Applying productivity indices as an innovation for motivating individual and institutional initiatives for faculty renewal

The enthusiasm of faculty for their respective academic pursuits is recognized as a most important issue in most American institutions of higher education. Numerous approaches have been described and advocated to enhance faculty satisfaction with their work with a growing appreciation for the value of renewal programs. Self renewal through challenging work assignments is deemed a most practical approach and can be achieved practically within tightening financial restraints. A major handicap to the exploitation of self renewal programs has been a lack of tangible measurements of achievements in the academic functions being pursued. This paper proposes the use of functional productivity indices as tools for motivating renewal opportunities and assessing experiences.