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 securing an increase in state funding, which included a single funding request, the first pledge of unity among the community colleges and a trust-building process with the governor. This study followed the budget development processes for Oregon community colleges in preparation for and during the 2001-2003 legislative session. Interviews, observations and primary source materials were used by the researcher to describe the budget processes from the initial community college discussions through the enactment of the community college budget by the legislature. The governor was found to have the most significant influence in providing for the community college request for increased funding. The legislature was found to have less influence in providing increased revenue for community colleges. The governor, as part of his state budget, forwarded a request to the legislature for a $45 million increase for community colleges. The unity of community colleges in supporting one proposal during the session was found to have several positive impacts. Although community colleges received an increase in state funding, the funding formula for community colleges resulted in differentiated funding for each of the 17 Oregon community colleges. An epilogue provides a chronology of significant changes in state revenues, of special legislative sessions and of changes in community college funding after the enactment of the 2001-2003 community college budget. / Graduation date: 2003

Community colleges have long been thought of as the "people's college." For some thirty years, Oregonians have looked to their 16 community colleges as the less expensive, more accessible route to a college education. Oregon's community colleges have traditionally had the broad mission of providing comprehensive educational opportunities to all adults who can profit from the instruction. This foundation of open access, however, has recently been challenged. Issues in Oregon's social, political, and economic environments the past few years have resulted in substantial financial pressure on the community colleges. This situation has prompted many Oregon community college leaders to make tough operational decisions. Rightsizing strategies encompassing all budget categories have been extensive across the state. In many cases, community college leaders have been able to manage decline successfully, maintaining the institution's broad mission. In other cases, however, leaders have selected strategies in direct conflict with the stated mission of open access. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the consistency between the rightsizing behavior of Oregon's community college leaders and the community college mission of open educational access. The study employed a Tylerian objective-oriented evaluation methodology as a theoretical framework. In general, this approach compares the consistency between expected behaviors based on stated goals and demonstrated behaviors as measured via survey instrumentation. Frequency and statistical analyses were employed to address specific research questions developed to guide the study. Overall, there were substantial findings supporting the conclusion that Oregon community college leaders, in both past and planned rightsizing behaviors, were acting consistently with the mission of open educational access. / Graduation date: 1996

Thesis (doctoral)--Oregon State University. / Bibliography: p. 127-132. Also available via the World Wide Web.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of participants involved in one community college's strategic planning process in which faculty, administrators, and staff at all levels of the organization were encouraged to participate. Data were collected through direct observation, focus group interviews, analysis of institutional documents, and a pen and paper questionnaire. Data were analyzed through a constant comparative method. Reduction of the data produced themes exploring the reaction of participants to the new strategic planning process. This qualitative study generated four hypotheses that relate to these research questions: 1. Staff participation in an organization's strategic planning process results in a deeper staff understanding of the organization's mission, a higher staff commitment to the organization's goals, and a demonstration of greater staff energy and vitality. 2. Community college departments will interpret and implement institutional strategic planning processes in ways that are unique and congruent with their academic discipline; a single process cannot be successfully dictated. 3. When managers serve as facilitators or use others to facilitate strategic planning processes, staff will self-organize, a process will emerge, and leadership will take a variety of forms. 4. Community college staff who encounter change in strategic planning processes can be categorized as Guarded Optimists, Curmudgeons, Crusaders, or Along for the Ride, based on levels of frustration and optimism. Recommendations for Practice: 1. Obtain acceptance of terminology from all units before beginning the participatory strategic planning process. Use acceptable terms in form/templates and in facilitation. 2. Do not dictate a single process for strategic planning across all disciplines. Design forms and processes that are adaptable to differences in styles of critical thinking. 3. Use facilitators to assist units in the participatory strategic planning effort. Train the facilitators to work in ways that empower participants. 4. Reduce participant frustration and increase optimism by providing sufficient time, creating sustainable feedback loops, both of which demonstrate that the unit manager has thought through the process. 5. Increase participation in strategic planning processes to gain deeper understanding of the organization's mission, higher commitments to organizational goals, and a demonstration of greater energy and vitality. / Graduation date: 1998

Graduation date: 1997

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the influence of selected historical, fiscal, and organizational factors on enrollment patterns in Oregon Community Colleges during the academic years 1978-79, 1981-82, and 1984-85. Oregon was selected insofar as it is one of the few remaining states which observes the principle of local control and maintains state institutional reimbursement for five categories of enrollment, including adult self-improvement. The 13 Oregon community colleges formed between 1961 and 1971 provided the population for this study. A telephone instrument was developed to gather historical data from the president of each college. Additional information was gathered from state agencies. The data collected were analyzed using stepwise regression and the determination of simple correlation coefficients. The five dependent variables were each of the reimbursable categories of enrollment. It was hypothesized that 19 separate factors, the independent variables, could have influenced the reimbursable categories. Research findings identified the following influences upon FTE by enrollment categories: 1. instructional staffing patterns for increasing transfer and vocational preparatory; 2. presidential ratings of vocational education for increasing vocational preparatory; 3. stability of property taxpayer support for increasing transfer; 4. unsuccessful budget elections for increasing developmental education; and 5. unemployment for decreasing vocational preparatory and increasing transfer. However, none of the factors considered had an impact upon vocational supplemental and self-improvement FTE categories. In addition, the completion of this investigation demonstrated that it is possible to develop a predictive model for enrollments by category. Although a number of the factors considered did not prove to be significant, the findings from this study provided an initial research model that can be used to facilitate the examination of other factors which may influence predictive enrollment modeling by category in various settings. Further studies should include consideration of additional variables, including community characteristics and population migration rates as well as the impact of local control on enrollment trends. The following variables should be subject to continuing reexamination: President's ranking and rating of enrollment categories; the impact of budgetary elections, subject to improved methodology; state funding achievement for years when funding redistributions occur; changes of chief executive officer and changes at the division and/or department level, in comparison to changes of higher level administrators. In addition, those factors which constitute barriers placed between unemployed workers and vocational training should be closely examined. / Graduation date: 1991

There were at least five purposes in pursuing research on international education in the public community colleges of Oregon and Washington states. The first purpose was to fully demonstrate a new and original taxonomy of ten elements, or dimensions, found in defining and describing international education. A second purpose was to add to the body of knowledge and research on international education practices at the nation's community colleges through an extensive literature search and original research. A third purpose of the study was to identify and describe the current status of international educational programs and activities of the forty-three public community colleges of the two state region through the use of quantitative data obtained in a survey questionnaire. Another purpose was to identify and describe three case studies of the most highly developed community colleges, at least one from each of the two states, in the arena of international education. A fifth purpose of this study was to provide several conclusions and recommendations to those community college leaders interested in improving upon international education programs and practices. Two research questions led the investigator to utilize two different research methods: The survey questionnaire and the case study. The research questions were: 1. What is the current status of international education programs among the public community colleges of Oregon and Washington? And 2. How and why did the international education programs and activities evolve and develop at the three most highly developed public community colleges of Oregon and Washington? The first method was used to survey the field of international education and to select three of the most highly developed community colleges in the two state region. The case study method, or the second method, was used to probe deeply into the international education programs and activities of the three most highly developed community colleges in Oregon and Washington. The results of the research methodology were reported in two different chapters and provide the findings and recommendations about the field of international education. The research was also defined by nine propositions suggested at the outset of the study. It was thought that international education programs and activities of Oregon and Washington community colleges evolved and developed through: The efforts of strong presidential leadership; large community colleges found in urban areas; the presence of international students; the presence of full-time international education administrators; the presence of international education grants from external funding sources; the presence of a strong global curriculum; the presence of strong foreign language programs; the presence of full-time faculty born in other countries; and, the presence of full-time faculty who have lived and travelled abroad. The results of the nine study propositions were mixed. The research led to twelve specific recommendations for those wanting to either evaluate their existing efforts and for those wanting to enter the very dynamic and exciting field of international education