An Exploration of Military Faculty Turnover on Student Learning in a Competency Development Model

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between military faculty turnover and student learning using a competency development model. The study focused on five student cohorts enrolled in a Federal Masters in Health Administration program. Using a non-experimental, between subjects design, this study investigated for statistically significant differences between students' end of didactic year competency exam and self-assessed scores compared to the number of years instructors taught a course. Three significant findings resulted from this study. First, significant differences between the faculty turnover groups of novice and experienced teachers with competency exam scores were lower for the novice instructors than the more experienced instructors. However, results of student self-assessed scores were slightly higher for the novice instructor than the experienced group. Second, courses taught by the experienced instructor with no turnover resulted in the greatest mean scores for the competency exam scores. Finally, significant differences amongst the competency exam scores in student cohorts suggests the importance of student characteristics as variables for consideration when exploring turnover impact on student learning.