Build the Bridge to Better Faculty-Student Relationships

• In Event: AERA Graduate Student Research in Progress Roundtable Session Two
  In Roundtable Session: Connection and Belonging in Education Contexts: Homophily, Engagement, and Student-Faculty Relationships (Table 1)

Abstract

"Low college retention is a national crisis. Post-pandemic, the national retention rate is 75%, which is below the pre-pandemic rate of 75.9%, and for community colleges, the retention rate is significantly lower. Only 13% of community college students graduate within two years, and the rate is 28% for students who graduate in four years.
In the literature, there are numerous reasons for low retention rates. Students report needing engagement with peers and faculty to feel successful. Faculty-student relationships can impact academic success, and informal interactions can also play a role in retention. The theoretical framework I selected is Pascarella's (1980) informal faculty-student contact model, which includes context, focus, exposure, and impact. Faculty-student interaction research is an area that is not thoroughly explored in the literature, and neither is course retention. Most course retention research focuses on online classes. Moreover, there is also a gap in research about community college students and informal faculty-student interaction. Community college retention literature points out that certain aspects of students' social interactions and opportunities are different for community college students. My research question is how is informal faculty-student contact in high-retention courses described by faculty and students in an HSI/MSI community college. Some relevant literature includes Spady (1970, 1971), Pascarella and Terenzini (1977, 1978, 1980, 1991), Bean (1980, 1982, 1985), Endo and Harpel (1982), Tinto (1993), Astin (1999), Nicoletti (2019), Carr et al. (2021), and Tinto (1993).
I conducted nine faculty interviews and three student interviews and collected over 100 student survey responses to learning how faculty and students describe informal faculty-student contact in three core courses with the highest course retention at the largest college in Nevada. I let themes naturally emerge for pattern matching for the three embedded units corresponding to the three core courses. As mentioned, I utilized Pascarella's (1980) components of informal faculty-student contact for the predetermined framework. I learned that there are trends and patterns in faculty and student responses that are of interest to any academic faculty member that cares about their students and students who want to build better relationships with their professors too. I am in the middle of data analysis and will have it completed prior to the AERA conference. My research contributes to understanding the purpose, depth, and quality of student-faculty informal interactions and their impact on student academic outcomes."

Author

• Alicia Briancon, Baylor University
  Presenting Author