Community, Communication and Expectations for Teaching

This chapter explores how communication during the COVID-19 crisis hindered and supported faculty performance and how they interpreted institutional communication and expectations around their teaching. It addresses the importance of community to faculty, both as they adjusted to online instruction and as a source of thriving in their work. Faculty are a key element in higher education institutions, and the findings show how faculty participants acted on the frontlines of the transition to online learning. Faculty participants consistently talked about the challenges of teaching students to the best of their ability during a global pandemic, and the importance of their communities for their success in this endeavor. They expected clear communication from the University and desired guidelines specific to each college or department. In the end, faculty relied on their community as a resource of knowledge and support during the difficult transition. Professional organizations and colleagues outside of the University of Utah also served as sources of knowledge for faculty as they adjusted to online learning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)