Statement of Purpose. Public policy in West Virginia resulted in a plan for community college education to counter gaps identified by the Board of Regents and the Southern Regional Education Board. The plan was intended to serve as a blueprint for the development of community college education in West Virginia. There had not been a determination to date as to whether or not the establishment of the two-year colleges addressed earlier problems of the state nor whether they were responsive to the present and future needs of the citizenry. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the development of the West Virginia Community College System when compared to the 1971 State Plan for Comprehensive Community College Education in terms of its original objectives and the system's subsequent accomplishments. / Methodology. The research was divided into two sections. The statistical data included student enrollments, program inventories, degrees conferred, operating revenues, and physical facilities. The second portion involved a series of interviews which were conducted with leaders in education and government during 1971 and 1979. Their views were compared to the original goals of the system and subsequent development of community college education. The data was analyzed for accomplishments and concerns which could be documented through quantitative measures and the results were compared to the perceptions of statewide leaders using David Easton's political systems model to conceptually view the original expectations, responsiveness to changing conditions, and future course of community college education. / Findings. According to statistical data and the perceptions of those interviewed, significant progress had been made in the provision of both geographical and programmatic access to community college education for the state's citizens. Student enrollments, graduates, and potential for growth characterized the successes of the system, whereas program duplication, overlapping of services, and cooperation with the public vocational technical education sector constituted significant weaknesses. The stability of funding and need to develop relationships with external sources of funding were indicated as being critical issues for the future. / Conclusions. Credit and non-credit activities were supported by the majority of those interviewed, and public acceptance was measured by societal response to and support of community college programs. The 1980s were expected to be complicated by the priority of education in the state and the competition for resources from elements both internal and external to the total higher education system. The community colleges were expected to continue receiving substantial support as long as their record of being responsive to changing needs and provision of educational services was maintained within reasonable fiscal limits. The interviewees perceived the community colleges to be a success, and the statistical data tended to reinforce that assessment. / Recommendations. The need for community colleges to have statewide visibility is considered vital for maintaining the support of the public, and the institutions in conjunction with the Board of Regents must seek to communicate their achievements to the appropriate officials of state government. Full commitment to community college education in the state remained unresolved; thus, an effort should be made to identify obstacles to the full implementation of community college education at senior level institutions. / Closer cooperation between community colleges and the area vocational technical schools will need to characterize state postsecondary education policy in the future. In addition, a need exists to evaluate higher education in the state periodically in order to measure their commitment and response to the overall needs of the state's citizens. Additional recommendations were reported in the study. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-07, Section: A, page: 2956. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74207 |
| Contributors | GILL, ROGER LEE., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 210 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
Page generated in 0.0019 seconds