With enrollment down, competition increasing from company training and university associate degree programs, and people's perceptions of community colleges still lagging the robust reality of what they have to offer. Community colleges need to tell their own stories so that others do not do for them. Community colleges are often a misunderstood,…

The purpose of the action research project was to provide part-time professors in the California community college system a framework for meaningful professional development that could lead to more preparedness and empowerment; and to give part-time professors an avenue to gain leadership opportunities, and greater control over their learning and…

Implementing institution-wide, systemic change is typically a long and often challenging task for college leaders to undertake. Because each institution is different, the combination of internal and external factors that drive institutional change can vary greatly from college to college, and from moment to moment. Achieving the Dream (ATD), which…

Academic leaders at community and technical colleges must balance institutional projects, student success initiatives, and academic programs. Many of the tasks associated with these endeavors involve faculty and staff members. As academic leaders plan for change, it is wise to involve faculty in a positive way. The goal of faculty members'…

The Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (RP Group) launched Leading from the Middle (LFM) Academy in 2013 to support the development of middle leaders across California Community Colleges (CCCs). This report captures reflections from both leaders of and participants in the 2017 LFM Academy, with the goal of advancing and…

The Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (RP Group) launched Leading from the Middle (LFM) Academy in 2013 to support the development of middle leaders across California Community Colleges (CCCs). This is an executive summary to that full report that captures reflections from both leaders of and participants in the 2017…

Data-driven decision making (DDDM), or the use of data to inform educational practices, has become an emerging field of interest over the past decade for educational leaders and researchers. The purpose of this quantitative study is to examine community college leaders' perspectives on institutional DDDM practice, especially those DDDM practices…

This qualitative study investigated how community colleges that have been nationally recognized for their success create and nurture environments to use data effectively. This kind of data use has been described as developing and sustaining a culture of evidence or a culture of inquiry. However, the exact definitions of culture of evidence and…

Between 2014 and 2016, California policymakers invested a half-billion dollars in the California Career Pathways Trust (CCPT). The initiative funded regional and local partnerships to establish career pathways designed to lead secondary school students to postsecondary degrees or certifications aligned with regional workforce needs. This brief…

Higher education is built on a long history of tradition, which, in many ways, has been impervious to outside pressures and influences. Despite having served as change agents for society, colleges and universities have resisted change for decades. Amid unprecedented pressure and scrutiny from outside stakeholders and dwindling state and federal…

Partnership evaluation typically occurs during the final stages either to assess why a collaborative effort did not work or to identify the indicators of success. Partnerships are rarely evaluated at their incipient stage, which is a critical time to assess their potential for long-term sustainability. In this paper, we present an early-stage…

Despite the importance of effective linkages between credit and noncredit divisions, significant barriers interfere with and detract from these units working well together. Community college leaders are challenged to manage these multiple and sometimes competing organizational identities in a complex and rapidly-changing educational landscape.…

The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) and its 16 members work collaboratively to expand educational access and excellence for all citizens of the West. By promoting innovation, cooperation, resource sharing, and sound public policy among its members and their institutions, WICHE strengthens higher education's contributions…

The development of healthy relationships among the students, faculty, and staff at higher education institutions leads to the creation of a seamless, connected learning environment for the students (Blimling & Whitt, 1999; Kezar, Hirsch, & Burack, 2001; Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, Whitt, & Associates, 2005; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005).…

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (Aud et al., 2013), only 10.6% of students who started at a two-year institution in the 2003-2004 year successfully completed a baccalaureate degree from a four-year institution within six years. Two- and four-year institutions are looking for new strategies to improve transfer student…