The community college president and the new norm: perceptions of preparedness to take an entrepreneurial stance in seeking ethical alternative funding

摘要

ABSTRACTThe United States is currently enduring an economic downturn that has not been experienced since the great depression of the 1930s. The overall collapse of the economy has had an adverse impact on higher education. Arguably the public community college has faced greater fiscal hardship than any other branch of American higher education. The community college has encountered a complex assortment of challenges. In recent years the community college has experienced historical reductions in state appropriations, while at the same time experiencing record-breaking enrollment growth and increased performance expectations. Although enrollment numbers are beginning to level off, they still remain historically high. These combined factors have created unprecedented challenges for community college presidents.Unfortunately many economists, political figures, higher education scholars, and community college leaders believe that the current fiscal conditions will persist for years to come and are referring to the current economic climate as the \u22new norm\u22. As a result of this new daunting fiscal paradigm, it projected that the role of the community college presidency will become increasingly more complex and demanding. The millennial community college presidency will demand a stronger competency in resource management and more specifically, a greater emphasis must be placed on the ability to identify and secure alternative funding in order to compensate for continuous reductions in state appropriations. The purpose of this dissertation is to better understand Community College Presidents\u27 perceptions of their preparedness to take an entrepreneurial stance in seeking ethical alternative funding.