The primary responsibility of electric utilities is to supply consistent, dependable, and affordable energy to private customers, businesses, and industries. As with many businesses, electric utilities are experiencing the effects of an aging workforce and expending considerable resources to train their current and replacement workers. Community colleges can partner with...
College governance is a function of structure and of how people act within that
structure. Organizational strategies no longer identify administrations as monopolies
that possess all of the good ideas. Recent organizational management approaches to
governance promote inclusiveness in decision-making and are at odds with the
community college's historical structures,...
Community college and university degree partnership programs allow students to tailor their educational experiences to fit personal goals and preferences while transitioning back and forth seamlessly between a community college and four-year university. This qualitative research study, telling the stories and lived experiences of six students participating in a community...
Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this research was to present a documentary analysis of school district reorganization in Oregon during the period from August 2O, 1957, to July 1, 1964, and to develop a plan for further school district reorganization for Oregon. The major elements of this study...
The purpose of this study is to explore, through their own voices, the higher
education experiences of selected urban American Indian females in California
community colleges. This study is an attempt to identify pathways to academic
success by teasing out college practices and support systems that help Native
women navigate...
The study was designed to gain an understanding of the implementation of Performance Measures Funding at one Washington State community college. The research participants included the nine
individuals who were charged with the design and implementation of the college's Improvement Plan, which addressed the four legislatively, prescribed goals outlined in...
This is a study of the process of collaboration between a community college and selected social service agencies for the purpose of developing an integrative social service and education delivery system, the One-Stop Center. Particular focus is on the interpersonal dynamics among the key stakeholders involved in a collaborative partnership....
Research into community college governance has in the past centered on the formal aspects of decision-making of these institutions. These past studies often ignore the informal governance practices and policies that operate within all organizations. Staff perceptions of community
college governance have not been studied and possible disjunction between formal...
Critics of higher education urge educators to transform their institutions so as to align them with the needs of the twenty-first-century learner. However, colleges desiring to survive in a rapidly changing external environment often discover they must first find a way to make
fundamental changes in their institutional culture. Some...
Strategic planning is a frequently used method for defining appropriate institutional responses to changing internal and external conditions. Numerous efforts have been made to adopt strategic planning styles that were originally developed in manufacturing businesses to the purposes of higher education. Despite theses efforts, community colleges have not yet developed...
The purpose of this study is to identify the internal support systems that contributed to the success of community college faculty teaching in a distance education setting. How do those faculty who are perceived as being successful in this setting attain such stature? What are the contributing factors? If contributing...
This ethnography describes a learning context where transformational learning routinely creates an emancipatory experience. It identifies those elements that increase understanding of transformative process-describing how the context that contains and supports this learning is constructed and a perspective transformation is sparked by group synergy. It names three transformational learning outcomes:...
The purpose of this cross-cultural study is to improve the understanding of the educational experiences of immigrant students who leave postsecondary education prior to completion of a program in two traditionally immigrant-magnet countries. This research focuses on Bangladeshi immigrants in the United Kingdom and Mexican immigrants in the United States,...
The purpose of the study was to provide a method for evaluating the effect, impact or role that (as perceived by automotive, diesel, automotive collision faculty and administrators) the nationally recognized industry training standards developed by Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) have on the...
The purpose of this study was to identify some of the factors associated with student usage of the Student Health Services (SHS)
and of the Infirmary at Oregon State University. The population for the study was the freshman class entering Oregon State University in September, 1968. The original enrollment of...
The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe how Oregon governors
Barbara Roberts and John Kitzhaber, whose tenures both coincided with the passage
and implementation of property tax limitation measures, determined the community
college budgets within their recommended state budgets. The stories of Robert’s 1993
and Kitzhaber’s 2001 decisions...
This study examines the relationship between organizational absorptive
capacity and organizational responsiveness to changes in their environment exhibited
by growth-oriented SMEs in Russia. Adopting the theoretical framework and
methodology used by Liao, Welsch and Stoica in their 2003 study of the absorptive
capacity and organizational responsiveness of U.S. growth-oriented SMEs,...
When older women return to the workplace after an absence they can find the decision-making process difficult. Either their skills are not current or their knowledge of the workplace is out of date. As a community college administrator, my interest was in understanding the process older women went through in...
This is a study of how the use of Baldrige Educational Quality Criteria provides community college leaders and external evaluators with richer, more meaningful data for organizational improvement, more comprehensive information about the institution, and a better means for illustrating clear connections between campus systems and processes. This study was...
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate areas of consensus and differences among Oregon community college
faculty, administrators, and their business community on the desired role of the community college and the perceived current role in economic development as defined by selected economic development activities.
Methods and Procedures:...
Purpose of the Study: Fundamental to the issue of a proposal for professional preparation in college student personnel work for Western Canada is: What are the training experiences that will constitute an adequate preparation for persons performing student personnel functions in two-year postsecondary
institutions in Western Canada? There is a...
The in-service Teacher Education Program in India has evinced a rapid growth since India gained independence in 1947. An all-India program of in-service education was established by the Ministry of Education in 1955. At present, the in-service education is carried out by 69 Extension Centers and 24 Extension Units attached...
The purpose of this study was to discern the nature of legislators' perceptions about community colleges' abilities to generate revenues through alternative funding sources and the resultant effects on state allocations to these colleges. Selected community college-related staff members and legislative staff members in Idaho and Oregon were asked to...
The purpose of this study was to discern unpredicted, non-linear patterns that may emerge in complex instructional systems design projects. A secondary purpose was to determine how existing models could be redesigned to accommodate emerging factors. The following questions focused the inquiry:
1. In what ways does the actual ISD...
The purpose of this study is to describe the factors and issues surrounding development of one community college baccalaureate degree program, the three-year Bachelor of Manufacturing Technology at Westark College in Arkansas. This study probes three primary movements at play in the Westark baccalaureate program, which was developed to respond...
Purposes of the Study: The study had several purposes, the major one being to identify common professional education competencies essential to adequate performance by administrators of vocational education at the community college level. Other purposes of the study were to: (1) determine if significant differences existed in vocational administration competencies...
The purpose of this study is to name and give voice to the spiritual expression of leadership by women community college presidents. The following questions guided the research: (1) How do women community college presidents describe spirituality? (2) How does spirituality convey itself in the reflections, self-expression, and practice of...
Different racial/ethnic groups often perceive the realities of the campus environment differently: This difference in perspective and the attendant reactions can be a factor in student satisfaction or dissatisfaction. A quantitative survey administered in 1996 and 1999 revealed that African-American students on the campus of a diverse two-year community college...
Using meta-ethnography, this thesis analyzes the literature on transformational
leadership and related sources to identify the themes, patterns and connections that
describe transformational leadership. These findings were combined with findings from
an analysis of selected sources on adult learning theory and leadership training to
establish the basis for a design...
This purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the role of the community
college chief academic officer and to describe how CAOs define successful
performance. It examined (a) experience candidates brought to the position; (b) job
duties and responsibilities; (c) knowledge, skills, and abilities required; (d) challenges
and barriers;...
This autoethnographic research explores learning, teaching, and leading from the perspective of an adult woman who is both a nontraditional student and a non-traditional worker in the academy. Because she returned to school at the age of forty to earn a bachelor's degree, and is currently an associate professor of...
The focus of this study was to examine the administrative legacy of two African American women administrators, Maxine Buie Mimms and Wintonnette Joye Hardiman, who administrated The Evergreen State College-Tacoma, Washington (TESC-T) campus for more than three decades. TESC-T is nationally known for its community-based curriculum and pedagogy, high retention...
Although community colleges have emphasized service-learning programs for traditional students, by in large, non-traditional students from post-secondary remedial programs have not been involved. This lack of reaching post-secondary remedial programs may be of particular interest to college personnel who may not be aware of the need to include service activities...
Purpose of the Study
Today one important facet of private education is facing a
severe struggle for existance. The private junior college is decreasing
in number and enrollment while its public counterpart is
experiencing a growth and development that can be described as
phenomenal. Much material has been written which...
This study investigated the impact of team-teaching in coordinated-studies programs
(CSPs) on community college faculty in three instructional development domains: personal,
social, and professional. Grounded in a social-constructivist theoretical framework, this
research examined whether development occurs best experientially, in collaborative
communities of knowledgeable peers. CSPs are team-taught interdisciplinary, problem-solving
enterprises...
Purpose of the Study:
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Oregon State University undergraduate elementary education program. More specifically, the investigation sought answers to the following questions:
1. What are the graduates' judgments of pertinent areas of the
elementary teacher education program?
2. To what extent does...
The research‘s purpose was to examine how exemplary community college study abroad programs assisted student participants in acquiring global competence. Three research questions were explored: 1.What issues need to be anticipated when planning a study abroad program for community college students in order to effectively incorporate opportunities for students to...
The major question of this study was why do community
college women choose traditional occupations? The study
examined the characteristics of community college women who
chose preparation for a traditional occupation either immediately
after graduation from high school or after a period
of absence for family responsibilities.
The sample for...
Organizational culture is broadly recognized as a significant force in organizational
action. Since the phenomenon of culture has real impact on organizations, our understanding
of that impact is vital to organizational health. While academic settings provide a rich
environment for studying culture, relatively little research on culture has occurred in...
This study investigated the effects of knowledge and
attitudes about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
on behavior among 293 students of Chulalongkorn University,
Faculty of Education, Bangkok, Thailand. The purposes of
this study were to : a) assess university students'
knowledge and attitudes about AIDS, and their sexual
behavior; b)...
The purpose of this study was to assess the attitudes of teachers at the
elementary, middle, and high school levels toward student rights and
classroom management. Specifically this study was designed to analyze the
effect Judicious Discipline: A Constitutional Perspective for School Rules and
Decisions had upon teacher attitudes toward...
The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of first-generation persons of color attending and persisting at a community technical college. Students of color continue to be an increasing population in our higher education system. Many of these persons of color are choosing to attend two-year institutions. A...
The majority of today's youth succeed in the traditional educational
classroom. However, greater numbers of our children are not experiencing success
in the traditional classroom and are at-risk of dropping out of school before
completing graduation requirements. The magnitude and urgency of this problem
was addressed in 1990 by the...
Objectives of the Study: On June 30, 1977, Oregon passed a law authorizing five hours
per week of released time for religious instruction on the high school
level. The purpose of this study was to seek answers to five general
questions: (1) What was the level of awareness of released-time...
With the neuromuscular performance deficit typically associated with aging, the maximum rate of response of the individual is diminished with advancing age. Physical activity has recently been examined as a possible factor delaying the aging process as it relates to neuromuscular performance. This investigation examined folk dancing as a potential...
This interpretive research sought to understand how eight Hispanic students who
mastered English as a Second Language (ESL) matriculated at a rural community college,
and what motivating factors encouraged or encumbered their academic persistence and
success. Particularly the study focused on student backgrounds, motivations, and
persistence factors influencing their success....
More than any other single factor, access to community college education depends on proximity. The advent of the community college branch campus has opened higher education to broader segments of the population.
The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to discover services that students who attend a branch campus...
The central purposes of this study were to review the
historical sources of David Kolb's formulation of experiential
learning theory, and to determine the effect and
application of Kolb's theory and Learning Style Inventory
as reflected in the literature between 1971 and 1990.
It was found that Kolb based his...
As demands for major, system-wide reforms in the American welfare system are being
called for on an almost daily basis, it has become increasingly necessary to identify and
evaluate those programs which have attempted to foster a reduction in the level of public
assistance subsidies and, particularly, programs that are...
As community colleges have responded to shifts in funding structures,
demands from an aging population, the emergence of for-profit competitors, the
development of globalization, and the increasing use of technology, the role of
faculty has evolved and new leadership opportunities have emerged. This study
examines informal faculty leadership at a...
My study explores the impact of participation in a faculty teaching and learning community (TLC) on the professional development of community college faculty. I address the problem that, in spite of the growth of faculty development activity in the community college during the past decade, how faculty development occurs is...
The major purpose of the study was to determine whether
science process achievement tests could be developed for administration
to groups of primary grade students. Six Basic Science Process
Tests (BSPT) were constructed as samples of the format proposed.
Each BSPT was designed to assess one of the basic science...
An interpretative philosophical framework was applied to a case study to document the particular experiences and perspectives of ten women engineering transfer students
who once attended a community college and are currently enrolled in one of two university
professional engineering programs. This study is important because women still do not...
The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of single fathers attending a community college. Single fathers comprise one-fifth of all single parent families, yet little research has been done on this growing segment of the population. A phenomenological approach was utilized to examine the attributes, needs, and...
The founders of Cascadia Community College changed faculty role and duties as they designed a new college. The college founders chose which themes of learning reform would be enacted by faculty in this new setting. They determined what elements of traditional roles continued to be important and what new expectations...
This study was designed to investigate a phenomenon, retention of Hispanic adult second language learners in Washington State's community colleges, from a qualitative paradigm and phenomenological approach. The focus of this study was to capture eight foreign-born Hispanic ESL non-continuators' voices and experiences, in their native language of Spanish, who...
The purpose of this phenomenological research is to deepen understanding of the interrelationship between being lesbian and community college leadership experiences, values, priorities, practices, and identity negotiation. The following outlines thematic research findings.
1. Lesbian community college administrators' have experiences in:
-- Anti-lesbian work environments that exposed them to homophobic...
The purpose of this research was to hear the stories of Northern Cheyenne women's educational experiences using the method of testimonio, a method culturally aligned and academically appropriate for use among indigenous people. The researcher, also a Northern Cheyenne tribal member used testimonio based on its roots in resistance literature...
The focus of this study is a search for the voice of African American community college trustees as they work to impact the changes community colleges must make over the next quarter century. It examined the lived experiences and perceptions that selected African American community college trustees have of their...
The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe and communicate a student-constructed model of student services for electronic distance education (EDE). This study seeks to answer the following questions: Do students enrolled in EDE perceive a need for student services? If not, why not? Which services do students want/need?...
The testimonios of three Canadian women athletes and the 1980 Olympic boycott are presented. The Latin American method of testimonio is adapted as a framework for understanding personal stories. Testimonios written in a series of interpretive narratives and poems--poetic testimonios--represent three women's voices. This study includes three journeys: the research...
The purpose of this research study is to investigate and gain understanding of the factors contributing to development of the Center for Advanced Learning (CAL), a regional collaborative educational reform project and the partnerships that emerged from that process. The development process and partnerships are examined from a systems thinking...
This study was purposed to extract, collate, and statistically format data contained in the national Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) Longitudinal Study: 1996-2001database that pertained to persistence and attainment rates of GED recipients who began their postsecondary education at a community college during the 1995-96 academic year. The
primary objective was...
The purpose of this qualitative study was to research the experience of six Hispanic students who were interviewed in depth regarding their persistence in school and success at a community college. The students reported on their educational experiences prior to college and how that related to attendance at the college;...
From 1990 to 2000, Oregon community colleges experienced a shift in their revenue sources from primarily local taxes to primarily state funding. Additionally during this time Oregon approved term limits for state officials and legislators. In preparation for the 2001-2003 biennial Legislative session, the community colleges pursued new approaches to...
The purpose of this study was to better understand the historical development of the British Columbia (B.C.) community college, university college, and institute system with the focus on the changing nature of voluntary inter-institutional collaboration in relation to provincial coordination. The study also examined the related themes of centralization and...
Today's community colleges are challenged to respond to rapidly changing internal and external environments. Their responses must promote highly responsive and relevant programs and services, while keeping intact the strengths of community colleges--access, student success, and a focus on teaching and learning. Further, these responses must occur in the context...
The study was designed to determine how learner outcomes, one aspect of a comprehensive assessment plan at an urban community college in the Northwest, may have influenced professional practice. Research subjects were selected from a group of forty-four faculty who participated in a college sponsored professional development activity. The purpose...
An increased cross-cultural interaction around the world is
being dictated by the ever increasing communication needs required
by business and national concerns. This increased interaction, and its
resultant inter-dependence, is often referred to as "Globalization."
Due to the effect of globalization on the business and education
environments, this study was...
The purpose of this study was to: (a) determine the design features of the physical learning environment that support and enhance collaborative, project-based learning at the community college level; and (b) to gain an understanding of the rationale for the selection of the features. The characteristics of the physical environment...
The purpose of this study was to identify the strategies and tactics community college presidents used to influence state legislators. Selected State Board for Community and Technical Colleges staff and legislative staff members were asked to independently name 3-5 presidents whom they perceived to be most influential with legislators. Ten...
The purpose of this qualitative study was to learn about the perceptions and
experiences of students who graduated with the Associates of Arts/Oregon Transfer
(AA/OT) degree. This study answered the following questions:
1) How did the AA/OT degree attainment assist in the overall achievement
of goals?
2) How did AA/OT...
This study sought to understand how post-secondary students experience and process issues of diversity, to discover what those views of diversity are, and how those views might change. The two issues that participants felt most strongly about were homosexuality and scholarships for students of color. Their views on homosexuality ranged...
This phenomenological research study focused on educational change as perceived by 16 Liberal Arts faculty members at a Pacific Northwest community college. Research data were collected through in-depth dialogic interviews and a follow-up dialogue session with six participants. The principal guiding research questions comprised the following: 1) What is the...
This study was conducted to investigate the student-to-student interactions that take place in an online community college course, and how the interactions impact an online learning community. The literature review revealed three related themes: (a) the impact of the teaching/learning environment on student interaction, (b) barriers in the online environment,...
This phenomenological study explores what it means to teach part-time in community colleges in the United States. The increasing use of part-time faculty in community colleges and the concomitant emergence of a two-tiered faculty are discussed.
The study examines the nature of part-time work in the United States, thus providing...
Employers often lament that many American workers are not qualified for present and future jobs due to changing skills requirements and deficiencies of schools. In 1991, the Secretary of Labor's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) report recommended educators use work sites to help students achieve foundation skills and workplace...
Low completion rates have created serious "leakage points" (Astin, 1988) and "severe hemorrhaging" (Lango, 1996) in higher education to a large number of Hispanics. Traditional research on college persistence, which has blamed the students' culture for low performance, is inaccurate. Little research has specifically investigated academic persistence from a cultural...
The study established how community college leaders establish connections
with other community leaders. Connections that form broad and inclusive networks
can be used to develop positive social capital in communities. Results showed that
new community college leaders follow a pattern of community engagement
including the identification of other leaders, making...
The purpose of this study was to examine how faculty curriculum committees from different disciplines moved through a major curriculum change process from content-focused curriculum to outcomes-based curriculum. Data was gathered through direct observations, committee member interviews, a questionnaire, and the Gregorc Style Delineator from four curriculum committees representing different...
This study presented an in-depth exploration of international student perceptions of a coordinated studies program (CSP) at Seattle Central Community College. In conducting this research project, a phenomenological research methodology was used. Qualitative data were collected through participant observations, focus group, document review and individual in-depth interviews with nine students....
This qualitative study explores the experiences of women who are welfare
recipients attending a community college under the auspices of a new program,
Washington State's WorkFirst/Work Study program. The study, conducted over
two academic quarters, includes in-depth interviews with WorkFirst/Work Study
students, observations in a weekly seminar, and interviews with...
The purpose of this study was to describe the presidential search process at a
newly created community college and to learn how that process reflected the
emerging organizational culture. A single research question guided the inquiry: How
did the presidential search process at a newly created community college reflect the...
This study documents thick-description single-source data from the life and experiences of a Native American / Native Canadian language worker. The worker, raised and educated in the United States, was separated from his ancestral village until his thirties. The worker, with a Masters degree in education from Oregon State University,...
Community colleges are in a strategic position to meet the growing demands for educating a population that is in a dynamic state of change, a population that is becoming more diverse with each passing year. A diverse population and other critical issues have created a new challenge for community colleges....
This study describes the historical development of the Associate Degree Nursing Program at Portland Community College by women faculty leaders in a male-dominated organization. In-depth interviews of eleven participants were transcribed and analyzed. The participants gave a very rich description of this nursing programthus describing its culture. Six themes were...
This study compared recidivism rates of adult male completers and non-completers
of correctional education programs in ABE/GED/high school, vocational, and
college transfer programs over a five-year period. A total of 1382 releasees was
studied for the five years following their release. Recidivism was the dependent
variable. Recidivism was defined as...
This study documents three cases of protracted conflict in an
institution of higher education. Work groups in conflict were studied for
one year in order to create cases and to describe factors influencing
conflict escalation. From these cases, autistic conflict as a descriptive
construct was developed to illustrate one phase...
Time is the educational resource educators most desire, but which is
in shortest supply. Educators cannot add more days to the 12-month
calendar year, or minutes to the day. Whatever control is to be had over the
calendar and clock rests in the way time is managed by those in...
In education today, there is a growing sense of urgency to build the capacity of
educators, parents, and community members to work together to solve the complex issues
facing schools. The central purpose of this study was to explore how one elementary school
site council learned and adopted a set...
The purpose of this research was to examine the
effects of a co-curricular program on the behavior of
seriously emotionally disturbed (SED) middle school
students. Co-curricular activities are any school-based activities that give students an opportunity to
blend the various aspects of their academic learning
with personal actions.
This was...
The purpose of this study was to produce data and information that inform California
Community College decision-makers of: (a) extent of variance in California's associate
degree definitions and graduation requirements, and (b) perceptions of curricular leaders
regarding the variances. Associate degree definitions and graduation requirements were
compiled and analyzed from...
Community colleges serve the most diverse student populations in higher education. They consist of non-traditional, part-time, older, intermittent, and mobile students of different races, ethnic backgrounds, language preferences, physical and mental abilities, and learning style preferences. Students who are academically challenged may have diverse learning characteristics that are not compatible...
Using qualitative methodology and a case study format, this study examines from the inside-out the organizational impact of significant change in leadership at a mature community college during the initial period of that change. The study describes and characterizes the nature of change in the organization during the periods of...
In 1990, the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges moved to an
accreditation model based on outcomes, their assessment and deliberative attempts at
institutional change and improvement. No study existed in northwest community colleges
which identified the systematic application of effectiveness indicators for institutional
change and improvement. This study was...