Audrey J. Jaeger

Job Competencies and the Curriculum: An Inquiry into Emotional Intelligence in Graduate Professional Education

Empirical research has produced evidence suggesting that the ability to assess, regulate, and utilize emotions (i.e., emotional intelligence) is important to the performance of workers. Yet, few graduate professional program curriculums adequately address the emotional and interpersonal skills that prospective employers want most in their employees and that employees find most useful in their work. The results from this study showed that the potential for enhanced emotional capabilities could be improved in the traditional graduate classroom. Furthermore, findings revealed a strong relationship between emotional intelligence and academic performance.

Unintended Consequences: Examining the Effect of Part-Time Faculty Members on Associate's Degree Completion

Employment of part-time faculty members by community colleges has become an increasingly common approach to reducing institutional costs, which may have unintended consequences for student outcomes. This study examines the relationship between part-time faculty members and the associates degree completion of community college students. The authors use hierarchical generalized linear modeling to analyze student- and institution-level data from the California community college system to determine how student exposure to part-time faculty members affected the likelihood of earning an associates degree. Findings indicate that students experienced a significant yet modest negative effect from exposure to part-time faculty members on the probability of completing an associates degree.

Examining Retention and Contingent Faculty Use in a State System of Public Higher Education

In many cases, state systems of higher education are not only challenged to address decreasing state budgets but are also asked to increase student retention and other measures of student success. The increased use of contingent faculty may help economically, but this trend may have unintended consequences. This research used logistic regression methods to examine six institutions within a public higher education system for the effects of contingent faculty use on first-year student retention. A thorough examination of other traditional variables used in retention studies is also provided. Results are reported by institutional type via Carnegie classification. Most notably, high levels of exposure to part-time faculty in the first year of college are consistently found to negatively affect student retention to the second year. These findings have implications for both policy and practice in the use of contingent faculty across institutional types.

Neither honor nor compensation : Faculty and public service

Land-grant institutions that are also research extensive may face the unique position of asking faculty to fulfill a historical mission with low consideration of public service in the reward structure. This paradox between mission and reward results in the socialization of many faculty away from participation in public service. This article discusses a study of faculty perception of values regarding public service at a large, land-grant, and research extensive institution. Results from the study support the notion that both tenure and pay rewards may be inaccessible to faculty who perform public service at land-grant institutions with research emphases.

Exploring the Value of Emotional Intelligence: A Means to Improve Academic Performance

The academic model of success in higher education often neglects the role of noncognitive variables, including Emotional Intelligence (EI). As higher education educators turn their attention to learning, scholars are focusing on the role of EI and other noncognitive variables in enhancing learning. Although learning takes place both inside and outside the classroom, this specific study addresses learning as it relates to academic performance. To explore the role of noncognitive factors in predicting academic performance, this study utilizes an initial sample of 864 first-year students at a large research university. The research addresses the value of EI in predicting academic performance as measured by cumulative grade point average (GPA). The role student affairs professionals play in the noncognitive development of students, specifically EI, could enhance student performance inside and outside the classroom. Implications for educators, including student affairs professionals, are addressed.

Institutional Culture and Civic Responsibility: An Ethnographic Study

Student citizenship development is an important goal of higher education that is rarely considered through a cultural lens. This ethnographic study of a research university is an examination of campus ideologies and cultural forms that address five dimensions of civic responsibility. The findings illustrate how the beliefs and cultural equipment specific to a campus can result in a unique institutional approach to the development of student civic responsibility.

The Effects of Part-Time Faculty on First Semester Freshmen Retention: A Predictive Model Using Logistic Regression

Part-time faculty clearly serve a valuable purpose in higher education; however, their increased use raises concerns for administrators, faculty, and policy makers. Part-time faculty members spend a greater proportion of their overall time teaching, but the initial evidence suggests that these instructors are less available to students and are less engaged with the campus environment. Recent research attempts to connect part-time faculty utilization to student outcomes. This study explored the effects of exposure to part-time faculty instruction on student retention. Typical first-year students entering the study institution between 1999 and 2003 received over one-quarter of their total first-year instruction from part-time faculty. Furthermore, results show that as exposure to part-time faculty instruction increases, the odds of being retained decrease. Because the use of part-time faculty varies based on institutional type, additional research should focus on diverse institutional settings.

The Role of Culture in Institutional and Individual Approaches to Civic Responsibility at Research Universities

This cross-site analysis examines the findings from an ethnographic study conducted at two research universities. The study employed a conceptual framework that links ideology, culture, and action to understand the relationship between institutional culture and civic responsibility. Implications center on institutional effectiveness and student development related to civic responsibility.s

Supporting the Academic Majority: Policies and Practices Related to Part-Time Faculty's Job Satisfaction

The academic workforce in higher education has shifted in the last several decades from consisting of mostly full-time, tenure-track faculty to one comprised predominantly of contingent, non-tenure-track faculty. This substantial shift toward part-time academic labor has not corresponded with institutions implementing more supportive policies and practices targeted toward part-time faculty. This study examines the associations between part-time faculty satisfaction and a set of items that measure campus resources provided to part-timers, their perceptions of the campus climate, and measures of the institutional context. Findings point to opportunities for campuses and departments to improve part-time faculty’s satisfaction through providing access to office space and developing a sense of respect among part-time and full-time faculty.

Internet Access and Use of the Web for Instruction: A National Study of Full-Time and Part-Time Community College Faculty

This research explored the issues of access to the internet and use of the web for instructional purposes between full-time and part-time community college faculty. The findings that 40% of part-time faculty do not have Internet access at work would seem to indicate that part-time faculty are poorly integrated into the technology infrastructure of institutions.