Community college trustees play a variety of roles in governing their colleges, but there is little consistency in interpreting these actions. Defining the specific responsibilities of trustee involvement has increasingly developed into a priority for community college leaders. To what extent trustees should be involved in different…

A level of consistency between community college leaders and community leaders is necessary to demonstrate behaviors, actions, and beliefs that shape, represent, and support expected community values. Likewise, communities, which are collectives of suborganizations, play an important role in aiding individual development, especially related to…

Rural community colleges have an often understated impact on the communities they serve, especially in regard to their role in developing the identity of individuals. The ability of the rural community college to influence individual identity development is often exasperated due to the challenges associated with rural American life. The role of…

Community college student athletes are unique in their setting in the world of college student athletes. Many compete for the love of their sport, while others have aspirations for transferring to major colleges to continue their participation. The current study made use of the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale with a sample of nearly 400…

The study explored the oral communication apprehension (CA) levels of first-generation college students at a 2-year case study community institution. Overall and general-context CA were measured using the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension-24 (PRCA-24). The survey was sent by e-mail to 2,040 institutionally-identified first-generation…

Community colleges in rural environments provide a variety of services. There is a great deal of documentation supporting those services that are academic and economic. The noneconomic and nonacademic results of community college activities, however, have an undocumented yet significant impact on local communities. The current study focused on how…

Community college students are different from their four-year college counterparts in many ways. In fact, the entire nature of expectation among students is different in psychological, social, economic, and academic terms. Despite an array of reports about community college students, few attempts have been made to generate baseline data about who…

Argues that little research has focused on the preparedness of new college students to cope in a technologically driven campus, particularly in community colleges with a large percentage of non-traditional students. Identifies strategies for exposing students to technology during student orientation programs. (Contains 13 references.) (NB)

Profiles faculty governance senates in two-year colleges. Reports that an exploratory survey was mailed to a purposive national sample of community colleges; responses revealed that governance bodies were less common than previously thought, and that these structures tended to be more informal than their four-year college counterparts. (Contains…

Examines the extent to which faculty senate leadership provides exposure to important skills required for ascension to a presidency, along with preparation to succeed in various roles. Details survey data from a sample that included 150 community college presidents and 150 community college faculty senate leaders. (Contains 25 references.)…

Profiles individuals in the faculty governance leadership position, based on survey responses from 244 faculty governance leaders, including their written and oral communication apprehension levels, and the relationship of this apprehension to job-related stressors. States that effective communication is paramount to faculty governance unit leader…

Discusses a study that examines department chairs' beliefs about the role of faculty in departmental governance and the characteristics of an ideal governance structure. Concludes that faculty's key role is helping clarify the administrators' responsibilities, and that faculty members should be rewarded for their participation and empowered to…

Examines possible strategies that department chairs can use to better manage scarce resources. Strategies such as addressing issues of human resource management jointly with fiscal issues and relying more heavily on academic program planning at the departmental level were found to be effective. Conversely, reduced program offerings and longer work…

Explores the beliefs and values of women in two-year college departmental chair positions. Finds that dominant beliefs are related to educational philosophies and program outcomes, while secondary beliefs and values are related to student-centered issues, suggesting that women in chair positions have a traditional view of themselves as internal…

Descibes an investigation of 110 faculty who were involved (highly, moderately, or not at all) in governance activities in community colleges. No differences were found in perceptions about ideal governance-process characteristics or faculty involvement in shared governance. However, there was a difference in general perception toward the role of…