Page 8 - index

ON-BOARDING NEW FACULTY:

The Academic Leader’s Responsibility

Roger Stanford, Ph.D.

Electromechanical lab “Teaching is very intentional.”

EVERY COLLEGE EXPECTS A GREAT INSTRUCTOR. commit time and resources to ensure new faculty members are
EVERY STUDENT DESERVES ONE. adequately prepared to facilitate student learning.
Communities and employers depend on graduates who are
Term afer term, students enter our classrooms to fulfll their adequately prepared for today’s challenging employment
hopes and dreams. Tese students want to learn and prepare for opportunities. Employers have high expectations for our
future careers with sustaining wages. Students depend on their instructors as well. Tey expect them to be competent and
instructors to teach and prepare them for these opportunities. connect learning to relevant industry benchmarks. Employers
Tey trust and deserve competent instruction from experts in expect instructors to prepare students to think critically, work
their chosen career path. collaboratively, and perform competently.
Academic leaders realize there are two considerations Te academic leader must recognize that every new instructor
when hiring efective instructors. Te frst consideration is has diferent needs based on his or her past experiences.
competence. Academic leaders must recruit and hire talented Academic leaders must commit to the personal development of
and competent instructors within various subject areas. every instructor, but especially those who are just joining the
Secondly, academic leaders must recruit and hire instructors institution. In a world where outcomes have never been more
with the skills or aptitude to develop into strong teachers. critical, one of the greatest infuences on student success is the
Finding instructors who can meet both considerations is the relationship instructors build with their students. Muhammad
primary role of the academic leader. (2009) highlights that “when one student fails, the one student
Once the new instructor is hired, the role of the academic sufers, but when one teacher fails, 30 students fail” (p. 111).
leader transitions from recruiter to one of on-boarding, Instructors, who receive the needed support, training, and
from on-boarding to one of development. On-boarding is an coaching to become efective instructors, enhance student
intentional and systematic process to help new instructors success and persistence. Enhanced student success increases
transition into their new positions. Glickman (2002) reminds employer satisfaction, promotes stronger communities, and
us that teachers must know their subjects well but must also be improves thriving regional economies. Academic leaders must
prepared to use a variety of instructional strategies and be able intentionally endeavor to help new (novice) instructors who
to assess high quality student learning. Academic leaders must enter the halls of our colleges.

8 LEADERSHIP Vol. 20.3 Winter 2015

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