Psychological consultation in higher education: Lessons from a university faculty development center

Although psychological and organizational consultation have long been in us e in corporate and school settings, there have been few efforts to evaluate these processes in higher education. This article reports on the use of co nsultation to assist university academic departments in engaging in instruc tional change efforts. The consultation was provided by the staff of a facu lty development center. Four case studies are reported. Overall, faculty in 3 of the 4 departments gave positive evaluations to the consultation exper ience and the process was well received by upper level campus administrator s. In 1 department consultation produced a dramatic reduction in conflict a nd an increase in creative instructional experimentation. In 2 others, cons ultation led to more modest, but significant change. In a final case, consu ltation had little instructional impact. The case studies point to 3 factor s likely to improve the odds for effective intervention: (a) selection of d epartments with appropriate leadership and motivational characteristics; (b ) use of consultation procedures that heighten positive faculty engagement, particularly with potentially negative information; and (c) closer links w ith the campus managerial leadership.