Trustees play an important role in determining the direction, priorities, and future of higher education institutions, and as such, are critical actors in the decision-making and policy formation process. Numerous anecdotal reports have concluded that there are often competing interests in the use and structure of trustees throughout higher…

Noncredit community college enrollment accounts for approximately 40% of all enrollment in the two-year sector, or five million students (American Association of Community Colleges, 2016). Yet, this population is seldom discussed in the higher education literature due to inconsistent definitions, funding, and data reporting at the state level.…

With the rise in prominence of intercollegiate athletics, there has been an increase in interest in the success of student athletes. This interest has become common across all levels of intercollegiate athletic competition, and has increased dramatically in recent years to focus on the 75,000 community college student athletes who participate in…

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…

Rural community college students face unique difficulties in higher education for many reasons, including the resources they typically have access to, their collective histories, and in many cases, the preparation they received in high school. These challenges might be low-performing secondary schools, a lack of tradition and precedence in…

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…

Student government is important to community colleges for a variety of reasons, well beyond simply providing students an opportunity to be involved in charting the direction of the college. Student governments provide opportunities for students to learn about the democratic process, how to represent the interests of others, the responsibility of…

Nearly 60% of all community colleges field athletic teams with over 72,000 students participating in these sports. That represents approximately 11% of all community college male students (5% of female students). Additionally, community colleges invest nearly $50 million dollars annually in financial aid to student athletes. With such a strong…

Community colleges have a role to play in providing support for students as they exit vocational or career preparation programs. As colleges have been challenged by an expanding transfer function, it is important that colleges understand student expectations. Such understanding helps to both serve students enrolled in programs and to meet the…

Community colleges are facing a growing need for well-trained leaders. These colleges have often looked to university-based preparation programs for their labor pools, yet few attempts at evaluating their effectiveness in leadership preparation have been undertaken. The current study was designed to explore both the current state of these…

Community college student characteristics are changing as an increasing number of traditional college students enroll in community colleges with the sole intention of transferring. This trend can place stress on a college, and perhaps the most effective way to manage this change is to study and understand who current students are. The current…

Describes a survey of chief academic officers at 65 randomly selected community colleges that assessed perceptions regarding faculty sabbatical leaves. Reveals that administrators agreed that sabbaticals contribute to a sense of rejuvenation and renewal, among other things, but tended to disagree that they help faculty become better scholars and…

Describes a study of 3,000 department heads at U.S. community colleges to determine their perceptions of their responsibility to offer student services at the department level. Indicates that scheduling classes, responding to student interests, and integrating computers into instruction were rated highly, while emphasizing transfer received low…

Describes a study investigating primary budgeting strategies and the use of funding formulas in community colleges in Nebraska. Results indicated that college administrators place primary reliance on rationalist approaches to budgeting, use performance-based budgets, and identify composite funding formulas as the most prevalent type of formula.…

Draws on a survey of 83 community college faculty leaders, such as presidents of academic senates, to identify characteristics of existing campus leaders, and the skills and talents particularly suited to participating in decision-making processes that affect both college operations and policies. (Contains 13 references.) (PGS)