2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This WIP Paper is preferred to be presented as a lightning talk.

The intensified calls for fundamental changes in engineering education have placed additional stress and workload on engineering faculty. These faculty now face pressures to improve their teaching practices, secure more external funding, and enhance their student engagement while managing increased work-life balance roles that are not equitable among faculty. Additionally, the year 2020 introduced a multitude of challenges in higher education, including the COVID-19 pandemic, social justice movements, a mental health crisis affecting both faculty and students and an increased demand to equip engineering students with both strong technical skills and versatile professional abilities. Many universities have responded by establishing dedicated centers and offices for faculty development needs. These initiatives offer professional development through workshops, one-on-one consultations, leadership programs, and different opportunities for faculty growth and success. However, a review of current literature indicates a noticeable gap regarding how these centers and offices have responded to new obstacles that have emerged since 2020 and the impact on faculty development and success.

The College of Engineering's Office of Faculty Development and Success (OFDS) is expanding its focus from New Faculty Orientation and promotion and tenure to consider areas such as faculty mentorship, student engagement, leadership development, and overall well-being. Given these new support programs, new leadership in the college, staff changes within the faculty development office, and an increase in enrollment in the College of Engineering, OFDS recognized the importance of establishing a baseline for faculty development needs and experiences before implementing a series of new programs and initiatives. To establish a baseline of data, OFDS will conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of faculty development needs and experiences, as well as their professional and personal experiences. This paper will discuss the initial pilot conducted in the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering department before implementation throughout the entire college.

The proposed comprehensive approach considers the broader experiences of faculty members, whereas a typical needs assessment would only focus on faculty development needs. Our approach includes documenting faculty participation in other development initiatives, current job-related well-being, and personal commitments since these additional factors can impact their work and engagement in faculty development. The purpose is to identify faculty development experiences that are most beneficial for career advancement; evaluate challenges faced by faculty members in the College of Engineering; and develop programs and initiatives to address these challenges and meet the identified needs. The data will be collected through surveys and focus groups.

The pilot study presents an opportunity to improve the tools used to identify valuable faculty development experiences, faculty challenges, and potential program areas. These tools will then be used across the entire College of Engineering reaching 400 faculty members. Additionally, OFDS will develop an evaluation method for faculty needs, which will provide the foundation to continually measure needs using a developmental evaluation approach. These methods and tools will not only benefit this office but also other faculty development centers and offices.