Barbara K. Townsend

Community College Faculty What We Know and Need to Know

This review of existing literature about community college faculty members speculates about why they have received so little scholarly attention, summarizes the nature of existing research, including its methodology and topics, and suggests what else needs to be known about them.

Redefining the Community College Transfer Mission

Current patterns of student tranfer from and to the community college need to be considered in examining the community college transfer mission. These patterns demonstrate that two sets of students--those who begin their postsecondary education by enrolling at community colleges and those who begin at four-year colleges--take community college courses in their desire to attain the baccalaureate. When these transfer patterns are examined for their effect upon baccalaureate attainment, it can be demonstrated that they help both sets of students save on college costs, and they speed up time-to-degree for four-year students. The effect upon the quality of education attained is less clear. Given the reality of these transfer patterns, the community college transfer mission needs to be redefined as facilitating baccalaureate degree attainment for college students in general, not just for students who begin their undergraduate education in the two-year college.

Higher Education Journals' Discourse about Adult Undergraduate Students

The authors analyzed articles appearing in seven U.S. higher education journals from 1990 to 2003 to explore how adult undergraduates were portrayed. Based on the articles that were found, the authors developed a classification of discourse about adult students that provides an analytic foundation to guide future research.

Marginal or Monumental? Visibility of Community Colleges in Selected Higher-Education Journals

Academic journals shape a field by including certain topics and excluding others. The purpose of this study was to explore in 5 higher-education journals published during 1990–2003 the visibility and the use of community colleges as research sites. Findings indicated an extremely limited visibility of community colleges, with use of community colleges as research sites varying from essential to opportunistic.

Accidental Equity: The Status of Women in the Community College

Community colleges have a high percentage of women students and a higher percentage of women faculty and administrators than do four-year colleges. Yet the extent to which the community college offers an equitable work and study site for women is not clear. The authors seek to determine this by applying to existing literature an adaptation of Hurtado, Milem, Clayton-Pederson, and Allens framework for examining an institutions climate for diversity. After applying this framework, the authors conclude that women have been an important part of the community college student and employee base since its inception as the junior college, that numerically women are well represented, and that the climate, while not perfect, is relatively good for women. However, they argue that this situation may be due more to accident than to intentional action or behavior on the part of institutional leaders.

Interpreting the Influence of Community College Attendance Upon Baccalaureate Attainment

National quantitative studies examining the impact of community college attendance upon educational attainment conclude that initial attendance at a community college (as opposed to a 4-year institution) reduces the likelihood of attaining a bachelors degree. Yet these studies, which suggest that initial attendance at a community college is not a rational choice for those seeking the baccalaureate, do not typically consider many of the legitimate reasons students have for enrolling in the community college. In addition, future studies will need to factor in recent developments in the community college environment, such as the emergence of the community college baccalaureate, growth in residence halls, and the development of honors programs.

Are We Marginalized within Academe? Perceptions of Two-Year College Faculty

A sample of 311 faculty at seven community colleges completed survey questions that elicited their ratings of statements about four-year faculty attitudes toward two-year college faculty and about their own perceptions of their status within academe. Respondents with prior full-time faculty experience at a four-year institution were more likely to agree than those without such experience that four-year faculty consider two-year faculty to be on the margins of higher education. Neither group considered themselves to be in a marginal position. The authors discuss the implications of the data and make recommendations for future research.

Development of the Applied Baccalaureate.

Increasing demands for economic competitiveness and educational effectiveness have led states and institutions to implement new approaches to facilitating baccalaureate completion. This study examined one of these approaches, the applied baccalaureate degree, which is designed to incorporate applied associate course work and degrees once considered terminal or at a non-baccalaureate level into a transfer program leading to a baccalaureate degree. Based on a national state-by-state inventory conducted in 2007–2008, the study documents the extent to which applied baccalaureate degrees are offered across the United States and explores the development of these degrees in community colleges and traditional baccalaureate degree-granting institutions. Using Stark and Lattucas (1997) lens of factors affecting curriculum development and implementation through external, organizational, and institutional lenses, this study found many applied baccalaureate degrees emerged in response to external or environmental influences, such as workforce demands and statewide needs to increase baccalaureate attainment. Student demand and institutional support were less apparent, though evident in some institutions. More research is needed to examine the economic and educational effectiveness of these degrees as well as to explore which student populations are impacted by this phenomenon. Enrollment and impact on adult learners is an especially important question, given the focus of the degrees on workforce and economic development.

The Two-Year College as a First Choice, Second Chance Institution for Baccalaureate-Degree Holders

This study focused on degree-seeking baccalaureate-degree holders at one two-year technical institute in the Midsouth to determine why they chose to study at the two-year college and how they compared their two-year college experience with their baccalaureate educational experience. Findings indicated the technical college was their first choice institution for post-baccalaureate work because the institution offered them a second chance for career advancement or a career change. Additionally, their two-year college experience compared very favorably with their four-year college experience.

Community College Organizational Climate for Minorities and Women

This paper explores the issues of what would constitute a positive organizational climate for women and minorities within the community college setting and ways in which such a climate might be achieved. It first describes some traditional or standard measures of a positive organizational climate for women and minorities and then evaluates how well the community college is doing when examined against these measures. Next, it describes some structural manifestations of a negative climate, including negative discourse about minorities and women. In doing so, it traces the development of some discourse patterns about these groups and provides some illustrative cultural assumptions that reflect these discourse patterns. The paper concludes with implications for the community college, including some steps to be taken to improve the organizational climate for minorities and women.