Molly Ott

Entry-Level Competencies of New Student Affairs Professionals: A Delphi Study

The study examines the perceptions of 104 mid- and senior-level student affairs administrators of positions, responsibilities, competencies, and theories important for professional practice for new student affairs professionals. In regard to competencies, the results of this study provide important information about preprofessional abilities that are integral to professional practice, and participants also identified several competencies not identified in prior research that may be important to positions involving high contact with students. These results, then, provide vital information for curriculum development in graduate preparation programs and for professional development training for new professionals.

A Quasi-Experimental Investigation of How the Gates Millennium Scholars Program Is Related to College Students’ Time Use and Activities

A national scholarship program provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is designed to improve access to and success in higher education for low-income high-achieving minority students by providing them with full tuition scholarships and non-monetary support. We use a regression discontinuity approach to investigate whether the receipt of the scholarship changes the use of time and participation in different activities among college students during their freshmen and junior years. We find that receiving a Gates scholarship reduces hours worked per week, as well as influencing high participation in volunteering activities and cultural events. The sub-group analyses reveal racial/ethnic differences in the allocation of time to and the levels of participation in various activities in response to the Gates scholarship.

Is the Tenure Process Fair?: What Faculty Think

A conceptual framework grounded on procedural justice theory was created to explain how judgments about the fairness of tenure decision-making evolved among faculty who had not yet undergone the review. The framework posits that faculty beliefs about fairness are influenced directly by their workplace experiences and both directly and indirectly by their socio-demographic characteristics. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the proposed direct and indirect effects with data from 2,247 pre-tenure assistant professors at 21 research universities. The results substantiate the importance of perceived campus and department conditions in shaping faculty members’ views of tenure reviews and as mediators of faculty members’ socio-demographic characteristics. Equitable treatment of junior faculty at the department level and effectiveness of feedback have the strongest relationships with beliefs about the equity of tenure decision-making. Generally speaking, an individual’s sense of control during the process of constructing the tenure dossier predicts his or her judgments about the fairness of tenure reviews. Practical suggestions for campus leaders regarding the conditions that inform faculty beliefs about tenure reviews and implications for future research are discussed.

Faculty Perceptions of Organizational Politics

This study focuses on a contested area of shared governance, intercollegiate athletics. The researchers consider how faculty perceptions of organizational politics shape their orientations toward collaborative decision-making in this domain. The results provide insights into ways social cognitions about campus-level decision-making affect faculty satisfaction with their collective influence and their prioritization of governance issues. Several directions for further research on athletics oversight and shared governance are identified.

Adjunct Employment Preference: Who Wants to Be Full-Time Faculty?

ABSTRACT Recent research suggests at least half of community college faculty who are teaching part-time would rather have a full-time appointment (Cashwell, 2009; Kramer, Gloeckner, & Jacoby, 2014). Little is known, however, about what distinguishes those voluntarily teaching part-time from those preferring a full-time faculty position. This inquiry draws from person-job fit theory to investigate adjunct faculty members’ abilities and qualifications, as well as their needs from the job itself (Edwards, 1994). Participants were 1,245 adjunct faculty teaching in 10 community colleges during the spring 2016 term. Two thirds of the participants were at least somewhat interested in becoming full-time faculty at a postsecondary institution, with 47% expressing strong, immediate interest in such a position. An ordered logistic regression model indicated that several dimensions of qualifications, job experiences, and socio-demographics predicted employment preference. Part-time faculty with higher levels of recent teaching experience in the community college setting were more likely to express a strong desire for a full-time position, as were adjuncts who utilized more job-related resources. Those who viewed the recognition and rewards given for adjunct job performance as adequate tended to be content in a part-time role. In terms of demographic characteristics, involuntarily part-time faculty were more likely to indicate economic need and self-identify as African American or Hispanic. The findings illustrate how careful attention to the distinctive backgrounds, experiences, and attitudes of part-time faculty subgroups may help college and university administrators more intentionally design policies and programs to better meet the needs of their increasingly diverse constituents.

Part-Time Faculty Involvement in Decision-Making

ABSTRACT Drawing from a survey of 1,239 part-time community college faculty, this analysis investigates their views about being involved in departmental and campus-wide decision-making. The adjuncts had somewhat of a voice in instructional decisions pertaining to their area of expertise, but virtually no involvement in personnel or broader organizational matters. In all domains, they expressed desire to have a stronger voice. However, they also noted barriers to inclusion of part-time faculty in decision-making, including schedule constraints, compensation, and respect from their full-time counterparts.