Empowering educators: how faculty development enhances student success

As an integrative biology professor in practice, Terri Matiella has been at the forefront of demonstrating how collaborative professional development and vibrant faculty communities of practice can create better outcomes for students. In addition to her faculty role, Matiella is the UTSA College of Sciences assistant dean for instruction, assessment and faculty development. She often works with the UTSA divisions of student success and academic innovation to pilot new programs and national initiatives like the Student Experience Project (SEP).

The SEP is a national initiative designed to enhance learning environments and student success through innovative, research-based practices that promote community building and a sense of belonging on campus. UTSA joined SEP and 13 other institutions in its first-ever cohort in Spring 2023 and is expanding its community of practice throughout fall 2024 and Spring 2025.

“UTSA has created a culture that truly seeks to understand our students’ needs and how faculty, whom students most interact with, can leverage tools, resources and new instructional approaches to hypercharge student success,” said Matiella.

Matiella observed tangible improvements in student performance after she worked with academici instructional designers to apply SEP principles to her core-level environmental science class. As a result, student persistence rose to 91.1%, compared to a historical four-year average of 87.8%. Notably, female students also showed improved performance, with persistence rates increasing by 2.1%, from 88.7% to 90.8%.

Building belonging, boosting success

The 52 faculty who participated in the SEP pilot in fall 2023 and the 31 members who continued in the Spring 2024 cohort have impacted more than 5,600 students. Faculty participants report substantial professional growth, improved understanding of student needs, and enhanced feedback techniques. Additionally, the fall 2023 faculty cohort reduced drop, fail and withdrawal (DFW) rates by an average of 3% across participating colleges, with some colleges seeing overall decreases in DFW rates as large as 5-9%.

Continuing in the spring, the student experience cohort observed a change of +3% in belonging certainty, +2% in identity safety and social connectedness and +1% in social belonging over the course of the semester.

“Course transformation projects, particularly those centered on pedagogy, often require multiple semesters to yield noticeable results," shared Melissa Vito, vice provost for academic innovation. "At UTSA, we recognize the complexity of student success and the many factors that can either enhance or hinder it. We are committed to exploring many strategies and embracing continuous learning to refine our support systems, resources, and student engagement initiatives."

"The SEP framework, with its emphasis on fostering a sense of belonging, revealed just how much we can achieve throughout a student’s journey, leading to immediate and significant improvements in their success."

The SEP’s goal is in line with many initiatives that UTSA has created to help students succeed over the last decade. Multiple vice provost-level academic support divisions within UTSA academic affairs, including academic innovation, institutional research and analysis, student success, and undergraduate studies meet regularly to discuss implementation and assessment outcomes of current projects and strategize for future initiatives to address continued student success gaps.

“We take a holistic approach to improving the student experience looking at both long-term trends and analyzing how we can make an immediate impact,” said Tammy Wyatt, senior vice provost for student success. “Whether its peer support, professional development opportunities or communities of practice, faculty have a lot of tools at their disposal.”

And for faculty who have not yet accessed UTSA’s wide array of professional development programs, there is a high chance that they’re connected to an existing UTSA community of practice through their peers. Nationally recognized development programs like ACUE, and UTSA-created collaborative communities like the award-winning Faculty Champions are just a few examples of how UTSA has created a network of professional development opportunities that connect faculty across colleges and disciplines.

Communities of Practice at UTSA

UTSA’s commitment to being a model of student success, as demonstrated through its involvement in the Student Experience Project Community of Practice and the UT System Exemplary Student Pathways Project, has earned recognition in the 2024 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report as a transformative practice poised to shape the future of higher education. Additionally, UTSA received the 2024 Eduventures Innovation Award for its data-informed student success and faculty development initiatives such as the SEP.

By prioritizing students and fostering a collaborative faculty environment, UTSA aims to enhance student retention and graduation rates while emphasizing experiential learning and bridging the gap from classroom to career. 

EXPLORE FURTHER

• View UTSA faculty development opportunities
• Explore free microcredential programs
• Faculty: Schedule a consultation with Academic Innovation

Contributors:  Academic Strategic Communications

• Joshua Cook, Video Production
• Chrissy White, Design
• KC Gonzalez, Research & Editing
• Chloe Johnson, Co-author
• Brett Copeland, Co-author