Career lines of chief academic officers at rural two-year colleges
| Title: | Career lines of chief academic officers at rural two-year colleges |
| Author: | Allen, Nathan |
| Abstract: | There is evidence in the literature that two -year colleges will be facing a significant shortage of administrative leaders in the next few years . While the chief academic officer (CAO ) plays a significant role in the academic agenda of an institution , a number of CAOs are expected to move vertically to the chief executive officer (CEO ) position , move laterally to another CAO position at another institution , or retire in the next few years . However , to date only a few national studies have been reported in the literature that focus on the career lines to the CAO position . Nationally , nearly 70 % of two -year colleges are rural thus constituting a large portion of the population of two -year institutions . Yet , none of the studies in the literature have focused on the career lines to the CAO position at rural two -year colleges . The purpose of this study was to examine the career lines of CAOs at rural two -year institutions , and the entry points and boundaries which shape those career lines . Four research questions were developed to investigate the entry points , job experiences , career lines , and boundaries of the rural CAOs . The data for this study was drawn from a larger study of CAOs conducted by the National Council of Instructional Administrators (NCIA ) . Career line data from 72 CAOs at rural two -year institutions was used for this study representing 63 % of the CAOs in the NCIA database . Although no single point of entry for the CAO career line was found in this study , a faculty position in higher education was identified as the most frequent entry point . Additionally , division /department chair was identified as a common point of entry into higher education . Combined , faculty and division /department chair positions represented 52 .1 % of the CAO entry points . CAOs have held a variety of positions in higher education prior to becoming a CAO . Two -thirds of CAOs at rural institutions (66 .7 % ) have been a dean or director prior to becoming a CAO . Half of current CAOs (50 % ) have been the CAO at another institution and nearly one -third (31 .9 % ) have held an associate or assistant chief academic officer position . Seven career lines were found leading to the CAO position at rural two -year colleges . A total of only five positions were found in the seven career lines : CAO , associate academic officer , academic dean , division /department chair , and faculty . These seven career lines represented 73 % of the population . In this study , two types of boundaries were observable : single institution (firm ) and two -year institution (occupational ) . Both types of boundary become increasingly narrower the closer one moves to the CAO position . Of the CAOs in this study , 69 .6 % moved to their current position within the same organization . Including those moving within the same institution , 91 .3 % moved from either within the same organization or another two -year institution . While this study was the first study to focus on career lines of CAOs at rural two -year colleges , additional research is needed to fully understand the career paths to the CAO position . |
| URI: |
http : / /hdl .handle .net /2346 /1417
http : / /hdl .handle .net /2346 /1417 |
| Date: | 2006-09-05 |
Citation
(2005-04-26).
Career lines of chief academic officers at rural two-year colleges.
Doctoral dissertation,
Texas Tech University. Available electronically from
http : / /hdl .handle .net /2346 /1417
.
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