| An exploration was necessary to determine if interpersonal communication courses, the most commonly offered courses in communication departments, were meeting national standards. It was unclear how department chairs, the individuals most likely responsible for adherence to national standards, perceived these standards and how institutional and departmental demographics influenced these perceptions. In addition, an exploration was in order to determine the characteristics of faculty who teach the interpersonal course.; The data were collected using a researcher-developed survey which examined the chairs' perceptions of the basic interpersonal skill set established in 1999 by the National Communication Association. The instrument also collected data on the course including information on staffing, assessment measures, and departmental demographics. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.; Chairs indicated that the basic interpersonal skills were important. Chairs' perceptions did not vary based on staffing of the course; however, their perceptions did vary based on institutional size and whether or not the department offered a graduate program.; The results of the study further indicated a series of most common characteristics of the interpersonal courses as described by the respondents. Findings reveal that the course did not meet the general education requirement of the institution and most students enrolled in the course to fulfill a requirement of his or her major. Further, it is evidenced in these results that most departments offered five or fewer sections of the course per grading period. Most commonly, interpersonal courses were offered in the traditional classroom setting, enrolled 25–50 students, the course was taught uniformly in their department, and common assessment measures used in the course were traditional.; The final research question sought to create a profile of the instructors of the interpersonal course. Results indicated that the prevailing characteristics of the instructors of interpersonal courses described by the respondents were as follows: female, were ranked as instructors, were employed full-time, had earned doctorates, and had 15 or more years of teaching experience. |
