Faculty Needs Assessment

Higher educational institutions exert great effort to improve educational quality and effectiveness to cope with digital challenges in education. The impact of COVID-19 on education highlighted the importance of the achievement of sustainability in higher education. To overcome many of these challenges, faculty members need sustained professional development infrastructure embracing individual and institutional dimensions for enhancing educational qualifications. In this study, a quantitative method was employed to explore goals, individual needs, and institutional expectations of faculty in an international university in a developing country. The obtained survey data were analyzed using descriptive and non-parametric statistics (i.e., Kendall's coefficient of concordance, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Mann-Whitney U test). The findings demonstrate that the preferred goals of the faculty are found as developing skills in disciplinary knowledge, teaching and learning, and research. To achieve these goals, they favor certain capacity building activities and support services. Findings reflect the faculty's positive attitude towards multidimensional development, thus opening up to the global knowledge-based community. This study contributes to the existing literature as a pilot study to identify that faculty professional development needs are in line with student academic support.

The higher education institutions' mandatory transition to distance education during the COVID-19 outbreak led to restructuring of teaching and learning processes in Turkey. The aim of this research is determining the gains and needs of faculty members in academic activities in Turkey context. A qualitative research method was used and data was collected from 364 faculty members from different demographics, using an open-ended, semi-structured online survey. Three main themes and a total of 40 sub-themes were determined using the content analysis method. Findings showed that faculty broadened their knowledge and experience in distance learning, citing the need to improve their academic and professional development. Some faculty stated very intensive gain of digital literacy skills and competencies and online course materials; while others stated further improvement was needed in these subjects. These findings are important as a means to take the necessary precautions to improve academician's professional development and students' learning during the continuation of emergency process.