Article
Faculty perception of the contribution of start-up packages to professional development.
Innovative Higher Education
(2021)
Abstract
Although it seems reasonable to assume that start-up packages are important for faculty
success, the contribution of start-up packages to faculty professional development is
understudied. The aim of this study was to explore how the number of benefits obtained
in start-up package agreements (number of benefits), faculty satisfaction with the start-up
packages (faculty satisfaction), and faculty perception if the university honored the startup
package agreements (honored packages) influenced faculty perception of the contribution
of start-up packages to faculty professional development (contribution to professional
development). Professional development is a planned activity that improves faculty
member’s knowledge and skills that are essential to their performance. Faculty at all ranks
(N = 121) from a public research university from the southeastern U.S. completed a Start-
Up Package Satisfaction Survey. To measure the contribution to professional development,
we asked participants to rate their level of agreement with the following statement,
“My start-up package has helped me or contributed to my professional development.”
Multiple mediation analyses revealed that: (1) number of benefits was positively associated
with contribution to professional development, (2) both honored packages and
faculty satisfaction mediated the link between number of benefits and contribution to
professional development in a parallel fashion, and (3) honored packages and faculty
satisfaction also sequentially mediated the link between number of benefits and contribution
to professional development. The findings are valuable for university practice
because they provide evidence of the importance of faculty satisfaction with start-up
packages as well as faculty perception of university fair treatment and accountability.
Keywords
- Start-up packages,
- University benefits,
- Benefit satisfaction,
- Faculty professional development
Disciplines
Publication Date
Spring March 19, 2021
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-021-09550-0
Citation Information
Höfrová, A., Moore de Peralta, A., Rosopa, P. J., Small, M. A., Steele Payne, K. & Rymešová, P. (2021). Faculty perception of the contribution of start-up packages to professional development. Innovative Higher Education Journal. DOI 10.1007/s10755-021-09550-0. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10755-021-09550-0.pdf.