Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-159). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

This study chronicles the contributions of Bill J. Priest under the headings of Board of Trustees governance model, multi-college district, quality first: facilities and staff, curriculum, counseling, public relations, telecourses and the Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development. Data were gathered from personal interviews, primary sources and secondary sources. The study includes an overview of the emergence and evolution of the junior college with specific focus on the conceptual beginnings of the Dallas County Community College District and the selection of its founding president, Bill Priest. Professional and personal profiles of Priest are documented as background for the study. Conclusions are that Bill Priest established the Dallas County Community College District as a national model of a multi-college district, was instrumental in affecting the change from junior college to comprehensive community college as the standard for two-year higher education institutions, played a significant role in setting the national agenda for the community college movement through his long-term participation in a leadership capacity in the American Association of Junior and Community Colleges and through the establishment and selection of leadership of the League for Innovation, was instrumental in the creation of the Associate Degree of Nursing, was a national leader in the establishment and development of telecourses as an instructional delivery system, was the forerunner in utilizing public relations and establishing it as a credible tool for institutions of higher learning, and brought the concept of counseling and advising as a vital part of student success to the two-year colleges in Texas.

The purpose of this study was to determine faculty participation in and approval of professional growth and renewal activities in the Dallas County Community College District. The population consisted of 526 full-time faculty employed by the district. The DCCCD Survey instrument, which was used in the study, included activities grouped into seven categories: career development, leaves, international activities, instructional renewal, grants, reward, and a miscellaneous category. Faculty members identified participation in activities; they also identified their approval or disapproval of all activities on a five point Likert-type scale. The population was grouped by teaching field, age, years-of-experience and campus for statistical analyses. A Chi-square test of goodness of fit was conducted to determine if significant differences existed between expected and observed participation among groups in each of the seven categories. An analysis of variance was completed to determine significant differences of opinion. The findings of the study indicated significant differences between expected and observed participation in the following categories: international and instructional activities when faculty were grouped by teaching fields; reward activities among years-of-experience groups. Significant differences of opinion were reported in all but the miscellaneous category when faculty were grouped by teaching field. Other significant differences were reported in career development among age groups, in leaves and grants among years-of-experience groups and in career development, reward and the miscellaneous category among campus groups. Based on the findings in the study, the following recommendations were made. The career development program should be broadened to appeal to faculty. Leaves and travel funds must be provided for faculty. International and instructional activities must be expanded to include appropriate activities for all teaching fields. Further study should be conducted in specific areas of professional growth to determine if these activities influence the effectiveness of faculty.

The study compared outcomes for distance learning courses with those of traditional courses offered by the seven campuses of Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD). The course outcomes were defined as completion rate, dropout rate and success rate. Eleven courses offered during the fall 2003 semester were selected for the study. The methods of instruction employed for each course were traditional classroom lecture/discussion and distance learning formats of Internet, TeleCourse and TeleCourse Plus. Internet courses are delivered on-line, using Internet access and a browser, TeleCourse uses one-way videos or public broadcasting, and TeleCourse Plus is a hybrid between Internet and TeleCourse courses. Seven of the courses selected were part of the core curriculum approved by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) while four other courses were completely transferable. Two types of specific data were extracted: course data and individual student data. Course data included method of instruction, length of course, instructor's load, enrollment, number of withdrawals, and grade distribution. In addition, course requirements including the use of email, videos and Internet, orientation and testing on campus were added as variables. The student data included demographic variables such as age, gender, ethnicity, family status, employment and academic variables including number of credit hours completed, previous distance learning courses, grade point average (GPA), grades, placement scores, previous degrees held, withdrawal history, and financial aid. The theoretical framework for ensuring sound statistical analysis was Astin's student engagement model. The results showed that significant differences exist due to the three distance learning methods of instruction for all course outcomes studied. Completion and success rates are higher for traditional courses and dropout rate is higher for distance learning ones. The outcomes for Internet courses are closer to the rates of traditional courses. Student factors that relate to performance in distance learning courses are GPA, credit hours completed, and family status, whereas those which do not relate to performance in the same classes are semester load, age, TASP reading scores, previous distance learning courses, income, and number of dependents. Course characteristics have a significant effect upon success rate, but no effect upon completion and dropout rates.

The problem with which this study is concerned is assessing the relationship between the expressed needs of adult community college students and their needs as perceived by selected faculty members and student services staff members at a metropolitan community college. The population of the study was 201 adult students and 77 faculty and student services staff members who took the Adult Learner Needs Assessment Survey, a publication of the American College Testing Program. The data results were analyzed statistically using one-way analysis of variance and the Scheffé multiple comparison procedure. Data were considered statistically significant at the .01 level on all eight hypotheses. Based on the data findings, the following conclusions appear to be warranted. 1. The Adult Learner Needs Assessment Survey seems to provide useful needs assessment information in a convenient format for large scale research. 2. The instrument seems to provide a useful tool for gathering data on the perceptions of the needs of adult learners from community college employees. 3. Both faculty and student services staff groups seem to perceive adult students as needing more assistance with educational and personal needs than is reported by adult students. 4. Both faculty and student services staff groups perceptions of the needs of adult learners, when compared to the needs reported by adult students, appear to be less accurate for those needs for which a lesser degree of assistance is needed and more accurate for those needs for which a greater degree of assistance is needed. 5. The perceptions of the needs of adult learners by both faculty and student services staff groups appear notably similar. 6. This research, using a more rigorous level of significance, validates the general findings of similar research. 7. The research methodology and the use of analysis of variance and Scheffé test as statistical procedures proved to be useful in comparing perceptions of adult learner needs by faculty and student services staff groups to the stated needs of adult students.

The problem of this study involved identifying and ranking perceptions of the attributes of exemplary teaching of adjunct faculty of the Dallas County Community College District. Data was collected by a 75 item opinionnaire and a demographic data sheet which was sent to a population of 3,000 employees of the Dallas County Community College District and 100 exemplary faculty from 39 of the 50 United States. The five chapters were titled Introduction, Review of Literature, Methods, Presentation and Analysis of Findings, and Summary, Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations. Revealed through the findings of Chapter 4 was the order of attributes as a Grand grand rank found through the combining of the grand rank order of the Dallas County Community Colleges' employees and the rank order of the nationally recognized exemplary faculty. Findings disclosed that a rank ordering of items represented by Kendall's W at .9654 with a chi-square of 142.8815 at the .001 level of significance. These findings led to the rejection of three null hypotheses and the following related conclusions: (1) perceptions of importance of teaching attributes, can be rank ordered, (2) while a high level of significant values of W may be interpreted as meaning that the observers and judges are applying essentially the same standard in ranking the variables, their pooled ordering may serve as a standard, (3) ordering of perceptions of exemplary teaching attributes is possible, and (4) rankings of attributes provides a usable list of variables that can be employed in evaluation. Recommendations for further study include design of an evaluation instrument incorporating all or part of the attributes for use in adjunct classrooms, and creation of a staff development program designed to help those who are less proficient in the classroom.

The purpose of this study is to present a historical account of the Dallas County Community College District and to analyze and interpret the role of the political process in the District's relations with governmental agencies and civic groups. On May 25, 1965, the voters approved a $41.5 million bond issue, established a county-wide junior college district, and appointed a seven-member Board of Trustees. Secondary accounts were consulted, but the emphasis was on such primary sources as official documents of the District, publications of the District, newspaper accounts, interviews, and relevant materials from the Office of Public Information. It may be concluded that the Dallas District is a recognized leader in the community college movement. A key to its success is that it is student- and community centered. The district has experienced a rapid and tranquil growth but there may be a greater diversity of views expressed with the change in the composition of the Board.

The Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development is an entity created in the Dallas County Community College District to serve the community in workforce and economic development. The history of the Priest Institute over the last ten years parallels and illustrates the commitment of community colleges nationally to workforce and economic development. The history also reflects similar goals and trends within the state of Texas and, particularly, in the city of Dallas. The Priest Institute is made up of three distinct entities. One entity is the Edmund J. Kahn Job Training Center; another is the Business and Professional Institute, which provides consulting and training services to business clients. The final service area is the complex made up of the regional North Texas Small Business Development Center and its several related local service operations. This study provides an analytical history of each of these components and the process by which they came together in a model facility in Dallas. This study also describes perceptions of persons within the Institute regarding its present mission and purposes and the efficacy of the current organizational structure both internally and within the district operation as an appropriate structure enabling the Institute to meet its goals.

The R. Jan LeCroy Center for Educational Telecommunications of the Dallas County Community College District is a leading producer of telecourses for credit at the college level. In addition, the center is becoming involved with other kinds of electronic communication for educational purposes, including the Community College Satellite Network (CCSN), the State of Texas Academic Resources Link (STARLINK), and Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS). This study chronicles the DCCCD's progress in electronic distance learning from the time of its first telecourse in 1972 to the present time. This study also describes the center's purposes, the reasons for its growth, the problems that have been encountered, the people who provided its leadership, and the telecourses that have been offered and produced by the DCCCD.