Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

Celebrating Aca’S Legacy: Founder Correspondence, 1987, Ernest E. Ettlich, Robley D. Rhine

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

In late 1986, Ernest E. Ettlich, Interim President of Southern Oregon State College, and Robley D. Rhine, Chair at the University of Colorado at Denver, sent letters of appreciation to the Association for Communication Administration. Both expressed gratitude for commemorative plaques marking ACA’s fifteenth anniversary and reflected on their roles in the organization’s founding. Ettlich emphasized his pride in ACA’s continued vitality and its contributions to developing administrative leadership. Rhine recalled the early San Francisco meeting, acknowledged ACA’s growth, and noted ongoing efforts to advocate for the centrality of communication within liberal arts programs. Their correspondence underscored the historical significance …

Development Of Quality Factors For College And University Theatre Programs, Kelvie C. Comer

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines the meaning and application of “quality” in theatre programs within higher education. It emphasizes that quality must be defined not only in abstract terms but also through practical factors that affect program success and survival. Key considerations include curriculum design, student admission standards, faculty recruitment and retention, and the establishment of appropriate evaluative criteria. The discussion highlights the influence of external judgments, such as accreditation and professional expectations, as well as the role of internal leadership in shaping program direction. The article argues that quality is not an accidental byproduct but the result of conscious decisions that …

Program Quality And Departmental Responsibility, Richard M. Clark

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines the vulnerability of theatre departments in higher education and the factors that contribute to program discontinuance or restructuring. It argues that departments often play a role in their own decline by failing to recognize weaknesses, respond to warning signs, or engage constructively with administrative concerns. Key indicators of trouble include declining enrollment, poor faculty retention, weak curricular vitality, budget mismanagement, and insular hiring practices. The discussion emphasizes that resentment toward administrative actions is counterproductive; instead, departments must proactively demonstrate quality through alignment with institutional goals, strong student outcomes, faculty development, and effective governance. Failure to address shortcomings …

The Presentation Of Convention Papers As An Indicator Of The Quantity Of Faculty Productivity, Mark Hickson Iii, Sidney R. Hill Jr., Hal W. Fulmer

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This study examined whether the number of convention papers presented at professional meetings could serve as an indicator of faculty productivity. Focusing on fifteen years of data from the Southern Speech Communication Association, the analysis documented trends in paper presentations by faculty, departments, and institutions. Findings highlighted the uneven distribution of productivity, with a small number of institutions and individuals accounting for a disproportionate share of activity. The study emphasized the usefulness of convention papers as a measure of scholarly output, while also acknowledging limitations such as varying conference acceptance policies and the distinction between quantity and quality of research. …

Department Chair As Change Agent, John I. Sisco

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines the role of the department chair as a catalyst for change within academic institutions. It considers the origins of chairs—whether promoted internally, recruited from other institutions, or brought in with prior administrative experience—and how these backgrounds shape their effectiveness. The discussion distinguishes between changes typically sought by administration, such as reorganizing programs for efficiency or shifting institutional identity toward research, and those sought by faculty, including greater resources and improved recognition of departmental contributions. Emphasis is placed on setting realistic, short-term goals that engage all faculty members, thereby building momentum and visibility for the department. The article …

The Department Chair As An Agent Of Change, Edward L. Mcglone

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay explores the department chair’s role as an agent of change within academic institutions. It examines the nature of organizational change, highlighting that it often occurs when departments themselves are ready rather than when leaders desire it. The discussion reviews the complex and varied expectations of the chair’s position, dispelling myths about charisma, workaholism, and “honeymoon” periods as prerequisites for effectiveness. Instead, effective leadership is described as grounded in intelligence, interpersonal skill, humor, and the ability to cultivate a supportive environment. The essay emphasizes that chairs cannot enact change unilaterally but must recognize readiness, build consensus, and create conditions …

Running An Intern Program: A Faculty View, R. Wayne Pace

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines the role of faculty in designing and administering effective internship programs in higher education. Pace argues that internships are not merely supplemental experiences but integral to a career-oriented curriculum that emphasizes application of knowledge across disciplines. Drawing on philosophical approaches to education and insights from Peter Drucker, the article highlights how programs organized around application better prepare students for the interdisciplinary nature of professional work. From a faculty perspective, running a strong internship program requires three critical investments: (1) implementing a career curriculum that culminates in student portfolios; (2) preparing students through resumes, applications, site analyses, and …

A Response To Assessment, Pamela J. Cooper

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This response piece engages with ongoing discussions of assessment and value-added testing in speech communication education. While affirming the necessity of assessment to ensure disciplinary credibility, it raises critical questions about how competence is defined, whether economic models such as value-added learning are appropriate for communication, and whether assessment should emphasize process as well as product. Concerns are also raised about the feasibility of implementing costly instruments like the ACT Speaking Skills Assessment and the CCAI without institutional support. The argument emphasizes that communication is a creative, individual, and process-oriented activity that risks being constrained by overly linear models of …

Alternatives For Salary Advancement And Promotion, Lynn K. Wells

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article critiques conventional salary advancement systems in higher education, particularly merit pay debates and degree- or credit-based scales, for their tendency to undermine faculty initiative and professional growth. As an alternative, it outlines portfolio-based models of evaluation that incorporate diverse forms of faculty achievement, including curriculum development, research and writing, grants, artistic performance, and community service. The discussion emphasizes the role of joint faculty–administration committees, clear evaluative procedures, and structured timelines in ensuring fairness and consistency. Drawing on examples from multiple institutions, the article demonstrates how broadened criteria for advancement can more effectively promote professional development and institutional quality …

Promotion, Tenure, And Merit Decisions At Colorado State University, G. Jack Gravlee

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article provides a detailed account of promotion, tenure, and merit procedures at Colorado State University. Advancement is shown to depend primarily on published research, which carries greater weight than teaching or service in faculty evaluations. The analysis specifies the hierarchy of publication types, the documentation required, and the multi-level review process leading to tenure and promotion decisions. Differences in faculty adaptation to these standards are noted, particularly between newer faculty oriented toward research productivity and mid-career faculty trained under earlier, less stringent expectations. The paper concludes with projections concerning faculty turnover and policy changes, emphasizing the institution’s continuing prioritization …

Making It In Academe: Advice To Young Faculty, Bob Yowell

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article offers guidance for new faculty members seeking to establish successful academic careers, particularly in theatre and related fields. The discussion emphasizes the importance of appropriate academic credentials, realistic expectations regarding salary, and strategies for navigating institutional culture. It warns against association with negative colleagues, underscores the need for sustained motivation in teaching and production, and highlights the value of balancing creative work with research and service. Practical considerations such as understanding tenure procedures, building relationships with senior faculty, and contributing to departmental governance are presented as central to long-term success. The article concludes that persistence, professional engagement, and …

Advice To Young Faculty, Jack Wann

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article provides guidance for new faculty members pursuing careers in theatre education. It emphasizes the importance of commitment to the profession, noting that success depends less on innate talent than on openness, energy, and flexibility. The discussion advises young faculty to focus on substantive work—teaching, directing, research, and professional engagement—rather than on political or social distractions within academic life. It further suggests reframing challenges as opportunities for constructive projects, thereby maintaining productivity and avoiding cynicism. The article concludes that sustained enthusiasm, professional activity, and a commitment to teaching and creative practice are central to long-term academic success.

Determining How Well Graduates Are Prepared For The Real World, Bob Bohiken

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This study describes an effort to evaluate the preparation of communication graduates at Northwest Missouri State University for professional employment. Surveys were administered to recent graduates and their immediate supervisors to assess employment patterns, adequacy of training, application of coursework to job responsibilities, and continuing professional development. Separate instruments were designed for general speech communication, organizational communication, public relations, and speech/theatre education graduates. Response rates were 35% for graduates and 20% for supervisors. Results did not yield consensus on specific program strengths or weaknesses but provided baseline data and a viable evaluation method. The study concludes that systematic feedback from …

Aca News

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

In 1987, the Association for Communication Administration announced six candidates for its Executive Committee, with elections scheduled for the fall and terms beginning January 1988. The slate represented administrators and faculty from a range of institutions, disciplines, and leadership experiences. Candidate statements emphasized challenges in balancing departmental needs with service to broader academic communities, the importance of fostering professional networks, and the role of ACA in supporting reflective leadership and collaboration across communication fields. Proposals included expanding services to new communication disciplines, strengthening ties with related associations, improving data collection on trends in communication education, and promoting integrative approaches to …

Objective Characteristics Of Graduate Programs In Speech Communication, Renee Edwards, Elliott Pood

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This study established baseline data for graduate programs in speech communication across the United States, offering administrators a foundation for comparison and evaluation. Using survey responses from 82 institutions—37 master’s-only and 30 doctoral programs—the research documented program size, faculty characteristics, salaries, research productivity, assistantship support, and available concentrations. Results indicated substantial variation among programs but clear differences between master’s and doctoral institutions: doctoral programs tended to be housed at larger universities, employed more faculty, offered higher salaries, produced more publications, and provided greater financial support to students. The data underscored the importance of such benchmarking for departmental identity, administrative decision-making, …

The Other Side Of New Technology For The Theatre, Richard R. Ranta

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article explores the benefits and challenges of adopting advanced technologies in university theatre programs. It outlines the extensive use of computerized lighting systems, digital recording equipment, synthesizers, video facilities, and computer terminals to enhance productions and instruction. While such innovations expand creative possibilities and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration, they also bring significant concerns about long-term maintenance, staffing, and training. The discussion emphasizes that acquisition costs are often easier to secure than operational support, and that departments must carefully plan for upkeep, security, and backup systems. Ultimately, technology is described as a powerful tool that should enhance, rather than overshadow, artistic …

How Effectively Can Speech Communication Instructors Be Trained To Develop Value-Added Skills In Their Students?, Robert C. Dick

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article addresses whether speech communication instructors can be effectively trained to develop “value-added” skills in their students—measurable improvements in oral communication across the undergraduate experience. The discussion situates value-added testing within broader debates about accountability in higher education, noting legislative pressures and institutional experiments with longitudinal assessment. Dick argues that such testing can provide evidence of teaching effectiveness and reinforce the discipline’s claims about skill development. The paper explores advantages, including greater public confidence and faculty-driven assessment, as well as concerns about punitive misuse, oversimplification, and standardized teaching pressures. Examples of assessment instruments, such as the Communication Competency Assessment …

Standards For Promotion, Tenure, And Merit Decisions, Ronald R. Young

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article addresses the complexities of promotion, tenure, and merit decisions in higher education, emphasizing the variability of criteria across institutions and even within campuses. While teaching, scholarship, and service remain the standard categories, their definitions, relative weight, and assessment methods differ widely, creating uncertainty for faculty and administrators alike. The discussion highlights how personal commitments and oral statements by administrators often conflict with the institutional memory, which rests solely on written records. To ensure fairness and consistency, the argument stresses the importance of documenting expectations, criteria, and evaluations in writing, thereby protecting both faculty and institutions. Ultimately, clear, written …

And These Few Precepts In Thy Memory...., Charlotte J. Headrick

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article offers structured advice to junior faculty entering academic careers in theatre. The discussion emphasizes the need to balance personal integrity with institutional expectations, particularly in relation to tenure and promotion. It highlights the importance of understanding departmental and institutional criteria early, documenting scholarly and creative work, and engaging in professional organizations at state, regional, and national levels. Attention is given to the pressures on theatre faculty to validate their contributions within broader university contexts, often by working harder and producing more than colleagues in other disciplines. Additional guidance includes maintaining professionalism in interpersonal relations, approaching colleagues with cooperation …

Programs In Organizational Communication And Public Relations, Robert Ross

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This study reports findings from a survey of members of the International Communication Association’s Organizational Division regarding the status of organizational communication and public relations programs in higher education. Data from seventy-nine respondents indicate that relatively few institutions offer full baccalaureate degrees in these areas, with most providing emphases or cognates within broader communication or journalism programs. Content analysis of definitions shows organizational communication conceived as encompassing all communication processes contributing to organizational functioning, while public relations is framed as boundary-spanning communication directed primarily toward external publics. Curricular patterns reveal overlap in courses such as public speaking, interpersonal, and small …

Do Students Repay High Grades With High Evaluations? An Old Question Revisited, Bena H. Harper

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This study investigates whether students reward lenient grading with higher course and instructor evaluations. The research examined data from fourteen graduate teaching assistants and 1,335 students enrolled in the basic hybrid speech course at Oklahoma State University across the 1983–1984 academic year. Grades awarded by instructors were compared with mean student evaluations of both the instructor and the course. While significant differences were found between the grade distributions of easier and harder graders, no significant differences emerged in corresponding instructor or course evaluation scores. These findings suggest that although grading practices vary, higher grades do not automatically result in more …

A Survey Of Hiring Practices In The Communication Arts And Sciences, Robert F. Ross, Philip Emmert

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This study reports findings from a national survey examining faculty hiring practices in communication departments across the United States. Questionnaires were distributed at the 1985 Speech Communication Association Convention Placement Center to three respondent groups: department chairs, search committee members, and job applicants. Results from 99 returned surveys provide quantitative data on departmental structures, search procedures, evaluative criteria, and interview formats. Most departments reported frequent searches and high proportions of tenure-track openings, indicating an active job market. Analyses of hiring roles showed that department chairs are centrally involved throughout the process, from forming committees to final salary negotiation. Across institutions, …

The Relationship Between The Individual's Educational And Professional Backgrounds And The 1985 Florida Merit Program, James Roger Dearing

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

This research was designed to investigate whether there are any significant relationships between the individual's educational and professional backgrounds and the 1985 Florida Master Teacher Program. This study included information collected on 2,245 (72%) respondents out of 3,390 teachers who were selected as meritorious in Florida's 1985 program.

Two instruments were used in data collection. One was the set of Frame Factor Data which was obtained from the Merit Teachers' Summative Observation forms. The Frame Factor Data included: method of classroom presentation, number of students in the observed classes, number of students in upper and lower academic quartiles, number of …

An Assessment Of Florida Community College Presidents' Acceptance Of Quality Indicators, George Cameron Barcus

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

This report describes a study that was conducted to determine the perceived degree of usefulness the indicators of progress toward excellence have for the presidents of Florida's 28 community colleges. This study reports this degree of perceived usefulness by using a survey instrument that identified quality indicators developed by the State Board of Community Colleges, Florida Department of Education.

Based on a project design and format adapted by the Florida Community/Junior College Inter-Institutional Research Council, this study proposed to identify what information (indicators of progress toward excellence) is considered most valid to the presidents of Florida's community colleges in making …

The Identification And Comparison Of Effective Merit Pay Factors By Central Florida Public School Educators, Richard K. Bommelje

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this survey was to identify and compare the specific factors relating to merit pay that teachers, principals, and superintendents in Central Florida would accept in the development and implementation of a merit pay plan. A questionnaire, based on an instrument that was used in a previous study on merit pay factors in 1970, was developed that consisted of 38 factors. A five-point ordinal scale was used to measure the educators' degree of acceptance for each factor. There were 14 Central Florida school districts that participated in the survey including 433 teachers, 211 principals, and 12 superintendents. The …

The Effects Of A Freshman Orientation Course On Academic Achievement And Retention, Daniel J. Kelly

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

Freshman business administration students were placed into an extended orientation course during their first semester of enrollment at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The 60 course participants met twice a week for fifteen weeks in a 55-minute class spending approximately 20% of class time in each of the following: (a) lecture; (b) skill exercises; (c) group discussion; (d) guest speaker presentations; and (e) a combination of reviews, quizzes, previews, and assignments. The purpose of the course was to provide students with information and the opportunity to acquire skills to help them to be more successful in college.

Following the end of their …

Promoting The Department Within The Institution, Thomas M. Scheidel

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article outlines effective strategies for departmental leadership and institutional advocacy based on a case study from the University of Washington’s Department of Speech Communication. Emphasizing the chair’s central role in promoting departmental visibility and influence, the discussion identifies two essential requirements: active advocacy and evidence-based representation. The chair must serve as a visible and persuasive representative of the department through continual institutional engagement, cultivating relationships across administrative levels, and contributing to governance through service on committees. Equally important is the use of demonstrable evidence—teaching excellence, curricular strength, scholarly productivity, and faculty service—to substantiate departmental claims of quality. Drawing on …

The Department Chair And Merit Salary Increases, Anita Taylor

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article analyzes the administrative and ethical challenges faced by department chairs in implementing merit-based salary systems within higher education. Drawing on the author’s decade of administrative experience, it examines how varying institutional structures (from unionized, step-based systems to wholly merit-driven allocations) shape the chair’s discretion and accountability. Using the case of George Mason University, the discussion details procedures for goal-setting, annual review, and salary distribution, highlighting tensions between equity, gender parity, and institutional policy. The article critiques both the subjectivity of qualitative evaluations and the rigidity of quantitative point systems, arguing for a balanced, evidence-informed approach to faculty assessment. …

Ideas, Comments, And Suggestions On Theatre Administration, Donald L. Loeffler

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article offers a comprehensive account of effective departmental management within a university theatre program, emphasizing practical organization, personnel selection, and administrative collaboration. Using the Department of Speech and Theatre Arts at Western Carolina University as a model, the discussion details the chair’s responsibility for building a cohesive administrative environment through the strategic hiring of qualified secretarial staff, faculty cooperation, and student commitment. The paper underscores the importance of accurate bookkeeping, courteous communication, and efficient operations as extensions of the department’s public image. It also addresses recruitment and retention practices, faculty evaluation procedures, and cross-departmental cooperation in theatre, music, and …

Corporate Management Strategies: Applications For Communication Administrators From Iacocca: An Autobiography, Ladonna Mcmurray Geddes

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article interprets Lee Iacocca’s managerial philosophy for application in academic and communication administration. Framing Iacocca’s principles of motivation, accountability, and leadership within a university context, the discussion explores how participatory management and clear goal articulation can improve departmental performance. The analysis emphasizes Iacocca’s model of “management by wandering around” as a strategy for maintaining visibility and fostering open communication. It also adapts his quarterly review system and “equality of sacrifice” concepts to faculty evaluation and workload distribution. Drawing from administrative experience, the author proposes a Distribution of Effort Agreement to formalize faculty commitments across teaching, research, and service, aligning …