In order to meet the educational and economic demands of the United States in the future, institutions of higher education must increase the number of students who persist to the completion of a certificate or degree program, especially low-income students and students of color (Carnivale and Desrochers, 2004). To increase the persistence and completion rates of these students at community colleges, national initiatives, such as the Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count initiative, have emphasized the importance of creating institutional environments in which planning and improvement efforts are data-driven (Achieving the Dream, 2005). This study explored the perceptions of faculty members, administrators, and staff directly involved in establishing this data-driven environment, also known as a "culture of evidence," and the extent to which those perceptions had disseminated through the larger college community. Through the use of a case study and focus groups using Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) methods, the development of a "culture of evidence" at two Texas community colleges was examined as perceived by college constituents involved in its creation and by a group of college constituents indirectly influenced by their efforts. The emerging themes are discussed in their relation to promoting and maintaining a data-driven culture in the future.
As community colleges focus on increasing accountability, a growing number of community colleges have implemented professional development programs. Studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of faculty professional development, yet faculty participation and attitude toward training may impede improvement efforts. Therefore, the purpose of this quantitative study was to increase understanding of Texas community college faculty attitudes and perceptions about faculty (teacher training) professional development. This quantitative study identified faculty characteristics, such as teaching experience, level of teacher training received, and academic degree earned; as well as environmental factors including college culture, administrative support, colleague influence, funding, time availability, self-efficacy and faculty perceptions toward development activities. A Likert-style online survey was developed and administered at 14 Texas community campuses, where 997 faculty members participated. The faculty list included campus members that taught at least one course in a typical semester, including teaching administrators, deans, part-time faculty, and full-time faculty. The Likert items mostly consisted of five points based on the scales from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree," or from "Never" to "Very Frequently." Other questions established participation in faculty development activities and demographic information such as teaching load, prior teacher training, academic degree earned, teaching discipline, teaching experience, and position at the college. Survey data were analyzed using Excel and SPSS statistical software. One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and multiple regressions was performed to determine the relationship among survey variables. A priori level of significance for all statistical analyses was set at an alpha level of 0.05. Participants included 997 Texas community college faculty members at 14 campuses. Results indicated that (a) differences exist in the ways these various faculty groups experience and value training opportunities; (b) campus culture, administrative support, and funding, are statistically significant predictors of faculty member participation, attitudes, and perceptions; (c) faculty members' self-efficacy is significant in predicting attitudes about professional development; and (d) faculty beliefs in their teaching capacity influence their motivation and behavior in the classroom. The researcher recommends that leadership (a) legitimize professional development by promoting, supporting, and participating in strategically aligned programs; (b) evolve training strategies to incorporate diverse objectives, learning strategies, and shared culture for all generations and experience levels; (c) present training using best practices, reflection, and a comprehensive approach; and (d) model high-achieving systems of education. Several recommendations for future research include (a) continually and consistently collect and analyze data regarding faculty attitudes and faculty experiences; (b) evaluate how faculty development training affects student learning; (c) expand research to systems of education that reflect high-achieving models and alignment with the desired culture and strategic directions.
This qualitative case study examined the perceived benefits of academic assessment as seen by community college faculty members. This study further aimed to identify what methods of assessment faculty perceive as valuable in evaluating student learning and how faculty utilize assessment results to modify academic programming. Lastly, this study sought strategies that may facilitate the construction of a sustainable culture of evidence and learning by focusing on the benefits of assessment. The researcher selected ten faculty members employed at the organization to participate in the interview process. Participants were limited to full-time faculty members with at least five years teaching experience in adult and higher education. During data analysis, six emergent themes developed as follows: (1) assessment as a multi-level process, (2) alignment beginning at the course level, (3) reciprocal relationship between teaching and learning, (4) assessments of higher order thinking, (5) data usability, and (6) administration-faculty disconnect leading to a culture of compliance. While faculty in this study found assessment to be beneficial to improving teaching and learning, faculty also noted several specific challenges they perceived to be barriers in creating a sustainable culture of assessment at the organization. Strategies for building the organizational culture were outlined and recommendations for future research were made.
Student Success in College describes policies, programs, and practices that a diverse set of institutions have used to enhance student achievement. This book clearly shows the benefits of student learning and educational effectiveness that can be realized when these conditions are present. Based on the Documenting Effective Educational Practice (DEEP) project from the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University, this book provides concrete examples from twenty institutions that other colleges and universities can learn from and adapt to help create a success-oriented campus culture and learning environment.
This report presents findings from a study conducted by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) on how well prepared today's community colleges are in moving toward the greater use of data and research to improve student success. Data for the study were drawn from two major sources: first, an e-mail survey of college administrators responsible for institutional research (IR), and, second, case studies of 28 community colleges. The study aimed to learn how much IR capacity community colleges have in terms of IR staff size and facility with research methods, how IR is utilized by different actors within colleges, and what barriers exist that impede the development of IR analysis that would benefit college decision making. The study finds that community colleges wanting to expand the role of IR face several challenges in terms of resources, data collection, and institutional priorities. It also suggests that college leadership is a key component in making the necessary investment in IR capacity and in promoting changes in organizational practice that are required to embrace a strategy for using data to improve institutional performance.
"Community colleges in Texas have experienced a decrease in enrollment in recent years. The pandemic exacerbated the problem, as evidenced by the further drop in enrollment in almost all community colleges in Texas. Odessa College, however, gained enrollment during the pandemic. The current qualitative case study examines the phenomenon of leadership decisions impacting Odessa College from an interpretivist approach. Theories in crisis and situational leadership provide a lens for exploring the phenomenon of leadership decisions and potential impact on a community college, particularly in times of crisis." ---from Abstract.
"The purpose of this conceptual quantitative study was to determine whether there was a difference in community colleges professors' perceptions on the level of administrator transformational leadership and administrator self-perception of administrative transformational leadership within a selected Community College District." -- (ii)
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is the premier public resource on scientific and technological developments that impact global security. Founded by Manhattan Project Scientists, the Bulletin's iconic "Doomsday Clock" stimulates solutions for a safer world.
