The purpose of this study was to identify ways in which students interact with faculty
members outside of the classroom and learn what students believe makes for high quality
interaction. Additionally, this study sought to identify successful out-of-classroom facultystudent
interaction strategies from the student perspective. This knowledge can aid colleges and
universities in promoting more formal and informal faculty-student out-of-classroom interaction,
thereby increasing the overall quality of the undergraduate student experience.
The study employed a naturalistic inquiry paradigm of research. The author interviewed
25 students at a Hispanic Serving institution (HSI) in San Antonio, Texas.
All students interviewed had interacted with faculty outside of the classroom. Six
themes emerged in terms of types of interaction: course-related activities; traveling for
conferences or study abroad; casual interactions around campus; career and graduate school
focused interaction; visiting faculty in their offices (most common); and participating together in
campus clubs or athletic activities. High quality out-of-classroom interactions had four characteristics: faculty members
were approachable and personable; faculty members had enthusiasm and passion for their work;
faculty members cared about students personally; and faculty members served as role models
and mentors. The most powerful element of high-quality faculty-student out-of-classroom
interaction is that of relationship.
The most pronounced differences between underclassmen and upperclassmen were in
the areas of going to faculty offices and speaking with faculty about career and graduate school
plans. Juniors and seniors proportionately had more interaction with faculty on these themes.
Students offered suggestions on how the University could encourage more facultystudent
out-of-classroom interaction. Students' ideas revolved around three themes: promoting
social events and interaction; stressing the importance of office hours; and suggestions directed
at faculty members. Students can also serve as ambassadors to other students by encouraging
them to engage in faculty-student out-of-classroom interaction.
To continue improving the undergraduate collegiate experience, colleges and
universities should strengthen and refine institutional commitment to practices that foster the
undergraduate experience, including that of faculty-student interaction. Finally, institutions must
remember to keep students at the center of their purpose and find ways to regularly solicit
qualitative feedback from students of all segments of the campus environment.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/85919 |
| Date | 10 October 2008 |
| Creators | Alderman, Rosalind Veronica |
| Contributors | Lincoln, Yvonna |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | electronic, born digital |
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