Maintaining integrity in a state system

Abstract

Increasing state control, which is adding to the complexip of community college governance, requires new skills of community college leaders.One of the major challenges facing a community college leader is ensuring that the comprehensive services and programs required by the mission of the college are available, are of high quality, are adequately staffed and funded, and are understood by the citizens of the service region. The governance process that makes this task possible became increasingly complicated with the rise of state systems of community colleges and other state level coordinating bodies.The governance of community college is handled differently in each state. These differences are great and span the philosophical spectrum from substantial local autonomy to very close state control. Any generalization about dealing with state level coordinating or governing bodies must, therefore, be examined for applicability and then carefully adapted to any specific situation. Nonetheless, the pervasiveness of state coordination and control and the effect that it can have on the operation, development, and philosophy of a community college makes it an issue of considerable importance.While it is tempting to equate institutional integrity with local autonomy, this simplistic equation often is not sufficient. If institutional integrity is considered to be the degree to which the institution is able to remain true to its basic mission, state level coordination can either D. Puyear (Ed.). Mmnlorning lnrrifulionol l n l r p r y . New Directions for Community Colleges, no. 52 San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, December 19R5