The accidental retention agents: how student affairs can influence student retention by understanding how key players (i.e., faculty) perceive their role in student success and retention

Over the past 40 years significant research has attempted to understand what influences student retention and overall student success. As leaders/administrators and student affairs professionals at colleges and universities around the country have searched for new ways to improve retention, understanding how and where faculty fit in the student retention picture has received limited attention. This study investigates the motivation behind faculty approaches to teaching, specifically looking at how faculty perceive the role they play in student success and how they approach teaching in the classroom. By interviewing faculty about their understanding of student retention literature and examining what takes place in the classroom, this study sheds light on an aspect of student retention that is deserving of attention- how faculty understand their responsibility for retaining undergraduate students. This can be useful as campuses make decisions to improve student success.