Community College Faculty Research Articles

Book Review: Gateway to Opportunity: A History of the Community College in the United States

J. M. Beach Gateway to Opportunity: A History of Community College in United States. Herndon, VA: Stylus Publishing, 201 1. 195 pp. $29.95 (paper). ISBN 978-1-57922-452-3J. M. Beach's Gateway to Opportunity? A History of Community College in United States explores formation and historical evolution of community college to better understand how this social institution has changed and how these changes will affect its future. Although substantial literature exists on history of American higher education, in general, relatively little attention has been given to institutional history of community college. Beach's focus on community college as an evolving social institution offers a perspective not found in earlier literature.More specifically, book addresses historical challenges institution experienced in attempting to realize its commitments to comprehensive mission, student access, institutional effectiveness, and greater financial security. Beach also examines community college's experience in addressing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic issues. Beach considers these challenges and issues from perspectives of faculty members, administrators, state officials, local communities, and students. This broadbased approach is warranted given his belief that the ultimate effectiveness of any institution of education is enabled or constrained by social, economic, and political context in which it operates (p. 132). As Beach's primary focus is historical institutionalization of community college, he does not provide an extensive description of organization, as is found in other works such as Cohen and Brawer's The American Community College (2008).Gateway to Opportunity is divided into four chapters. In chapter 1, Beach explores creation and institutionalization of junior college and focuses on period from 1900 to 1980. He begins with a brief discussion of origins of U.S. higher education and social, political, and economic factors that led to establishment and development of junior college under leadership of political and educational progressives. Beach explains that nation's educational system was embedded with contradictions that resulted in institutions created not only to educate but also to sort students into predetermined social classes based on economic status, race, and gender (p. 8). From this point, author discusses differing historical opinions regarding purpose and mission of junior college and dilemma of institutionalizing a college designed to both prepare students for transfer to a 4-year university and deliver vocational training. Chapter 1 includes a discussion of issues of segregation and equality as junior college slowly evolved into a comprehensive community institution as centralized state higher education planning emerged in 1960s.In chapter 2, Beach reviews period from 1 980 to 2000, specifically New Left critics and their pointed assessment of community college. Beach provides concise and thoughtful reflections on research by Clark, Zwerling, London, Weis, Pincus, and Brint and Karabel. Beach then describes responses to New Left critics offered by several scholars including Dougherty, Levin, and Cohen and Brawer. This presentation of varying views on institutionalization of community college offers a unique contemporary account of how this debate unfolded in literature. Chapters 1 and 2 provide insight into major themes and debates concerning institutionalization of community college and related funding and faculty issues. However, for Beach, it appears that scholarship of institutionalization had relatively little to do with instruction, and his discussion offers only limited insight into instructional issues. …

1, 2, 3 SEM: Teaching Scanning Electron Microscopy to Community College Faculty and Staff

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, August 7–August 11, 2011.

Community College Practices for U.S.-Educated Language-Minority Students: A Resource-Oriented Framework

Community colleges are critical points of access for language-minority students and others historically underrepresented in U.S. higher education. Yet there is evidence that community colleges are far from reaching their potential as a stepping-stone to 4-year colleges and universities for underrepresented minorities, especially in states with the most ethnically diverse populations. Within this context, the needs of one particular group of students have not been adequately explored: students from immigrant language-minority backgrounds who have done some of their schooling in U.S. secondary schools yet whose language is still considered by community college faculty, staff, or assessment measures to be inadequate for mainstream academic work. In this article, we propose a framework that emphasizes building on these U.S.-educated language-minority students' strengths and experiences in order to support their academic and linguistic development, and we review the literature on innovative institutional practices and policies that have attempted to do so.

The Collective Good: Unionization, Perceived Control, and Overall Job Satisfaction Among Community College Faculty

The research reported in this paper follow up a recent study by the authors on perceived control by examining what role working in a union or nonunion college has in influencing faculty job satisfaction. Using data from the 1993, 1999, and 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty, this study explored the relative importance of variables, including perceived control, influencing overall job satisfaction among full-time teaching faculty in unionized and nonunionized community colleges. A conceptual framework was adapted for this study from the situational model of job satisfaction (Locke, 1976) to select and organize variables according to background characteristics, characteristics of the job task, and financial reward variables. Results of correlational analyses confirm a positive relationship between perceived control and overall job satisfaction for community college teaching faculty in both union and nonunion colleges. Union status was not found to be predictive of job satisfaction.

Unionization and Perceived Control Among Community College Faculty

The research reported in this paper examined what role working in a union or nonunion college has in influencing faculty perceptions of control over their work. Using data from the 1993, 1999, and 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty, this study explored the relative importance of variables in influencing perceived control among full-time teaching faculty in unionized and nonunionized community colleges. Union status was not found to be predictive of perceived control.

The Important Role of Community Colleges in Undergraduate Biology Education

In 2007, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) initiated a series of conversations with faculty members, administrators, and other stakeholders, seeking input on ways to improve undergraduate biology education to better prepare all students for the biology-related challenges of the twenty-first century (http://visionandchange.org/files/2010/03/VC-Prelimary-Reports-from-Conversations1.pdf). These were followed by a meeting (July 2009) to discuss the implications of information gathered during those conversations (http://visionandchange.org/files/2010/03/VC_report.pdf). Participants included faculty representing the diverse set of institutions that constitute higher education in this country: community colleges, four-year liberal arts institutions, state colleges and universities, and research-intensive universities. A document summarizing these findings is due to be released late this year or early in 2011. The deliberation and summation process emphasized the importance of community college contributions to undergraduate biology education and provided the impetus to undertake this article. As reported by President and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), George Boggs, “From relatively modest beginnings at the turn of the 20th century, community colleges now enroll 43% of all U.S. undergraduates” ( Boggs, 2010 ). This article is meant to: Help readers better understand the structure and mission of community colleges and their increasing importance in the higher education enterprise; Encourage greater cooperation between community colleges and other institutions of higher education and initiate dialogs among them to find ways of easing student transitions, and Increase awareness of funding opportunities to support innovative undergraduate biology educational approaches on community college campuses. COMMUNITY COLLEGES: INSTITUTIONS, FACULTY, AND STUDENTS Institutions There is a paucity of information concerning the teaching of biology at community colleges. This is not unexpected, considering that publication of scholarly work is not generally anticipated in the reward and/or tenure structure for community college faculty. Therefore, educational practices at these institutions are understudied when compared with their four-year college counterparts. The national picture for community colleges is also difficult to ascertain as these institutions are very diverse. For example, the foci of biology education on many community college campuses range from preparing students for transfer as majors to four-year institutions, to preparing students for careers in allied health positions, to preparing students for positions as technicians in areas such as biotechnology or environmental technology. Each community college responds individually to local needs. Local community response can differ substantially from campus to campus in community college systems. Community colleges typically offer programs leading to the associates of arts or sciences degree as well as a variety of vocational and technical programs offering both degrees and certificates not often found at a four-year school. These institutions also offer a wide range of continuing education courses, contract education courses that serve local industry, and community-focused activities. Some institutions have expanded their programs to include baccalaureates in applied fields, such as teacher education, and nursing ( Boggs, 2010 ), and some now offer postbaccalaureate programs such as certificates in biotechnology for students who already hold a four-year degree. Because these colleges are typically open-access and low cost they tend to serve a highly diverse cross-section of the population. Biology education at the community college is often divided into an “academic track” and a “workforce access track,” although there can be a great deal of overlap and synergy between the two. Faculty may teach courses that serve either the workforce or the academic programs. Not only is this an efficient use of staff, particularly in smaller institutions, but it also helps keep the entire life science–related faculty current with both industry practices and advances in the discipline.

Reflective Writing and Life-Career Planning: Extending the Learning in a Learning Community Model

This essay recounts the authors’ experiences as community college faculty members in a learning community linking first-year composition with a class in life-career planning and development.

Strategies for Faculty-Student Engagement: How Community College Faculty Engage Latino Students

Student-faculty engagement has been identified as the best predictor of Latino student persistence (Hurtado & Carter, 1997). This study explores the strategies that community college faculty employ to engage Latino students. Findings indicate that knowledge, appreciation, and sensitivity to Hispanic cultures and an understanding of the preferred learning styles of Latino students are important considerations to establishing classroom environments that engage Latino students and, thus, facilitate their retention and academic success.

North Central Sociological Association Presidential Address the Community College Conundrum: Pitfalls and Possibilities of Professional Sociological Associations

This presidential address examines the “community college conundrum” within our discipline. Although it is reported that 44 percent of first-time undergraduate students attend community colleges, community college faculty are underrepresented in the American Sociological Association (ASA) and within our regional associations. This lack of participation has two roots: (1) our disciplinary lack of interest in studying community college education as a unit of analysis; and (2) the failure by sociologists to understand community college education as a social justice concern. Data for this study include an assessment of membership and participation in our disciplinary associations, content analysis of the journal Teaching Sociology, and a review of ASA syllabi sets. Findings reveal a common theme: community college sociologists are ignored and afforded a marginal status—a “less than” status—within our discipline. Recommendations include calling on the ASA and all sociologists to recognize the importance of community colleges in doing the work of “public sociology.”

MANAJEMEN MUTU TERPADU PADA PROGRAM STUDI MANAJEMEN PENDIDIKAN S2 PASCASARJANA UNIVERSITAS NEGERI JAKARTA

At present more directional orientation of the organization to fulfill the needs of customers, both existing customers within and outside the organization. So also with the quality of higher education orientation, which is directed at the needs of the community college (faculty, students, staff) as well as general community needs. The purpose of this study was to describe the implementation process of teaching and learning in higher education, service to students and the system of supervision of learning activities. While the methods used in this research is descriptive method with population research masters student educational management force from 2009 to 2010. The results of the research are as follows : 1) Implementation of the learning process in educational management department have been met, 2) Information on educational management department have also been fulfilled, 3) Service learning resources on educational management department are not entirely satisfied, including the availability of laboratory educational management, 4) Monitoring learning educational management department have been run well.

MANAJEMEN MUTU TERPADU PADA PROGRAM STUDI MANAJEMEN PENDIDIKAN S2 PASCASARJANA UNIVERSITAS NEGERI JAKARTA

At present more directional orientation of the organization to fulfill the needs of customers, both existing customers within and outside the organization. So also with the quality of higher education orientation, which is directed at the needs of the community college (faculty, students, staff) as well as general community needs. The purpose of this study was to describe the implementation process of teaching and learning in higher education, service to students and the system of supervision of learning activities. While the methods used in this research is descriptive method with population research masters student educational management force from 2009 to 2010. The results of the research are as follows : 1) Implementation of the learning process in educational management department have been met, 2) Information on educational management department have also been fulfilled, 3) Service learning resources on educational management department are not entirely satisfied, including the availability of laboratory educational management, 4) Monitoring learning educational management department have been run well.

Technology Usage Among Community College Faculty

Community colleges are increasing their use of part-time faculty who are taking a leading role in utilizing technology for instructional purposes. Part-time faculty are less likely than their full-time counterparts to use technology for instructional purposes and are less likely to teach non-face-to-face classes. For community colleges to be successful in expanding technology-based education, they must promote technology use by all faculty. This quantitative, national study reports factors found to predict faculty use of technology for instructional purposes.

Essential tasks and skills for online community college faculty

AbstractThe professional role, tasks, and skills of online community college faculty are evolving. This chapter describes the factors that influence the skill set needed for online faculty to be successful.

Exploring Community College Faculty Perceptions of Student Outcomes: Findings of a Pilot Study

This study explored the paradigmatic differences in perceptions of community college faculty employed at select Virginia and West Virginia community colleges collected via a web-based survey. The study is framed within the faculty self-classification along the “hard” and “social/behavior” science paradigm continuum. Given the paradigmatic continuum, faculty perceptions' of student outcomes were examined. Faculty respondents consistently reported the importance of intellectual growth; however, differences in relative importance of outcomes tied to emotional, cultural, and social growth exist. The potential implications of these perceptions on student experiences and outcomes are considered.

The Community College Transfer Calculator: Identifying the Course-Taking Patterns That Predict Transfer

Using a newly developed software application entitled The Community College Transfer Calculator©, this article both quantifies the effect of specific course-taking patterns and stresses the need for an easy to understand tool for community college academic advisors, faculty, and students. The “Calculator” calculates the likelihood of transfer given specific demographic and courses taken and/or scheduled. Moreover, the user can see the difference in the likelihood of transfer that changes in course-taking predict.

Book Review: Barbara Jones-Kavalier and Suzanne L. Flannigan The Hiring Game: Reshaping Community College Practices. Washington, DC: Community College Press, 2008. 210 pp

Barbara Jones-Kavalier and Suzanne L. Flannigan Hiring Gome: Community College Practices. Washington, DC: Community College Press, 2008. 210 pp.The opening of the academic year on many community college campuses signals the first wave of job-recruiting efforts for the following year and possibly the current one. Many aspiring job applicants for faculty and administrative positions peruse the pages of Chronicle of Higher Education or other professional job listings in search of a position that they perceive as a professional and personal fit. job listing is vitally important not only for the search committee but also for the potential candidate, ideally providing a concise and accurate institutional portrait of the credentials, attitudes, and behaviors the search committee expects of its future employees. Both screening and final round interviews bring the hiring process full circle and should ensure a for both the college and candidate. Ignoring an institutional fit compromises both the college's and candidate's chances of being successful.Barbara Jones-Kavalier and Suzanne L. Flannigan, authors of Hiring Game: Community College Practices, put forward the results of their research study on hiring practices from the growth period of community colleges in the 1960s to the present day. book includes seven chapters, spanning topics that include The Hiring Game; Creating the Hiring Game; The Nature of the Game: Culture, Leadership, and Change; Evaluating the Hiring Game; Stages of the Game; Reshaping the Game; and A New Game in Town. authors evaluate both past and current components of the hiring process or through multiple means of assessment, including observations, interviews, focus groups, surveys, and reviews of the literature.Jones-Kavalier and Flannigan state that their goals are to explore current and past practices in hiring community college faculty, staff members, and administrators (p. 94), recognizing, on the one hand, that hiring practices have remained relatively the same during the past 20 to 30 years. On the other hand, the authors reveal that it is vital to change past rules and policies that have prevented innovation. Over the last 40 years, the hiring process has evolved from having no bureaucratic structure to becoming mired in application minutiae, strict credential and experience requirements, and other barriers, to the detriment of hiring any entrepreneurial educators as potential campus leaders.Jones-Kavalier and Flannigan first acknowledge that the . . community college hiring process is often driven by policy and controlled by culture and (p. 1). Moreover, culture and tradition are often firmly rooted in the system's more-than40-year history, often challenging institutional officials to balance institutional priorities against politically driven staffing needs expressed by internal and external stakeholders. During the early years of community college growth in the 1960s, the tremendous need for personnel, coupled with the urgency to fill positions quickly and judiciously, resulted in a process that was handled almost entirely by direct supervisors. There was little attention to any formal, bureaucratic process or the need to establish mutual between the institution and candidate. If there was a hiring process during the early years, it was spontaneous in nature and involved word-of-mouth referrals and acceptance of unsolicited applications and resumes. Past hiring practice emphasized credentials and experience, whereas current requirements focus on leadership potential.The authors outline valid rationales for modifying hiring practices to reinvent the game (p. 12) and meet the needs of the next generation of learners (p. 14). Community demographics, organizational culture, and diversity in enrollment and staffing needs have influenced and often resulted in hiring-process changes, many of which began to emerge when 2-year colleges transitioned from junior to community colleges. …

Overcoming Obstacles: How WID Benefits Community College Students and Faculty

Overcoming Obstacles: How WID Benefits Community College Students and Faculty

Stop the Presses! Using the Journalism Field as a Case Study to Help Community College Administrators Today

A focus group consisting of board of trustee members, community college presidents, senior administrators, administrators, and faculty members from community colleges around the United States developed the top six critical issues facing community colleges with respect to instructional planning and services; planning, governance, and finance; and workforce development. Thereafter, the delegation of more than 100 voted on various aspects of these issues. The findings detail a shift away from pragmatic problems or opportunities of today, such as K–20 alignment, retention, and sustainability, to more lifelong learning, globalization, and focus upon innovation and partnerships. The findings are discussed here in more detail with respect to the changes occurring in the journalism field. It is hoped the problems of the journalism field, which might have been avoided, can be discussed and turned into opportunities for community college administrators.

A study of nurse faculty job satisfaction in community colleges in Florida

There are many factors that influence nurse faculty job satisfaction including professional achievement and growth, interpersonal relations, leadership, recognition, responsibility, salary, and working conditions. However, much of the research in this area is limited to the clinical nurse setting. There are few studies that focus on nurse faculty job satisfaction in the community college setting. One of the primary drivers for the current nursing shortage in the United States is a shortage of faculty. Better understanding of the factors influencing job satisfaction among faculty may be helpful in addressing the faculty shortage. The purpose of this study was to explore the constructs of job satisfaction and intent to stay. Community college nursing faculty was chosen given that all of the authors were nursing faculty in this type of setting. Examining the relationship between job satisfaction and intent to stay of nurse faculty in community colleges in Florida could provide information for deans and administrators of nursing programs to address the nurse faculty shortage. The sample was drawn from Associate in Science Programs faculty from the 23 community colleges in Florida that offer a nursing program. The qualitative part of this study focused on the perceptions or feelings of nurse faculty. The open-ended questions were based on the subscales of Herzberg's Motivation to Work Theory. The findings revealed that nurse faculty were most passionate about the salary and the work itself. The overwhelming majority response was that the faculty loved their jobs. This study found that overall job satisfaction can be used as a predictor for intent to stay. Findings further revealed that nurse faculty in community colleges in Florida are generally satisfied with their jobs and have intent to stay.

Open Textbook Proof-of-Concept via Connexions

To address the high cost of textbooks, Rice University’s Connexions and the Community College Open Textbook Project (CCOTP) collaborated to develop a proof-of-concept free and open textbook. The proof-of-concept served to document a workflow process that would support adoption of open textbooks. Open textbooks provide faculty and students with a low cost alternative to traditional publishers’ textbooks and can help to make higher education more affordable. Connexions provides a publishing platform for open textbook projects. The CCOTP acted as a liaison between community college faculty, open textbook authors, and Connexions. Challenges to the production and adoption of open textbooks include 1) faculty members’ and students’ expectations of high production quality and ancillaries for open textbooks, 2) methods for documenting and maintaining control over various versions, and 3) the process of converting existing open content to digital and accessible formats. Connexions holds promise as a means to overcome these challenges.
 
 Connexions identified lessons learned about open textbook production, such as the importance of a style guide, the advantage of assembly-line workflow, and the importance of naming conventions and standard math authoring tools, Connexions also identified lessons learned about open textbook use by students and faculty, e.g., the value of availability and customizability, the importance of interactivity, the difference in how faculty and students view modularity, and the importance of textbook reading navigational aids. The authors note that the CCOTP recommends using Connexions as the common repository for open textbook content in an effort to provide greater national and international access.