The researcher in this study used qualitative grounded theory methodology to explore the perceptions of higher education professionals in both academic affairs and student affairs units on the subject of a cultural divide between the two areas in the community college sector. The researcher also aimed to gain insight from the study participants on what they believed to be the most common barriers to effective collaboration and how these barriers can possibly be overcome. The researcher conducted 16 interviews with a broad array of higher educational professionals, including Vice Presidents, deans, program directors, counselors, and faculty, all from one community college located in northern New Jersey in order to gain insight into the research questions. Following these interviews, the researcher employed coding to locate and isolate dominant themes. Subsequently, these themes were analyzed alongside the existing literature on the subject. The findings of the study provided evidence of a cultural divide that does indeed exist between academic affairs and student affairs professionals in American community colleges. The findings also uncovered how these different roles played by different individuals in different sectors of a college can lead to differing viewpoints and an overall misalignment. Finally, the findings helped illustrate how individuals working in higher education perceive these issues and allowed for deeper insight into how barriers can be overcome and effective collaboration between academic affairs and student affairs can take place in the community college sector. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]