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The Crucial Role of Faculty in Student Performance: Academic Integration versus Faculty Distance Abstract

Large numbers of students' depart from engineering programs before graduation.1 Several reasons have been posited such as attrition resulting from inadequate academic support, or from lowered student confidence due to estrangement from faculty members.3,4 For example, in fields such as engineering and computer science, students have commented on the inaccessible or unapproachable nature of faculty. To evaluate this previous body of research, this study gathered data across four research universities. Using structural equation modeling, it measured environmental effects, i.e., academic integration or faculty distance on a) self-efficacy, b) academic confidence and c) self-regulated learning behaviors, and d) GPA. Results showed that faculty distance lowered self-efficacy, academic confidence and GPA, where academic integration had positive effects, especially for females. In past studies, GPA has been a statistically significant predictor of “stayers” and “leavers” in science and engineering programs.2 Consequently, ongoing educational reform efforts must encourage engineering faculty to understand the significance of their student/professor relationships because its potential for student retention, especially for females, is significant. In concluding, recommendations are offered for faculty to help improve student retention with emphasis on interventions to retain females in engineering programs where they remain drastically underrepresented.

Background of the Problem

Overall, approximately 40% of those who begin college with the intention of undertaking engineering do not complete their programs of undergraduate studies indicating that in the case of engineering studies, a central problem is one of persistence.1 When attending engineering courses, students may be stunned at the level of difficulty in their coursework.2, 3,4 In these classrooms and lecture halls, faculty may, or may not, realize the critical role they play in a student's decision to persist. Undoubtedly, classroom dynamics may exert tremendous influence on students' academic persistence or willingness to sustain effort in their subjects.3,4,5 While many faculty members may disagree that they are discouraging some students, very subtle and often undetectable behaviors may have a negative effect on students.4,5,6

Astin6 was among the first to document that schools of higher education treat students differently and students are actually aware of these subtleties. Further, Serex7 identified males and females in education and nursing programs (i.e., feminine professions) who regardless of gender unanimously felt the classes had a "warm" atmosphere. Conversely, both males and females in accounting and engineering rated their classes as "cooler." More recently, in Seymour and Hewitt's4 book, the high attrition rates for science, math and engineering students is linked to the intimidating nature of the classroom, the dullness of the lecture model and inadequate faculty guidance. While this is true for both genders, it is more so for females.4

“Chilly” environments may have an efficient but not necessarily supportive function.5 If we consider the alternative to traditional college lecture halls, collaborative learning research has highlighted the distance between faculty and students in institutions of higher education: the

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Vogt, C. (2006, June), The Crucial Role Of Engineering Faculty On Student Performance Paper presented at 2006 Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. 10.18260/1-2--1270