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…

Purpose. The purpose of this qualitative study was to obtain community college career technical education (CTE) department chairs' lived experiences toward synthesizing leadership skills. This study sought to identify the lived experiences of CTE department chairs at community colleges. The research question was "How do CTE department chairs…

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between community college department chairs and their adjunct faculty. Methods: This was a descriptive phenomenological qualitative study that used individual semi-structured interviews of 14 department chairs from a purposive sample drawn from a midwestern community college.…

Department chairs are tasked with a variety of responsibilities including informing institutional decisions, yet approximately 65% of department chairs have reported receiving no training, and two-thirds of those who received training believed it was not adequate. I conducted an external program evaluation of a department chair institute for…

Using a case study design, this research explores how two department chairs, Jan and Tammy, in community colleges implement AB 705, an assessment policy impacting California ESL programs. AB 705 seeks to centralize previous multiple measures legislation in California by requiring the use of high school data in community college course placement.…

Nationally, the pathway model -- commonly defined as "a highly structured, coherent education experience that is built around and through an area of study" -- has emerged as the preferred structural approach to deliver the curriculum at community colleges. The pathway model provides a new hope to community colleges to create a solution…

Purpose: This conceptual piece applies what we know about student success to introduce a faculty model of success called the Faculty Pathway to Excellence. The model elevates faculty voices in the conversation of student success in community colleges. Method: We collected qualitative data from interviews with faculty at two community colleges and…

This study examined the experiences of faculty members who transitioned into the role of department chair at community colleges in the United States. While there is research on faculty transitioning into department chair roles at four-year colleges and universities, there is very little research on this transition within community college…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine how faculty chairs at a large, Midwestern community college understand and engage with the assessment of student learning outcomes within academic programs. This study was informed by two conceptual paradigms of assessment: accountability and improvement. Sensemaking was used as a…

STEM leaders, deans and chairs who oversee three or more academic disciplines, tend to leave their posts at a fast pace. This can cause disruptions within an academic unit for both students and faculty. The purpose of this action research study was to investigate the rate of attrition among community college Science, Technology, Engineering and…

Community colleges located in urban areas face unique challenges and opportunities. How leaders in these institutions respond to this unique setting requires an understanding of the skills that might be required to adeptly work in these environments. Drawing upon survey research from the past 20 years, a research-team developed instrument was…

Community colleges throughout the United States have declared "global competence" as a learning objective for their students since the last decade of the 20th century. The North Carolina (NC) Community College system is no exception, as its statewide mission statement lists preparing students to be globally competent as a goal for all 58…

Department chairs serve a vital function at community colleges. They are middle managers, mid-level leaders, and faculty members. They serve a unique position within the organization because they interact with nearly every unit: academics affairs, student affairs, senior administrators and students. At a time when professional organizations are…

In 2017, there were 941 public community colleges enrolling 7 million credit students and 5 million noncredit students accounting for 41% of all undergraduates enrolled in higher education (American Association of Community Colleges, 2019). While enrollment has increased, the complexity of the mission of two-year colleges has also increased. Part…

As the complexities of the departmental chair continued to increase, so did the importance of having a process to use to fairly assign the teaching load for departmental chairs. In 1982 Carolyn Branch conducted a survey to identify the factors that were being used. She received input from the chief academic officers that a process, procedure or…