Michael T. Miller

BELIEFS AND VALUES OF WOMEN IN COMMUNITY COLLEGE LEADERSHIP

Over 40% of all 2‐year college department chairs are women, yet relatively little has been done to advance the current understanding of these academic leaders. By examining the beliefs and values of over 1,000 women in the chair position, dominant beliefs were found to be related to educational philosophies and program outcomes. Secondary beliefs and values were found to be related to student‐centered issues, suggesting that women in the chair position have a traditional view of themselves as internal administrators.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY INVOLVEMENT IN INSTITUTIONAL GOVERNANCE

The current study provided an investigation of 110 faculty who were very involved, moderately involved, and not involved in governance activities in community colleges. No differences were found between the three groups on characteristics of an ideal governance process or the roles faculty have in shared governance. Differences were found in responses to general perceptions toward faculty involvement in governance.

Strategies for Coping with Job Challenges in the Community College Department: A Comparison of Chair Perceptions by Work Experience.

Department chairs in community colleges face a number of job‐related challenges that have been well documented by practitioners and scholars. Despite the identification of these challenges, few efforts have been undertaken to develop a battery of coping strategies for them. This study sought to identify and prioritize coping strategies related to the challenges of chairing a department in the community college. In addition, the work experience background of practicing chairs was selected to determine differences in the use of the various coping strategies.

ORIENTATION PROGRAM CONSIDERATIONS FOR NEW COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY

The roles and expectations of community college faculty members have grown more complex as their institutions change to meet the needs of their respective communities. Whereas faculty development programs have assisted in the creation of programs and strategies to help faculty cope with change, the initial orientation of faculty to their college proves to be vital to their performance, success, and length of tenure. This study was designed to supply an understanding of community college faculty perceptions of the objectives for faculty orientation programs, using a revision of the Council for the Advancement of Standards student orientation program objectives. The primary rationale for faculty orientation was found to be the assistance of new faculty in understanding the mission of their specific institution. General responses indicated high expectations for faculty orientation programs, and responses also indicated that programs were not intended to serve as retention activities.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE FINANCE: DEPARTMENT CHAIR PERCEPTIONS OF SELECTED FINANCIAL ISSUES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Community colleges are beginning to confront many of the same problems that 4‐year higher education institutions have been facing and continue to face, including financial constraints. The issues of enrollment, accountability, aging faculty, continuous quality improvement, and increased competition for students have created a need to give greater scholarly and practitioner‐centered attention to the issues of financial management and budgeting. This investigation provided an insight into 2‐year college departmental chairs’ perceptions of selected financial issues. Specifically, the study described sources of revenue for community colleges; the chairs’ perceptions of financial management roles, tasks, and challenges; and the strategies chairs use to work with financial challenges.

ADMINISTRATOR OPINIONS OF BUDGETING AND FUNDING FORMULA USE IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES

As fewer state and federal monies are made available for campus distribution, financing higher education has become an increasingly complex task. During this time of financial uncertainty, the management of institutional funds has become of paramount importance and requires more stringent analysis and accountability. One approach to better fiscal management has been attention to budgeting and funding formula guidelines. This investigation was undertaken to identify primary budgeting strategies and funding formula use in community colleges. Results indicate that community college administrators place primary reliance on rationalist approaches to budgeting and tend to use performance‐based budgets. Results also identify composite funding formulas as the most frequently reported type of funding formula used in community colleges.

MANAGING SCARCE RESOURCES IN THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: STRATEGIES FOR THE DEPARTMENT CHAIR

In recent years, the community college and higher education in general has witnessed a decrease in funding at the federal, state, and local levels. Community colleges, in turn, have called on the departmental level administrator to deal with the problem of real or impending budget reductions. Therefore, fiscal management has become one of the primary tasks of these mid‐level administrators. The present study examined how specific strategies might be utilized by department chairs to better manage scarce resources while maintaining or enhancing program quality. A sample of 50 department chairs was selected to take part in a 3‐round Delphi survey to determine effective resource management. Strategies advocated by the respondents as effective for resource management include addressing issues of human resource management jointly with fiscal issues and relying more heavily on academic program planning at the departmental level. Short‐term answers to scarce resource management, such as reduced program offerings ...