Academic department chairs are middle managers in higher education that have unique positions within an institution. This study examined novice department chairs' leadership identity within eastern United States community colleges. Novice was defined as a person having three or fewer years of experience in the department chair position. The gap in…

Nine higher education institutional administrators who embraced and supported OER (Open Educational Resources) implementation on their campuses were interviewed. As a generic, qualitative, inductive study, the goal of the research was to uncover what motivated them to lend their time and energy to such an initiative; how they perceived the value…

The principal goal of this research paper is to gain knowledge of leadership roles in academic systems. Principals, heads, and directors are in positions of leadership in educational institutions. It is the responsibility of leaders to support and direct individuals in the proper implementation of their duties and responsibilities, to provide…

This study applies Clark and Estes's (2008) gap analysis model to understand how a state education agency's decision making, during reform policy implementation, impacts the success of the initiative. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to assess the effect of the Texas Education Agency's (TEA) decision making, during the policy design and…

Advancements in technology have altered the skills sets needed by the workforce. The demand for increased knowledge has created a skills gap in the nation's workforce. A large number of middle-skill jobs are left unfilled; jobs which require more than a high school education but less than a four-year degree. Community colleges have the ability to…

This applied dissertation was designed to explore the communication between higher education leaders and faculty at the department level in the United States at a southeastern higher education institution. The study sought to explore (a) the communication relationship between leaders and followers; (b) commitment to the organization; and (c)…

There is a major participation gap in academic leadership positions for China-born faculty working in the U.S. higher education when compared to their Caucasian counterparts. Various factors may have contributed to this startling, disproportionately low representation of China-born faculty. The extant literature reveals a dearth of studies on…

This multisite case study explored the perceptions of athletic department members of the important factors of organizational cultures in athletic departments at small Christian institutions in the Midwestern United States. The study comprised of site visits to three small Christian institutions in the Midwestern United States. At each site, six…

Currently, two-year colleges are teaching the lion's share of college composition classes, mainly consisting of developmental writing and first-year composition courses; however, those same two-year colleges have been slow in embracing the composition theory and practices that are studied and implemented at four-year colleges. One way to…

In their seminal 1995 article, Barr and Tagg encouraged higher education to think differently about undergraduate education and suggested that a new paradigm be adopted that focused less on what is taught and more on what is learned. Dubbed the learner-centered paradigm, this reframing of education challenges long standing practices and removes…

One of the most overlooked and complex problems that universities and colleges face nation-wide is how to reduce and eliminate research misconduct. Because of the confidential nature of allegations of research misconduct and the high rate of underreporting, administrators at scholarly institutions struggle with understanding the cause of such…

This naturalistic study focused on the perceptions of leadership and student performance in science from campus leaders in three purposefully selected secondary campuses of ninth through twelfth grades. Each school had experienced an improvement in student passing rates on the science TAKS test that exceeded the state's percent improvement in…

Using a correlational, cross-sectional study design with self-administered questionnaires, this study explored the extent to which leadership practices of deans and department heads influence faculty job satisfaction in baccalaureate degree nursing programs. Using a simple random sampling technique, the study survey was sent to 400 faculty…

The advancement of women into academic leadership remains a problem facing public, high-research activity universities. While there are more women who are qualified to assume the position of department chair in research institutions today than there were 30 years ago, women still lag behind their male counterparts in holding these academic…

This multiple case qualitative study addressed the National School Board Association's (NSBA) Key Work standards for public policy leadership by local school boards, and how three elite school board chairs understood and implemented those standards. Elite board chair status was defined by experience, training, and peer recognition. The study…