Commentary: The Pivotal Role of the Faculty in Propelling Student Persistence and Progress toward Degree Completion

Abstract

Many constituencies of a college or university make contributions to student success and failure. Higher education research has focused on many contributors to college or university student success, including pre-college preparation, transition or orientation programs, academic rigor, and academic and social support systems to name a few. Our observation is that the potential impact of one group—faculty—on student success far outweighs all others. Because student success is ultimately determined by their persistence to graduation, and student mastery of academic content determines their persistence and graduation, and faculty determine the extent to which mastery of courses has occurred, faculty are vital to student success. The authors recommend action research as a tool for faculty to assess the extent of their impact on student success (i.e., learning, persistence, and graduation).