Education Commons^™

The Cost Of Organizational Change For Rural Community Colleges, Randy Clayton Scaggs

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study will investigate the unintended consequences of implementing structural change in a rural community college in the mid-South region of the United States. Specifically, this study will examine the unanticipated outcomes of merging student affairs and academic affairs into one division. Scant empirical evidence exists about the benefits of this structural change or literature reviewing assessments of the unanticipated financial and nonfinancial costs to the institution. This critical case study is situated in a rural community college that recently changed its organizational structure by combining the academic and student affairs divisions. A purposeful sample, from different levels of …

Leaders As Linchpins For Framing Meaning, Pamela L. Eddy

Pamela L. Eddy

Community college leaders serve as linchpins for framing meaning on campus. The current pressures on institutions (given declining financial resources, demands for accountability, changing faculty ranks, and societal need for new knowledge) require presidents to juggle multiple priorities while presenting a cohesive message to campus constituents. This study examined how the presidents at nine community colleges communicated with college constituents and framed the meaning of those communications to help the college community make sense of ongoing change. Interviews with the presidents, as well as with key administrators, faculty members, and staff members, revealed that the presidents used emissaries to disseminate …

Women As Transformational Leaders: Learning To Lead In The Community College, Jennifer R. Grove-Heuser

Dissertations and Theses

Community colleges face a growing crisis in leadership and a critical aspect of this crisis is a shortage of leaders. The representation of women leaders in community colleges has increased more than other sector of higher education. This upswing suggests that community colleges are the most likely place for women to achieve executive leadership status. Yet, community college history is grounded in male dominance and women leaders remain marginalized in the community college system. The purpose of my study was to examine some of the factors that contribute to women executive leaders' success specifically: (a) how women experience their leadership …

Examining The Transition To A Four-Day School Week And Investigating Post-Change Faculty/Staff Work-Life Balance: A Community College Case Study, Nelly Cardinale

Dr. Nelly Cardinale

This single descriptive embedded case study examined the process of implementing a four-day work/school week at a community college and investigated post-change faculty/staff work-life balance. All of the students attending this college live at home. The change was implemented due to state funding shortfalls, increasing college utility expenses and low employee morale. Additionally, this study resulted in a set of guidelines that can be used by change agents of similar colleges to implement this change. Moreover, the study describes the positive and negative aspects associated with the shorter work/school week. On a positive note, the schedule facilitates making personal appointments, …

Striking A Balance: Managing Blogs In Loosely Coupled Systems, Troy A. Swanson, Dennis E. Gregory, Edward E. Raspiller

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

As the oldest implementation of Web 2.0 technologies, blogs present an opportunity to understand how community college administrators are addressing two conundrums: conundrum of control and the conundrum of adaptability. These problems arise from the need of leaders to put organizational controls in place even as these controls limit the tool's usefulness and the adaptability of the technology. The purpose of this study using a multiple case study method is (1) to further the understanding of how community college administrators and blog authors strike a balance between organizational control and adaptability when implementing and using blog technologies and (2) to …

Community College Presidential Transitions: Enhancing The Process By Understanding Stakeholder Perceptions, Jeffery Clay Bradford

Dissertations

A leadership crisis is pending at America’s community colleges. Presidents are serving shorter terms (Stanley & Betts, 2004) and retiring rapidly (Duree, Ebbers, Santos-Laanan, Curtis, & Ferlazzo, 2008). Weisman and Vaughan (2006) project that 84% of current community college leaders will retire by 2016. New chief executives need to be effective at implementing the goals set by the board of trustees in a timely manner. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify stakeholder perceptions during a community college presidential transition and strategies for assisting in a smooth transition.

In-person semi-structured interviews were conducted at three medium-sized Midwestern …

Leaders As Linchpins For Framing Meaning, Pamela L. Eddy

Articles

Community college leaders serve as linchpins for framing meaning on campus. The current pressures on institutions (given declining financial resources, demands for accountability, changing faculty ranks, and societal need for new knowledge) require presidents to juggle multiple priorities while presenting a cohesive message to campus constituents. This study examined how the presidents at nine community colleges communicated with college constituents and framed the meaning of those communications to help the college community make sense of ongoing change. Interviews with the presidents, as well as with key administrators, faculty members, and staff members, revealed that the presidents used emissaries to disseminate …