Rarely does the dog eat homework anymore; instead, the printer is out of ink or the computer crashes. Sometimes it’s a court date or a car accident that prevents a student from handing in her homework, or a student has to take his little brother or mother to [fill in the blank] and missed class. We’ve all heard the excuses, and we all have sympathy for our students’ complex and challenging lives. However, we also insist on holding our students accountable: We have carefully laid out our expectations for assignments, participation, and attendance in our syllabi; we have offered extra help to accommodate their various needs; and we have continually emphasized the requirements for successful completion of our courses.
Interestingly, this same need for accountability occurs in adult behavior: “I’m exhausted/overworked/overwhelmed with [fill in the project] and haven’t been able to get to [fill in your requirements].” Sound familiar? The truth is, everyone’s lives are complicated; as faculty, shouldn’t we model what we want our students to do? How then do we encourage accountability among faculty? Over the last two years of scaling up our learning communities with our DEI grant, we’ve found that three basic steps need to be taken.
Establish expectations early: Just as a syllabus establishes a contract at the beginning of a semester between the instructor and the students, a written outline of responsibilities and due dates at the beginning of a project or initiative serves as an agreement among faculty. The fulfillment of these requirements is often tied to an incentive of some type. Two elements of this agreement are key: First, the requirements should be presented both orally and in written form, allowing for discussions and questions about why the various tasks are necessary; and second, the participants should sign the sheet confirming their agreement to be responsible.
At Norwalk Community College, we have a Learning Community (LC) leadership team consisting of the dean of academic affairs, the DEI project director, and the chairs/directors of the departments pairing classes in the LCs. This team outlines the kinds of tasks we want LC faculty to complete:
- create three integrative learning assignments
- meet regularly to discuss the students and the course
- write two narratives reflecting on specific questions—an individual report mid-semester and a group report at the end of the semester.
Because faculty know these tasks are requested by a team, rather than by “administration,” they are often more receptive to them. Additionally, we use the grant requirements to encourage individual responsibility; that is, we explain how grant funding requires accountability in both gathering and reporting data and other information. In a sense, the grant helps to create an accountability pathway that we are institutionalizing. We let potential instructors know their responsibilities prior to their agreeing to participate in an LC, and then we go over the “contract” again during an interactive workshop where they begin creating their assignments together. They all know that receiving their stipend is contingent on fulfilling their obligations.
Follow up and feedback: Since each responsibility comes with a due date, the project leader may need to prompt the faculty throughout the semester. A quick e-mail reminder to the whole group works well, and this can be followed – if necessary – by more personalized e-mails or phone calls to individuals who are excessively late. As requirements are met, feedback is crucial! Not only must we acknowledge fulfillment of a responsibility, but we should also comment to emphasize that the participants and their work are valued. Additionally, as the point person, you are in a position to respond to questions or challenges to help faculty navigate their role in the project and to highlight shared struggles and triumphs.
One of the advantages we’ve found is that by requiring faculty to submit their integrative learning assignments, we’ve built a bank of resources faculty can use in subsequent semesters. This shared resource generates further collaboration as instructors find ways to tweak and revise an assignment.
Celebrate: Faculty almost always like to celebrate with food and talk. The food and drink may cost a little money, but the opportunity to gather over refreshments and share their experiences is priceless. Reflecting as a group on the semester, especially with some focused questions, also provides feedback to you on the whole project. If this celebration occurs after the final reports or responsibilities are completed, you might share your analysis of the commonalities and differences you discovered. In past semesters, we have written a summary of what faculty have expressed and circulated it as a draft, asking for issues we may have missed. What faculty gain from this experience, besides camaraderie and an increased understanding of the project’s purpose and its value, is the knowledge that their voices are heard. Really, in the end, being heard and valued strengthens the accountability pathway for all of us.
Lisa Dresdner is director of the Center for Teaching & Learning at Norwalk Community College.
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