Faculty Involvement in Student Organizations

Abstract

This article examines how college students benefit from faculty being involved in their student organizations. Substantial research has been carried out on how such involvement impacts college students, for example, on their skills, values, aspirations, attitudes, job and even personality characteristics. Beyond the opportunities provided for students to gain academically-related information, such interactions have a wider impact on students’ general ways of thinking, methods of solving problems, and interests in life goals. Increased involvement of faculty with students’ programs is one way of increasing students’ satisfaction with academic and other non-academic programs, thus helping to retain highly motivated and qualified individuals who can remain loyal to the learning institution and support its programs. Such interactions also foster students’ occupational decisions, increase students’ persistence at the college, influence academic and intellectual development, and foster social or personal development. Research on the impact of faculty-student interaction concludes that more is better.