Measuring Training Effectiveness in Academia: A study of Faculty Development Programmes

Training is one of the most pervasive methods for enhancing the productivity of individuals and communicating organizational goals to new personnel. In the recent years, to deal with ever increasing competition and for the organizational success, training and development is seen as an important function. For this purpose organizations are investing huge budgets on training. Now it becomes a major task to create and utilize human capital. In this context, the present article aims to evaluate the effectiveness of employee training programmes in a university in Andhra Pradesh. This paper, by using Kirkpatrick’s four levels model of evaluation, studies (i) the reactions of the faculty to the training program, (ii) the level of faculty learning, and (iií) the faculty’s transfer of training. For this purpose, 44 respondents who attended for the FDP at a deemed university was selected by using stratified random sampling method. A feedback form designed using on Likert’s Five Point scale was used as instrument to collect the data about participant reactions. An objective type test having 30 multiple choice questions covering specific subject areas was used to gauge the learning due to the Faculty Development Program (FDP). The same questionnaire was served before training and after the training to understand the level of training. To gauge the transfer of training, face to face interviews were conducted three months after the training. The results revealed that the reactions of the respondents showed overall satisfaction about the program, learning and transfer of training were also having considerable positive results.