The purpose of this study was to assess customer satisfaction of campus information technology (IT) departments in a community college setting using TQM principles. The study used both quantitative and qualitative research methods. A survey with Likert-scale questions and open-ended questions was utilized to obtain data from 104 full-time faculty and full-time staff employed by a multi-campus community college. Fifty-eight surveys were returned by respondents for a response rate of 56%. Those surveys provided the data for the five research questions of the study. Findings of the study led to several conclusions regarding customers' satisfaction with their campus IT department. The findings revealed that there were no statistically significant differences between faculty and staff in their customer satisfaction in various service dimensions (e.g., responsiveness, access, and reliability) as well as their overall customer satisfaction. The IT services customers cited as most satisfying were the maintenance services. Customers also reported staffing as an issue needing improvement. In particular, they cited their IT department as understaffed. Comments expressed by customers reported their satisfaction with the personal attributes or characteristics of the IT staff. Implications to campus IT decision makers and IT departments included: (1) a review of IT staffing to determine if departments are adequately staffed, (2) the adoption of TQM strategies and policies to improve IT services, (3) an increase in software and hardware training to faculty and staff, and (4) the ongoing evaluation of IT customers to determine their customer satisfaction. Recommendations for future research included studies to determine: (1) customer satisfaction and the degree of TQM principles utilized by IT leaders, (2) customer satisfaction of various service dimensions using only qualitative research, (3) the success of IT departments which have implemented TQM principles, (4) appropriate staffing levels for IT departments, and (5) appropriate assessment techniques to measure customer satisfaction in the various services provided by an IT department.

The purpose of this study was to determine why and how a large multi-campus community college created a campus to specifically meet non-traditional needs of students. The structures at this campus were different because its students did not have same needs for traditional education as students attending traditional campuses. The study of the context of this non-traditional campus can assist other institutions considering the development of such an entity. Case study and qualitative research methods were used to reveal the assumptions, beliefs, and factors that led to the development of the campus, the processes used, and the perceptions that it served non-traditional needs effectively. Document analysis, observations, and interviews were used to describe the structures in place and the perceptions of its degree of success in accomplishing its goal. The findings of the study revealed that the need for non-traditional education existed. Different structures and a separate campus facilitated and enhanced the creativity and freedom necessary to develop alternative programs and methods to deliver education for students, businesses, and other partners.

Because of community colleges' diverse motivations for hiring part-time faculty, the multiple and at times conflicting missions of various two-year institutions, and the heterogeneity of part-timers themselves, contradictory descriptions of part-time faculty are found in the literature. This study sought to unify contradictory categorizations of part-time faculty in three specific areas: the general demographics of part-time faculty; the existence of a bifurcated or dual faculty labor market in community colleges; and satisfaction of part-time faculty. The study was a quantitative analysis of community college faculty data from both the 1993 and 1999 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty. Given the evidence that community colleges are increasingly globalized institutions, the study sought to discover if part-time faculty could be better conceptualized in terms of temporary labor in the New Economy. Therefore, two-year faculty were disaggregated into seven groups based on college mission and relative employment opportunities outside of academe. It is argued that a gulf exists for temporary labor in the New Economy. Some temporary labor is valued by the institutions that hire them because of the skill and expertise they bring. This group has numerous options outside of the employing institution to capitalize on their skills and expertise. On the other side of the gulf of temporary labor is the group that does not possess rare, highly-valued skills and abilities. These part-timers do not have numerous opportunities in multiple industries. This lack of employment options causes these part-timers to seek, sometimes desperately so, full-time, stable employment with the institution where they are employed. The findings from this study indicate that these two types of part-timers exist simultaneously on community college campuses and they can be distinguished by the disaggregation employed by this study. The study presented evidence that adds nuance to an understanding of part-time faculty in three areas: demographics, particularly in terms of gender and academic training; labor market conditions, including income, professional development opportunities, conceptions of institutional employment, and the status and sector of outside employment; and satisfaction with the demands and rewards of part-time employment.

<p> The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of community college general education faculty members regarding their perceptions of the importance of internationalizing the general education curriculum and to what extent those perceptions are related to their attitudes toward globalization. The study further examined the degree to which faculty members perceive that they are incorporating the teaching of global competencies into their courses. Finally, the study looked at faculty members' perceptions of administrative support&mdash;both from the perspective of what they felt their college should be doing to support internationalization and what their college was actually doing to support internationalization efforts. No studies were found that examined the importance of internationalizing the general education curriculum in Florida community colleges. Quantitative data were collected using an online survey instrument sent to full-time and part-time general education faculty members teaching at community colleges in the State of Florida. The data were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and regression tables and descriptive statistics were also reported. Results showed that respondents generally believed that globalization and internationalization are important; however, respondents were not incorporating international instructional strategies at a level that correlated with their attitudes toward globalization and internationalization. Among those faculty members who were incorporating international instructional strategies, results indicated that the more years' experience in higher education a respondent had, the more likely they were to be incorporating these strategies in the classroom. Respondents also indicated that they would like more support from administration to internationalize the curriculum than they believe they are receiving. Release time, and professional development and training experiences are strategies colleges could use to help improve instruction in international education. Providing opportunities for faculty members to travel to conferences and meetings with a global/international scope would also help faculty to have a better understanding of international issues.</p>

<p> The academy has long acknowledged teaching, service, and research as the threefold work of its members. Those members in community colleges primarily engage in teaching, as opposed to research and service, but historical trends show an increase in the percent of courses taught by contingent instructors as opposed to full-time faculty members. This trend, when considered with the fact that almost half of the students now pursuing postsecondary educational opportunities do so in community colleges, provides a rich landscape for investigation. </p><p> This dissertation examines, through description correlation methods, the existence of relationships between characteristics of community college contingent faculty and the planning, preparation, class environment, instruction, and professional development activities used by contingent faculty in community colleges, specifically those instructors in the Arts and Sciences or general education divisions. </p><p> Those varied teaching activities are the components of Danielson's Framework for Teaching, a model developed to address wide-ranging aspects of instruction. That model serves as the conceptual framework for this study, which included participants from across the nation who work in community colleges differentiated by size and the populations they serve. </p><p> The analysis of the results of this correlational study leads to recommendations for more effective instructional practices in contingent faculty and improved integration of this group into the academic life of community colleges.</p>

<p>The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore and identify informal faculty leadership (IFL) practices in progressive, post-secondary settings known as Learning Colleges. Subordinate to this was the identification of administrative practices and structures enabling or obstructing IFL. The unit of analysis was three Learning Colleges, identified as exemplars of Learning College best practices. Three types of data were gathered for triangulation purposes. The mission, vision, and values statements of each college were examined for consistencies with the Learning College Movement and IFL. From the three identified colleges, two presidents and one senior vice-president were interviewed, and 52 faculty members were surveyed to identify current informal faculty leadership practices, potential new applications, and administrative behaviors advancing or inhibiting this practice. While the documents of all three colleges delineated the importance of faculty in achieving their respective goals, the role of IFL was not specifically addressed. In interviews, the three administrators acknowledged the critical role of faculty in their college's reform efforts and reinforced the importance of ongoing collaboration between administration and faculty in achieving the college's purposes. Specific examples included faculty roles in professional development, innovative practices, and as leading purveyors for a variety of change initiatives. Faculty reported a broad spectrum of peer leadership behaviors that influenced their actions including collaboration, communication, innovation, and risk-taking. From points of convergence, current examples of informal faculty leadership revealed that administrators and faculty members recognized the value of IFL to their college's mission &ndash; learning. Both groups viewed this as a prime vehicle for improvement, and characterized informal faculty leaders as crucial change agents. Recommendations for administrators and faculty include embracing collaboration and innovation as primary change modalities. Professional development needs to be faculty driven and strongly resourced by administration. Specific programs advocated by both groups include Service Learning and the use of emerging technologies. Practices recommended include moving innovation to institutionalization seamlessly and including faculty members in every step. Future research should include further exploration into IFL, additional programs such as the mentoring of students, and the role of middle-level management as critical facilitators of informal faculty leadership. </p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to explore links to student engagement from classroom activities and from faculty practice that lead to student success in a community college setting. It also sought to identify faculty groups whose classroom and course activities align better with community college student engagement and to provide a guide for local practice and future faculty development. Using 2012 CCSSE data collected by the research site, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis was performed to determine if there were significant student or faculty-contingent variables that predicted career learning, academic learning, or personal development gains. Of the 30 variables analyzed, 16 significantly predicted learning gains in at least one learning domain. The lowest adjusted <i>R</i>² value of the three regression analyses was 0.333, indicating the models explained a third or more of the variance in each of the three scales. Of the 16 significant predictors, seven predicted learning in two or more domains or had regression coefficients greater than 0.100. These seven variables then served as dependent variables for additional data analysis using 2012 institutional CCFSSE data to determine if there were significant differences in student engagement activity, perception, and practice between faculty characteristics of employment status, academic degree, course repetition, teaching experience, and teaching area. </p><p> To summarize the findings, full-time faculty, faculty having more course experience, faculty in CTE programs, or faculty possessing lower levels of academic degrees practiced faculty-contingent engagement practices more than their counterparts. Additionally, faculty who taught only college-level coursework perceived better quality relationships with their students than faculty who taught only developmental coursework.</p>

<p> This dissertation investigated community college students' perceptions about educational counseling, its value, and its relationship with academic and social integration into the college environment. In an attempt to explore students' perceptions, a quantitative study was conducted at four California community colleges. The survey was distributed to over 22,000 community college students, and 1,746 students responded. Statistical analysis of the survey responses yielded the following findings: (a) historically underrepresented populations of college students such as students of color, first generation college students, English language learners, and poor students reported higher satisfaction and value of holistic counseling and higher levels of academic and social integration; (b) students with high educational goals and institutional commitment and students who intended to transfer were more satisfied with counseling, placed greater value upon holistic counseling, and were more academically and socially integrated; (c) students with higher levels of counselor contact reported a higher value of holistic counseling; however, integration findings were more nuanced; (d) students meeting with the same counselor appeared to be the strongest predictor of counselor satisfaction and value of counseling; and (e) there were few statistically significant relationships between demographic variables and outcome variables. Interpretations in light of prior literature as well as implications and recommendations for policy, practice, theory, and future research are discussed.</p>

<p> Academic dishonesty is a well-documented problem in higher education. While numerous actions and/or behaviors are attributed to threatening academic integrity, the vernacular term used by both students and faculty is "cheating". Although there has been a substantial amount of research on academic integrity and dishonesty in general, little is known about the community college environment or whether faculty and students agree as to what behaviors actually constitute cheating. As the behaviors and actions range from those that are individual, collaborate, or involve the use of the Internet; perceptions about the severity of the actions associated with defined consequences also needed to be explored. </p><p> Targeting California community college students and faculty, a network sampling technique solicited 59 students and 56 faculty members through social media sites, including <i>LinkedIn, Facebook</i> and <i>Twitter, </i> along with the researcher's personal network of colleagues and students. Two web-based surveys, 1 for each population, were developed based on findings in the literature. The content validation process resulted in 17 behaviors grouped into 3 categories based on the nature of the behavior. Participants were asked whether they believed the behavior to be cheating and if so, to rate the severity of the cheating behavior considering their associated consequences. </p><p> Students and faculty were in agreement that 11 of the 17 behaviors were cheating and 5 of the 17 were not while there were differences in opinions regarding the severity and appropriate consequences for some of these behaviors. Behaviors considered to be collaborative had more variation in opinions regarding whether they were cheating, the severity and the deserved consequence than independent related or Internet related behaviors. Internet related behaviors had a high level of agreement between faculty and students and had similar opinions on the severity and consequences of these behaviors. To increase and enhance the understanding of academic dishonesty at community colleges, it is recommended that this study be replicated to include a larger sample of California community college students and faculty. Lastly, community college administrators are encouraged to assess their policies and procedures on academic dishonesty, specifically behaviors associated with cheating, for clarity and appropriateness of their associated consequences.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in the achievement rates of developmental mathematics students when a student success course was taken in combination with mathematics. The study investigated changes that occurred in the developmental mathematics completion rates of the learners by examining age and the course sequence of mathematics in conjunction with a student success course at a large community college in central Florida. Age was of interest as it related to the time lapsed from high school graduation and potential for mathematics atrophy. Course sequence was valued to determine if taking a student success course during or within one year of developmental mathematics could enhance mathematics course completion. These attributes were further divided and assessed according to the two specific developmental mathematics courses. Level 1 consisted of learners in deep remediation needing the most basic developmental mathematics course. Level 2 was composed of people who placed into the developmental mathematics course just below that of 100-level coursework. </p><p> The results of the study from multiple analyses of association revealed that developmental mathematics course completion was significantly correlated to student success courses. Students who took a student success course as a corequisite to their developmental mathematics course completed their mathematics course more often than those who took mathematics alone. Additionally, students in the higher level developmental mathematics course also performed significantly better when a student success course was taken before but within one year of their developmental mathematics course. </p><p> In the age groups of participants in the study, students who had been out of high school longer did not experience any observable mathematics atrophy when taking mathematics without a student life skills course. As compared to younger students (20 years of age or younger), older students had a significantly higher course completion rate. Moreover, all age groups in the study were shown to have benefitted significantly from the inclusion of a student success course. Younger learners in the lowest level developmental mathematics course, however, benefitted most. This study provides implications for practices and policies that enhance developmental mathematics course completion and facilitate academic momentum to degree completion in community colleges. It also provides insights to enhance developmental mathematics curriculum success from an approach peripheral to the discipline.</p>