Perspectives About How to Define and Use Collegiality in Higher Education

Abstract

ABSTRACTCollegiality is a difficult concept to define and still more difficult of a concept to translate to practice as an effective tool to measure desired performance in the higher education setting. As faculty in kinesiology transition from retention to tenure and promotion, it is imperative that collegiality be clearly defined in measureable and objective ways, regardless of whether it is being utilized implicitly or explicitly in this process. Currently, there is no universal definition of collegiality, nor are there measurable tools to inform kinesiology faculty or administrators. Retention, tenure, and promotion committees that decide the fate of kinesiology faculty by including collegiality must also be able to articulate a concept that has historically been defined in vague terms. Collegiality’s importance in the use of employment or evaluation for tenure decisions has been conducted. Ways of defining and measuring collegiality, tools based on research, viewpoints by those who have conducted research on the topic, and ways to move forward in the future by agreeing upon a common measure for collegiality will be discussed.