An Examination of Faculty and Staff Collaboration and Relationships In Higher Education

Collaboration between academic and student affairs professionals is an important means of increasing student success; however, historical divides between these units have made implementation of these efforts challenging. This quantitative study sought to evaluate the perceptions of faculty and student affairs staff towards collaborative efforts and toward one another within a single campus of a comprehensive regional university within the southeast. Findings show that while both faculty and staff value collaborations and believe they positively impact student success, these units do not experience equitable voice and responsibility within collaborative efforts when conducted. Additionally, differences were found in enjoyment of collaborative efforts and how various traits impacted willingness to collaborate. Significant differences were also found in the perceptions faculty and staff hold toward one another, both in perceptions of the roles and within relational descriptors. Finally, this study identified that interpersonal relationships and perceptions do in fact relate to willingness to collaborate, but do so in differing ways for the two employee classifications. Implications for institutional leadership and recommendations for future research are provided.