COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY RECRUITMENT PRACTICES: THE EFFECTS OF APPLICANT GENDER, INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS, AND JOB ATTRIBUTES

Abstract

Achieving desired results in education partly depends on the quality and motivation of the faculty hired to deliver instruction. Although recruitment is the first step in hiring capable faculty, no empirical research has been done about community college recruitment practices occurring prior to the employment interview. This study applied marketing and advertising theory to the task of recruiting community college business faculty. The reactions of two groups (male, female) of target applicants (N = 180) were assessed with respect to recruitment advertisements varied by instructional program description and by attributes used to describe the job. The investigation was conducted using a 2 × 3 × 3 factorial analysis of variance design. Male applicants reacted more favorably to advertisements when the organization was depicted as being oriented toward academic transfer instructional programs, and the job was described using extrinsic job attributes. Female applicants reacted more favorably when the organization was depicted as being oriented toward academic transfer instructional programs, and the job was described using intrinsic job attributes. Implications for practice, theory, and research are discussed.