2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Impact of Faculty Behaviors on Student-Faculty Rapport: A Multi-Institutional Study

Presented at Student Services & Supports

This research paper describes the findings from an multi-institutional exploratory study identifying student perceptions of positive rapport. Numerous studies have identified that professors who can establish strong and positive rapport with their students have an immediate and positive impact on students’ learning, attendance, engagement, motivation and academic success, resulting in a positive long-term influence on retention. Building on previous work by Ozis and Winfree (2020) that ranked fifteen specific faculty behaviors fostering positive rapport at a single institution in the southeastern US, this study expands to include perspectives from civil, environmental, and construction engineering and management students across multiple institutions with different academic populations.
The objectives of this study are to:
*Identify faculty behaviors that have a higher potential for positive influence on rapport
*Determine whether, or the extent to which, demographics (e.g., region, type of institution, class size, student’s background, gender, status) affect students’ perception of what constitutes positive student-faculty rapport.
As part of this study, we will investigate student attitudes across a diverse group of US Universities through a survey and identify recommended strategies for developing positive rapport. The results of this work can be used broadly by faculty to enhance student learning and engagement through deliberate actions in developing rapport with students.

Authors
  1. Dr. Kyle Nathan Winfree Northern Arizona University [biography]
  2. Dr. Corinna Marie Fleischmann P.E. United States Coast Guard Academy [biography]
  3. Dr. Scott R Hamilton P.E. York College of Pennsylvania [biography]
  4. Dr. Kaitlyn T Hanley P.E. Orcid 16x16http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8252-4689 New York University Tandon School of Engineering [biography]
  5. Dr. Monica Palomo P.E. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona [biography]
  6. Dr. Jennifer Retherford P.E. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville [biography]
  7. Dr. David A Saftner University of Minnesota Duluth [biography]
  8. Dr. Camilla M. Saviz P.E. University of the Pacific [biography]
Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025