Institutional Commitment of Faculty in Evangelical Colleges and Universities

Abstract

Organizational commitment has been understood to be a significant antecedent of employee turnover. The fact that work occupies the better part of one's day and the considerable costs associated with turnover has heightened the importance of satisfaction at work. Though commitment has been examined in many sectors of industry, it has rarely focused upon Christian postsecondary education. The purpose of this study was to understand the relationship between motivation, commitment, and embeddedness of faculty teaching in CCCU member institutions. The research population for this study was faculty teaching in CCCU schools. There were 652 respondents from 38 colleges and universities who completed the survey. Data for this study was gathered using an array of 4 instruments and select demographic questions. The Job Satisfaction Scale measured the satisfaction of workers. The Three- Component Model measured affective, normative, and continuance commitment of faculty. The Job Embeddedness Scale quantified the links, fit, and sacrifice participants had to their organizations and communities. The Intent to Leave Index appraised the intention of faculty to leave their current organization. Results from this study were particularly applicable to Christian higher education institutions in the CCCU. The primary aim was to understand the institutional commitment of CCCU faculty. This study found that all satisfaction, commitment, and embeddedness factors were negatively related to intent to leave. Subtle differences were observed between ministerial and non-ministerial faculty. Calling to both teaching and ministry was found to correlate to increased satisfaction, commitment, and embeddedness. KEYWORDS: job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job embeddedness, intent to leave, faculty, council for Christian colleges and universities, calling, ministerial faculty, turnover, retention.