“The Rules Change”: Exploring Faculty Experiences and Work Expectations Within a Drifting Community College Context

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of faculty working within baccalaureate degree–granting community colleges. Method: Data sources included 16 semi-structured interviews, numerous publicly available organizational documents, and participant observations. Results: Analysis revealed three distinct, yet interconnected themes. In light of the institutionalization of baccalaureate degrees, faculty experienced shifting and intensifying work expectations related to service, research, and research-related activities. These shifts exacerbated existing tensions, which in turn led faculty to live with uncertainty in terms of tenure and promotion, the direction of the college, and whether or not they could thrive in a highly contradictory environment. Contributions: This study adds to the literature concerning the community college baccalaureate—a topic of heightened interest. It is essential that we gain a better understanding of the implications of this trend for faculty, which in turn carry implications for students.

Making Sense to Make Change: How Community College Faculty Perceptions of Math Contextualization Shape Instructional Change

“…Faculty operate within layers of cultures and contexts across disciplines, departments, and schools, with a range of power structures, resources, and other nuances (Kezar & Lester, 2009;Klein et al, 2019) that can add to the complexity of faculty making sense, supporting each other, and making change. Faculty colleague and disciplinary tensions are not an unfamiliar issue in community colleges (e.g., Martinez, 2019). However, these perceptions and tensions can be detrimental to collective sensemaking, support, and change, regardless of the faculty members' shared concerns and goals around student success in math.…”

Increasing STEM Transfer Readiness Among Underrepresented Minoritized Two-Year College Students: Examining Course-Taking Patterns, Experiences, and Interventions

“…In addition to a more robust analysis, there are areas to expand the program that show promise to benefit students intending to transfer in STEM, one being the development of new and/or stronger partnerships between 2 and 4-year institutions. These partnerships would provide opportunities for faculty to cultivate relationships across institutions, which have been shown to benefit transfer students (Martinez, 2019). These relationships are also critical to enable applied associate degree programs and 4-year transfer partners to build more robust/broadly accepted transfer agreements and coursework.…”

An update on the impacts of the community college baccalaureate

“…Except for the rare case, research suggests institutions offering CCBs are adding baccalaureate education to their existing mission of open access, rather than replacing their mission (Floyd & Skolnik, 2019; Martinez, 2019). However, opponents worry adoptive institutions may ultimately place more emphasis on new bachelor's degree programs rather than their traditional associate degree programming.…”

“…For example, in a case study of two Florida colleges, institutional leaders noted the requirement for at least 25% of the faculty teaching in the baccalaureate program to have a terminal degree (McKinney & Morris, 2010). At one CCB‐granting college, faculty and administrator participants described shifts in faculty expectations as the institution adopted baccalaureate education and hired more faculty with doctorates, including a new emphasis on research productivity, grant funding, and service to the profession; while potentially beneficially to acquiring prestige as a 4‐year institution, participants noted issues of tension and unease at navigating their new expectations (Martinez, 2019).…”