Every institution of higher education desires that new faculty become quickly oriented and acclimated to the culture as well as methods inherent to that institution. Once new faculty are comfortable with operations and confident in their ability to fully engage with the organization these individuals will be more willing to take initiative while using their talents to the fullest. In the case of adjunct faculty, it is even more imperative to support new faculty as they may have limited opportunities to interact with campus staff and faculty.
Nearly all levels of higher education struggle with the need to support new faculty. Establishing an integration program that will work and will be embraced by all parties is a challenge that has not always been addressed with great success. At Central Michigan University, a new model has emerged that has shown some success. This workshop will layout one path for creating and sustaining such a program.
In many academic and other large organizations, mentoring programs are used to accomplish orientation and acclimation. The relationship in these programs is frequently a collaboration between a newly onboarded professional and a senior professional with the goal of fostering the junior’s development.
In the case of new faculty joining Central Michigan University’s Global Campus Program, the staff wanted to avoid using a mentoring program as a panacea for orientation. The desire was to create a program that would focus on developing new faculty and improving organizational goals through peer support. The group examined existing mentoring programs and recognized that the term mentor implies a vertical relationship. If mentoring only young, first time instructors with little experience in a classroom the term mentor would be appropriate. Yet most new faculty came with high experience or terminal degrees, and would likely be less enthusiastic about being connected to a Mentor. Changing the program to emphasize faculty partners suggested a more horizontal relationship. This term was less formal yet implied shared responsibility. Partners learn from each other and work towards a common goal
Assignment of the first new instructors as faculty partners started in the fall 2013. The feedback has been mostly positive. One faculty partner stated that, “I believe it is an essential program…. it’s what makes this school better than others.” Another partner commented, “I needed the assurance that I was doing things correctly.” The success of the program has led to concepts and designs for expansion of the program such as sharing of the collective experiences, lessons learned through presentations, and outreach to other organizations
withdrawn 10.4.17 based on request from lead/author. '