Files
Abstract
The use of part-time faculty members is substantial in the delivery of higher education instruction with the largest use occurring in the public two-year or community colleges. A review of the literature revealed that increased use of part-time faculty members leads to a decreased graduation rate and that students tend to have a higher level of performance from increased contact with full-time faculty members. Therefore, with little research on Emergency Medical Services (EMS) or EMS education, the purpose of this quantitative study, guided by social exchange theory, compared the impact of part-time and full-time faculty members with success indicators for an EMT, Advanced EMT, or paramedic program. Data was provided by Georgia Office of EMS and Trauma (OEMST) and the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) covering students enrolled in a Georgia TCSG EMS program during the period from August 2011 to May 2015 to encompass the new national standard EMS curriculum. The sample for this research included 6,114 TCSG student records and 7,090 OEMST student records. Findings discovered there is a relationship between faculty member status and their impact on EMS student success. Students with a full-time faculty member were more likely to graduate than students who had a Level 3 licensed EMS instructor. In addition, students with more than one full-time instructor had a greater chance of graduation than those students with only one full-time instructor. This study supports the need to utilize more full-time than part-time faculty members and more Level 3 than Level 2 licensed instructors to lead an EMS program of study.