Perpetual Professor： Changing Patterns of Faculty-Student Interaction in the Twenty-First Century

Current communication technologies have provided new modalities for students to contact professors outside of the normal office settings and regulated office hours traditionally found in higher education. This study concentrates on the faculty perceptions of how the usage of e-mail and cell phones has changed interactions with students over the past decade. General levels of usage are analyzed as well as correlation to curricular disciplines, An online survey of faculty members at Indiana University of Pennsylvania found maior changes in the type and frequency of contact between professors and students as well as a shift from personal contact to e-mail and telephone usage. The expanded level of communication opportunities has placed faculty in the position of having to extend direct student-oriented time outside of the classroom, while continuing to maintain academic scholarship and other professional responsibilities.