outside of the classroom, and to enhance collaboration between SEM professionals and those who teach and deliver our academic programs.
We interviewed 10 chief enrolment officers and 8 faculty members at postsecondary educational institutions in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Primary findings include:
- the primary role of faculty in SEM is to provide quality, instruction, deliver the curriculum, and create new curriculum,
- other roles include serving as consultative partners with the SEM administration and integrating related SEM concepts in the curriculum.
- faculty are important in implementing SEM strategies in such areas as academic advising, academic infrastructure, new student orientation, student recruitment, and student retention.
- faculty are also key in development of an institutional culture of collaboration and student success.
- one of the best ways to engage faculty is to build faculty relationships, share data extensively, and focus on student retention.
- In the future, faculty will be more engaged with SEM, especially at the academic discipline/department level.
Since interviews took place at only 18 postsecondary educational institutions, our findings cannot be used to generalize about faculty involvement in SEM at North American institutions. They do, however, provide an explanation of how faculty are engaged in SEM at institutions that engaged faculty members in SEM planning and implementation.
Further research is needed to determine the extent of these practices and how they differ at various institutional types, in different countries, and in terms of enrollment challenges faced by institutions.