The decisions made by leaders noticeably impact employee morale and influence the fulfillment of the organizational mission. However, making decisions can be challenging when options are complex and involve multiple risks and benefits. Navigating such decisions in an era of technology when decisions are more transparent than ever before can be…

The present basic qualitative researched sought to explore the experiences and practices of academic deans in community colleges. I leveraged Schein's Model of Organizational Culture as a framework for data analysis. Schein's Model includes three layers of organizational culture; artifacts, espoused beliefs and values, and the inner most layer of…

This research study investigated the experiences of community college leaders using the guided pathways model to increase student retention. As a conceptual framework, the study utilized Tinto's integration theory of student dropout behavior. While previous research has focused on understanding the guided pathways processes and stakeholders'…

There is little literature on what community college library deans must do to transform the community college library into an integral part of modern community colleges. Using a qualitative approach, this study examines the roles and responsibilities of an effective leader in a community college library. Semi-structured interviews with six Texas…

This study explored how associate deans in Illinois community colleges understand and practice culturally responsive leadership (CRL) in their institutions. The conceptual framework for this study is composed of the Culturally Responsive School Leadership (CRSL) model in the K-12 system first proposed by Khalifa et al. (2016) and the Applied…

This quantitative study was designed to explore the factors that most impact the job satisfaction of community college deans in one North Texas district. Quantitative data was collected to compare results among deans with titles ranging from dean, assistant dean, associate dean and executive dean. The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) was…

This qualitative case study was completed at a rural medium-sized Texas community college and sought to understand how advisors and program coordinators made sense of the 60X30TX policy as it was implemented at their institution. The theoretical framework included community college, the Completion Agenda, structure-agency, and sensemaking. Each…

New and rising community college leaders follow their own path, with the help of mentoring, networking and leadership development opportunities. To become campus leaders in the first place, they have followed in the footsteps of others by learning from them, both informally through mentoring and networking, and more intentionally at gatherings…

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…

Higher education institutions in the United States currently face ongoing challenges and difficulties beginning in 2008 with the fiscal crisis which created a need for education and retraining for man, demand for greater accountability by institutions and a fundamental shift in the perceived value of higher education. Academic leaders of…

In response to research pointing to a growing executive leadership crisis in community colleges (CCs), with too few strong candidates entering the leadership pipeline for the presidency, I focused this study on individuals already in that pipeline. My goal was to develop an understanding of their perceptions of their own roles in the pipeline and…

This study analyzes the internal and external forces that led to the creation and revisions of a community college's mission statement over the course of its 53-year history. We used discourse-historical analysis to examine published college mission statements, transcripts of interviews with the founding dean of the college, and the college's…

This study sought to understand the Community College Career and Technical Educational (CTE) deans' perceptions of the internal and external forces they perceive as influencing their decision making; what evidence exists to demonstrate the influence of the completion agenda on CTE deans' decision making; and if there is a perception that there is…

There is a growing concern with the impending retirement of as many as 84% of community college presidents nationwide in the next 10 years. The average age of current presidents is increasing and the percentage over 70 years old has doubled. Chief academic officers/provosts and other vice-presidents have historically replaced retiring presidents,…

Chief Academic Officers (CAOs) hold one of the most vital senior leadership positions at community colleges. Typically thought to be the second person in charge, directly under the president, their impact on the community college is crucial. CAOs have historically been considered the next in line to the president, and community college presidents…