Faculty Ownership Research Articles

The Power of Solidarity: The Effects of Professor–Librarian Collaboration on Students’ Self-Awareness of Skill Acquisition

The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy revolutionized information literacy instruction. It asks librarians to instill in students the higher-level skills to navigate the information landscape. Literature establishes the value of shared faculty ownership of information literacy threshold concepts, but it also documents the potential pitfalls of faculty involvement (Franklin, 2013; Julien & Given, 2002; Lechtenberg & Donovan, 2022; Perez-Stable et al., 2020). This article explores one successful partnership, concluding that instructor—librarian collaboration forged around shared histories and structured by codeveloped objectives positively influences students’ receptivity to information literacy concepts. As demonstrated by surveys of those enrolled in the course, students’ self-awareness of their own mastery increased as they applied threshold skills learned in class. Although data do not allow us to correlate academic achievement to students’ survey responses, aggregate results in both academic work and survey responses suggest that these insights led to greater independence for many students.

The CBVE Model—Keystone and Stimulus for Educational Transformation in Veterinary Schools

The AAVMC CBVE (American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges Competency-Based Veterinary Education) model was developed in three parts and published in 2018–2019, providing an evidence-based foundation for use in all aspects of veterinary curricula management from review to redesign and continuous curricular improvement. The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine (OSU CVM) recently undertook a comprehensive review and complete redesign of their curriculum, incorporating all the components of the CBVE model and, in the process, developed a continuous curricular improvement system that may serve other veterinary programs making similar changes. Anchoring the CBVE model within an adapted LEAN approach for systemic change created an outcomes-aligned system for faculty to engage with for curricular development, oversight, and modification based on continuous data collection and analysis. Even though the CBVE model has been in existence for 5 years, confusion remains as to how the three parts of the model best work together and how they can be used for much more than just curriculum redesign, and programs report struggle with how to effectively implement and manage the model. We share how the CBVE model has not only driven our college's curriculum redesign, but how it has also created an opportunity to develop a foundational educational system focused on competency, continual improvement, and innovation. This emerging system for managing curricular change acts in accordance with accreditation demands for ensuring faculty ownership and provides documented evidence-based processes for any changes undertaken.

Principles and Practices for Developing an Integrated Medical School Curricular Sequence About Sexual and Gender Minority Health

abstractProblem: Sexual and gender minority patients face well-documented health disparities. One strategy to help overcome disparities is preparing medical trainees to competently provide care for sexual and gender minority patients. The Association of American Medical Colleges has identified professional competencies that medical students should develop to meet sexual and gender minority health needs. However, challenges in the medical education environment may hinder the adoption and implementation of curricular interventions to foster these competencies. Intervention: Our medical education community engaged in curriculum evaluation and subsequently developed a sexual and gender minority topical sequence to promote student development of these competencies. This process was guided by explicit principles and curriculum development practices. Context: This work began at the Yale University School of Medicine in 2014, shortly after the Association of American Medical Colleges published sexual and gender minority health competencies and amidst the development and implementation of a new curriculum at the institution. Impact: We identified core principles and practices to guide the development of an integrated sexual and gender minority health sequence. This process resulted in successful creation of an integrated curricular sequence. At this time, 9 new or enhanced curricular components have been adopted through our process—5 in preclinical, 3 in the clinical, and 1 in the elective, curricula—in addition to the 13 preexisting components that have been updated as appropriate. Feedback about the process from students and faculty has been overwhelmingly positive. Evaluation of curricular components and their effectiveness as an integrated sequence is ongoing. Lessons Learned: Core principles consisted of including a wide range of stakeholders to build consensus, establishing complementary student and faculty roles, using the “language of collaboration” rather than the “language of demand,” presenting sexual and gender minority content in an intersectional manner whenever possible, and balancing sexual and gender minority components across the curriculum. Key practices included mapping curriculum to identify gaps; developing curriculum “pitches”; identifying early and potential later “adopters” among faculty; focusing on faculty ownership of curriculum to facilitate institutionalization; and performing ongoing tracking, assessment, and revision of curriculum.

An Interview with Jacob H. Rooksby, Dean of Gonzaga University School of Law

In this interview, Jacob Rooksby discusses his work and research in intellectual property and higher education law, including a critical examination of the role of copyright on the modern university campus. The conversation, with the Journal of Copyright in Education and Librarianship’s (JCEL) Micah Zeller and Tucker Taylor, covers trends concerning student entrepreneurship, faculty ownership, donor-imposed restrictions in special collections, and why everyone involved—from trustees, administrators, instructors, students, and library staff—should care and know how law and policies affect their interests. The discussion draws on Rooksby’s 2016 book, The Branding of the American Mind: How Universities Capture, Manage, and Monetize Intellectual Property and Why It Matters, which describes problematic practices of institutions, opportunities for those working in this space, and how intellectual property issues connect to our moral expectations for higher education. Professor Rooksby also flags areas for readers to keep an eye on in the future.

Lean six sigma and assurance of learning: Challenges and opportunities

ABSTRACTThe importance, and associated challenges, of faculty ownership and engagement in the assurance of learning (AoL) process are well documented in the literature. The authors demonstrate how schools can further their AoL objectives by encouraging and subsequently supporting organic, faculty-led initiatives. Specifically, we present a case study of a faculty led initiative to explore and demonstrate, as a proof of concept, how Lean Six Sigma can be used to improve AoL practices.

Pediatric Residency Program Handover: Before and After the ACGME Requirement

ObjectiveTo determine what changes occurred in pediatric residency programs with regards to handover education and assessment before and after the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requirement mandating monitoring safe handover practices in July 2011. MethodsWe sent surveys at 2 time periods to all pediatric program directors in the United States, as identified from a list provided by the Association of Pediatric Program Directors. Respondents were asked about their program demographics, whether they had handover curricula, how trainees were taught to perform handovers, and perceived barriers to effective handover. ResultsResponse rates were 58% in both survey years. After the ACGME requirement, only 1 of 3 of programs reported a handover curriculum with goals, objectives, and assessment tools. There was a statistically significant increase in the percentage of those responding that resident handover education primarily occurred by role modeling (66% vs 82%; P < .05). Other learners (visiting residents, medical students) also continued to learn handover skills by role modeling (55% vs 56%; P = NS). Lack of feedback and interruptions were recognized as barriers to successful handover by program directors in both survey years. ConclusionsThere is a continued need for handover curricula with didactic and practical components as well as assessment pieces within pediatric residency programs. Barriers to effective handover such as lack of feedback and interruptions continue to be major problems. There is a lack of faculty ownership and interest in learner handover that may affect long-term successes. Because role modeling continues to be the main way in which trainees learn handover, specific attention should be given to teach role-modeling techniques.

Creating a faculty community that values curricular assessment and improvement: one DNP program's experience.

Developing faculty ownership of ongoing curricular improvement presents educational and management challenges for schools of nursing, yet little has been published about which components help build a faculty community that values curricular assessment and improvement. The purpose of this case study was to describe key features of and faculty satisfaction with one school of nursing's doctor of nursing practice curricular assessment process, with a description of key considerations for developing an ePortfolio-supported curricular assessment process. ePortfolio matrices were used as a curricular organizing structure for mapping and scoring each completed student assignment to an American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essential descriptor using a rubric that measured evidence of student learning. Faculty satisfaction with the process was also evaluated. First-year results indicated high levels of faculty satisfaction with the assessment process. The initial findings led to four actions for curricular improvement and agreement to continue the assessment process biannually. The curricular assessment was successful in generating faculty satisfaction, identifying needed areas to improve the curriculum, and obtaining faculty agreement to continue the process. A faculty community supportive of curricular assessment is essential to a transformational learning environment that prepares future nursing leaders.

Faculty Ownership of the Assurance of Learning Process: Determinants of Faculty Engagement and Continuing Challenges

Although this article provides further evidence of serious impediments to faculty ownership of assurance of learning, including inadequate and misaligned resources, the results indicate that faculty can be energized to become actively engaged in the assurance of learning (AOL) process, particularly when they believe that AOL results are useful and help students prepare for future business challenges. The authors suggest strategies for building a more engaged faculty as well as highlighting ongoing challenges in that process.

Questions and Decisions: Application of a Cyclical Model for Program Assessment

Purpose: Expectations for public accountability, including accreditation, challenge allied health science educational programs to develop a sound program assessment plan. However, program assessment is often detached from what faculty feel is important. What is needed is a model for assessment that allows faculty to adapt assessment processes so they can ask their own questions and obtain useful findings that guide their decisions about program improvement. The purpose of this paper is to posit our model for program assessment, provide an example of implementation of the model, and discuss its value. Model Description and Implementation: Our proposed model is rooted in the needs assessment frameworks developed by respected experts in higher education program assessment. A goal of our model was to make it less complex than prior models but universally flexible, and to include the 5 elements we deem essential. This paper explains the conceptual basis of the model and describes its two process cycles (questions and decisions), the first of which prompt faculty to ask important assessment questions and identify appropriate methods, data sources and stakeholders for inquiring about the question. The second cycle facilitates faculty to analyze the data and make appropriate decisions about program change. One question about student learning related to decision making is used as an example of the model implementation for program assessment. Results: The model cycles clarified the extent of student and employer perceived needs in clinical decision making. The model also illustrated to faculty how to make decisions about program change and follow with ongoing assessment. The effectiveness of the model to engage faculty in data driven program assessment is discussed. Conclusion: A heuristic assessment model can direct faculty to identify important questions and implement meaningful data collection which leads to focused program decisions. Our model facilitates faculty ownership of crucial questions, guides an assessment process that reveals the extent of program needs, and leads to measured program changes.

Faculty Governance And Outcomes Assessment: Compatible Or Combustible?

This paper identifies the various factors driving the outcomes assessment movement, contrasts the old paradigm with the model now espoused by regional accreditors, discusses the six-step process of student outcomes assessment, emphasizes faculty ownership of the process to prevent administrative usurpation, and proposes specific strategies to enhance faculty empowerment.

Managing the sacred? Perspectives on teaching excellence and learning outcomes from an international postgraduate university

The assessment of student learning driven by learning outcomes is often viewed as a tool to promote excellence in higher education. At the same time, many professors do not see a value in such approach, while nonetheless sincerely seeking to promote teaching and learning excellence. Is this a result of misunderstanding or is there an inherent conflict between a formalized assessment of learning outcomes and pursuit of excellence? This article examines this question through interviewing faculty members in an international postgraduate university which is deeply committed to excellence in teaching and learning and is currently on a journey to introduce a formal system of learning outcomes assessment. The article explores the tension between pursuit of excellence and the procedures to set and measure the achievement of formal learning outcomes. The article contains several recommendations on bridging this gap and ensuring stronger faculty's ownership of the assessment process.

Closing the Loop in Assurance of Learning Programs: Current Practices and Future Challenges

Although it has been 5 years since the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) expressed the expectation that schools should be demonstrating a high level of maturity implementing their assurance of learning programs, the authors’ results indicate that most accredited programs are in the early stages of developing their closing-the-loop practices. Among assurance of learning leaders there is disagreement as to what constitutes a closing-the-loop activity and there are serious challenges to systematically implementing curricular responses including the time necessary to develop, initiate, and then reevaluate effectiveness. Faculty ownership, a crucial feature of the assurance of learning process, is reported as the number one challenge confronting accredited programs.

Comparison of Faculty and Student Ownership and Use of Technology

Technology is an integral part of life on college and university campuses and its use impacts both education and libraries. A survey was conducted at the University of Central Missouri to determine ownership and usage patterns of the campus community. Unlike other similar studies, faculty was also surveyed. The results of this survey show that faculty and students across a broad age range own multiple technologies and are comfortable using them for both personal and educational reasons. Demographic trends identified related to age and gender were unexpected.

Faculty Grassroots Leadership in Science Education Reform: Considerations for Institutional Change, Culture, and Context

A multi-institution project was implemented with the goal of improving science education through redesigned courses, inquiry-oriented pedagogy, and outreach to public schools. We examined the nature of faculty grassroots leadership in science education reform in the four main higher-education partners of the project: a community college, a master’s level university, and two different research universities. The main focus of the study was the interplay and role of top-down leaders in positions of authority (typically administrators) versus grassroots leadership among faculty and how these two converge and interplay to create organizational change. The convergence of bottom-up and top-down leadership is affected by institutional culture and context. Cross-comparative findings from the four cases are presented, including the context for change in each case, the role of administrative leadership on each campus, factors that either facilitated or hindered the emergence of faculty grassroots leadership, and the institutionalization and sustainability of these reforms. We then address the broader implications of the study with respect to understanding how grassroots leadership and traditional forms of authority and leadership can complement each other and facilitate organizational change. We contend that faculty grassroots leadership emerges on different campuses when there is sensitivity to the contextual differences. In particular, some attention needs to be given to the campus culture and the nature of faculty interactions at that site. The context for change at each institution and the role of administrative leadership and support shaped the conditions under which faculty grassroots leadership had emerged and, ultimately, the degree to which it was sustained over time. In addition, the faculty ownership of this project was essential to its success because, ultimately, the faculty needed to embrace the goals of curricular redesign and inquiry-oriented pedagogy for the desired institutional changes to be sustained.

Table of Contents

AbstractARTICLESTook Survey. Got Shirt: Using Effective Educational Practices to Maximize NSSE Response RatesMatthew L. Feldmann and Keli JacksonMy Own Worst Enemy: Five Ways My Best Intentions Impair AssessmentJeremy D. PennRepairing a Broken Assessment SystemChristie Hill MagouliasAssessment in Times of Turbulence: Using Assessment Tools to Understand and Change Processes in Student ServicesJennifer Massey, Bruce Griffiths, and Nanci CorriganCOLUMNSAssessment Measures: The Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) SurveysGary R. PikeCommunity College Strategies: Improving Faculty Ownership of General Education and Its AssessmentRose Mince, Lynne A. Mason, and Nancy Bogage

Problem-based learning: Where are we now? Guide supplement 36.2 – Viewpoint

The educational principles of self-directed, collaborative, and life-long learning can be effectively inculcated into the curriculum where PBL is adopted as a major learning strategy instead of PBL as a whole-curriculum-concept. In developing countries, where the entry level of the majority of students is at the high-school leaving level, a guided discovery model may well be the answer. A curriculum that introduces students to carefully constructed problems sequenced according to a matrix design ranging from simple to complex conditions and according to a logical progression of anatomical and/or physiological and/or pathological and/or pharmacological concepts makes learning easier. Centralized curricular governance, conceptualization and management have a very strong impact on the kind of curriculum, or more specifically which variant of PBL, an institution is able to implement. However, decentralized empowerment of a large number of faculty members is crucial for faculty ownership. A curricular change, especially to PBL from a traditional curriculum, demands adequate preparation time of at least 2–3 years. The time between proposing the change to introducing the change should focus not only on faculty development and training, development of the curriculum and its policies, but also on resource development and preparation of the student body.

Instructional Materials and ‘Works Made for Hire’ at Universities: Policies and Strategic Management of Copyright Ownership

Under the copyright doctrine of “works made for hire,” the author and copyright owner of the work is the employer of the person who created it. In the context of many instructional materials and scholarly publications created by faculty authors, however, placing all rights with one party, whether with the university or with the creator through transfer, can be problematic and detrimental to the goals of higher education. In determining whether the doctrine applies, courts look to details of the situation and whether the work performed is “within the scope of employment.” Recent court cases suggest that the doctrine likely applies broadly, and recent developments in the law weaken arguments for a “teacher’s exception” to the work-made-for-hire doctrine.Even if a work is deemed to be “for hire,” the copyright statutes include two important opportunities to change that result. First, the university could simply transfer the copyright back to the faculty member. Second, through a provision of the work-made-for-hire statute, the creator of the work and the employer may agree to reallocate the rights between themselves. Either way, the work remains a work made for hire, and other attributes of a work for hire remain applicable. In order to avoid some of the adverse consequences of works for hire, a copyright owner may choose unbundle rights by transferring or licensing only some rights of ownership, relieving tension and conflicts surrounding claims of ownership. Many colleges and universities have routinely opted for general policy statements that articulate copyright ownership principles. Recent cases, however, indicate that general copyright policies in the context of works made for hire may not satisfy statutory requirements for copyright transfers. Thus, educational institutions and individuals can effectively manage their copyrights, but only by properly attending to the requirements of the law.A court ruling since publication of this work has raised the possibility, in consideration of a motion for summary judgment, that a general university policy allowing faculty ownership of instructional materials may be enforceable. See Bosch v. Ball-Kell, 206 WL 2548053 (C.D. Ill. 2006).

Administrative considerations when implementing ACS/APDS Skills Curriculum

With time and cost constraints, implementing an effective, yet efficient, skills curriculum poses significant challenges. Our purpose is to describe a successful curriculum administrative structure that promoted faculty buy-in and accountability, learner responsibility, and acceptable resource usage. A total of 14 American College of Surgery (ACS) modules were included in the postgraduate year 1 curriculum. Before arrival, 2 modules were sent to newly matched residents. Remaining modules were administered over a 4-month period, with integrated, independent practice opportunities, as well as 4 mentored and 1 peer practice sessions. A total of 2 verifications of proficiency (VOP) progress exams and 1 final comprehensive VOP were administered. To promote faculty ownership, 1 faculty member was asked to lead each module. Module leaders attended an orientation and development session, and created an instructional management plan. Each module was taught by the leader and 2 additional faculty coinstructors, and evaluated by residents. Equipment, resource costs, and man-hours were tracked. Faculty buy-in was demonstrated by enthusiastic participation, with only 2 absences. Residents gave high ratings to all the modules (range, 4.22-4.89/5). Curriculum costs were approximately $21,500, reduced from potential costs of $187,000 if all simulators would have been purchased new. The estimated budget for year 2 is $17,000. It is critical for new curricula to have resident and faculty buy-in, accountability for quality teaching and learning, and reasonable resource use. We provide suggestions for structuring a curriculum to ensure accomplishment of these important drivers.

Institutional Efforts to Support Faculty in Online Teaching

Effective processes, practices, and infrastructure are essential components of successful online teaching and learning efforts; and they lead to a sense of faculty ownership of online teaching as well as enhanced support from an institution’s administration. The institution’s recognition of faculty members’ efforts to teach online in relation to the traditional concepts of scholarship, tenure, and promotion is an important motivational factor for sustaining effectiveness in the online learning environment. This study examined institutional efforts to alleviate or overcome challenges faced by faculty members in creating and teaching online courses, and we investigated faculty members’ perceptions regarding these institutional efforts.

Participative leadership in managing a faculty strategy

Contemporary discourse on the changed role of the Dean of an academic institution underscores the importance of aligning Faculty goals and objectives with the institution's vision and mission. This article focuses on the dean as an academic leader charged with the responsibility of shaping the character of the Faculty within a results-driven context, with limited discretion and / or resources. The purpose is to share views and experiences in charting and directing the course of the Faculty in the absence of shared vision and mission at institutional level. The article will also recommend strategies for helping academic line managers at departmental level stay focused in an effort to contribute toward the realisation of a faculty's vision and goals. The significance of strategic and participative leadership in ensuring faculty ownership of the developed faculty strategy cannot be overemphasised.