Graduation Year

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Leadership, Policy, and Lifelong Learning

Major Professor

Amber Dumford, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Thomas Miller, Ed.D.

Committee Member

Kathy Bradley-Klug, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Theresa Chisolm, Ph.D.

Keywords

Higher Education, Student-Faculty Interaction, Effective Teaching Practices, College Teaching

Abstract

Higher Education is the gateway to a successful life, and students need their institution's support to make it to graduation. Undergraduate students have their primary academic interactions with a university through its faculty and the courses they are required to complete to earn a degree. Engagement with faculty is a key factor in student satisfaction with their institution. The extent to which faculty make time for excellent teaching and additional experiences for students is driven by the reward systems at the institutions where they research, teach, and advise.This research study investigates whether student perceptions of faculty interactions and teaching effectiveness are influenced by the motivational context of the faculty member, driven by institutional policy and practice. The study explored the relationship between teaching review systems and their relationship to faculty motivation for teaching, measured as student perceptions of faculty interactions and effective teaching practices at public research universities. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research analyzed data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and institutional documents to categorize universities based on their teaching evaluation criteria. The findings reveal that peer review of teaching (PRT) and teaching excellence in tenure and promotion have a significant relationship to perceptions of student-faculty interaction (SFI) and effective teaching practices (ETP). The study highlights the importance of institutional policies in shaping faculty motivation and student engagement, providing insights for improving teaching quality and student experiences.

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