THE ROLE OF FACULTY IN STUDENT RETENTION

"Student-faculty interaction has a stronger relationship to student satisfaction with the college experience than any other involvement variable, or indeed, any other student or institutional characteristic." – Alexander Astin, UCLA HERI

"Students who have frequent contact with faculty members in and out of the class during their college years are more satisfied with their educational experiences, are less likely to drop out, and perceive themselves to have learned more than students who have less faculty contact." ‐ K. Patricia Cross, About Campus, 1998


"There is no decent, adequate, respectable education, in the proper sense of that much‐abused word, without personal involvement by a teacher with the needs and concerns, academic and personal of his/her students. All the rest is ‘instruction’ or ‘information transfer', but it is not teaching and the student is not truly learning."
 ‐ Page Smith, Killing the Spirit, 1990


"Relatively simple changes in teaching methods can produce significant gains in learning for college students." - Harvard Assessment Seminar, 1990

Changing Lanes…Become a Mentor

Mentoring is your opportunity to connect with a first-year student or a continuing student at the University. Students are paired with faculty, staff, upper class students, former mentees, and alumni. Mentors connect students to campus resources, provide encouragement and friendly support. To become a Changing Lanes mentor, contact Howard Wright, Ed.D. at 256.372.5493, howard.wright@aamu.edu. His office is located in 101 Buchanan Hall. ORAS office hours: 8:00 a.m. - 5: 00 p.m.