Instant Gratification: Effective Behaviors of Successful Faculty

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Brief Abstract

At Colorado Technical University, the Academic & Career Success course (UNIV104) is typically the first course students take. Our students are reflective of our society – instant gratification is important!  In our course, our most successful faculty harness the power of instant gratification to provide motivation and positively impact student success.

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Extended Abstract

At Colorado Technical University, the Academic & Career Success course is typically the first course students take and serves as a foundation student success course. The focus of this course is to help students create a foundation for future personal, professional, and academic success. Our students are reflective of our society – instant gratification is important!  In our first course, our most successful faculty are harnessing the power of instant gratification to provide motivation to our students and impact their success.

Over two sessions, students enrolled in our first course completed a course introduction survey.  This survey asked our students what they wanted the most from their faculty.  One of the top requests was for faculty to provide them with encouragement.  When examining what makes our highest performing faculty so successful, we found that many were already providing this to their students through communications with students. Faculty who provide consistent communication to their students offer instant gratification through congratulatory messages when students complete assignments.  Additionally, consistent communication with students and regularly demonstrated presence helps faculty to forge relationships and build rapport with their students. 

In this session, we’ll explore strategies used by our most successful faculty in the classroom and how we’ve adapted as faculty leaders in mentoring adjunct faculty to help improve the success rates of our students both in our classroom and beyond.  A simple effort of providing instant gratification helps pave the way for success.