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Mission priorities of community colleges in the southern United States

Community College Review - December 22, 2002

Since their inception, community colleges have existed to identify and respond to the educational needs of adult learners within a specified service area (Cohen & Brawer, 1996; Vaughan, 1997; Gleazer, 1980). This mission becomes a daunting task when today's social, political, economic, and technological revolutions precipitate educational needs that differ greatly from those of the previous age (Bragg, 2001). Responding to educational needs that are unique to information-age learners presents an adaptive challenge to those who contribute to student success. An adaptive challenge occurs "when our deeply held beliefs are challenged, when the values that made us successful become less relevant, and when legitimate yet competing perspectives emerge" (Heifetz & Laurie, 1997, p. 124). Community college leaders must articulate the adaptive challenges ahead if colleges are to respond to learner needs in a rapidly changing environment.

One way to focus an organization's membership on the challenges that lie ahead is to provide strategic leadership for the institutional mission (Hill & Jones, 2001). Baker and Upshaw (1995) assert that understanding and supporting the college mission is a basic expectation for community college presidents and their leadership teams. In fact, the most successful community colleges are "those that have developed a well-defined mission and a shared vision of the future" (Boggs, 1995, p. 71). Successful community college leaders will invest in organizational renewal and reinterpret the mission, philosophy, functions, and modus operandi of the institutions they serve (Boone, 1992a). These leaders will reexamine the way their institutions create value (Alfred, 1998) and recognize that a successful strategy in the information age may be to do different things rather than the same things differently (Doucette, 1993). Indeed, redesigning community colleges to meet changing needs and expectations is a top management priority (Alfred, 1998).

In recognition of the changing climates in which community colleges operate, new or different community college missions often emerge as the institutions respond to changing learner needs. The purpose of this study is to analyze the content of community college strategic documents as they relate to the organizational mission. Focusing on the southern United States, this researcher analyzed the content of 102 community college mission statements, thereby producing a snapshot of the community college mission in its current state. The findings are significant in that they offer college leaders a pragmatic macroperspective of what the information-age community college in the South does, whom it serves, and how it seeks to improve the quality of life within the 11-state region. Particularly relevant are departures from the historical mission of the American community college. This macroperspective of mission statements may serve as a point of reference for community college leaders who must involve faculty, staff, governing boards, students, and the community--many with competing priorities--in developing a shared vision for the future of their community college. In the absence of a clear mission and shared vision of the future, quality decision making and strategic planning may give way to organizational conflict and competition among those with competing interests (Yukl, 1994). An equally grave consequence is the possibility that community colleges without a strategic mission may continue to focus their resources on programs and services that have outlived their relevance.

Literature Review

In a time when community colleges are criticized for trying to be all things to all people (Shearon & Tollefson, 1989), perhaps community college leaders should consider the merit of the mission statement as a leadership strategy. A mission statement is defined as a formal document that articulates the organization's purpose and direction (Boggs, 1995; Hill & Jones, 2001) and establishes the parameters within which the adult education organization functions (Boone, 1992b). Bart (2001) explains the value of mission statements by presenting three general benefits for their use as a leadership strategy: They guide decision making; they motivate and inspire employees toward a common purpose; they create balance among the competing interests of multiple stakeholders. The literature suggests that leaders who make use of the mission statement as a leadership strategy may reap favor able returns. As one example, Rice and Austin (1988) found an association among clarity of institutional mission and faculty satisfaction in liberal arts colleges. Maybe it is for similar reasons that mission statements "have become the management tool most commonly used by senior executives over the last 10 years" (Bart, 2000, p. 45).

An organizational mission commonly originates with the executive leadership team (Baker & Upshaw, 1995; Boggs, 1995; Katzenbach & Smith, 1993), but these teams seldom determine the mission independent of other stakeholders (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993). Successful leaders will acknowledge that the mission of the adult education organization must reflect the organization's history and values (Boone, 1992b). Because adult educators must understand and commit to the functions of the organization, particularly its mission, philosophy, and objectives (Boone, 1992b), they should have a voice in determining the organizational mission. After all, faculty and staff may be reluctant to commit to a mission that is forced upon them by the president and his or her leadership team. This is one reason why the development of an organizational mission statement should not be a top-down process (Bart, 2000). In support of this proposition, Bart and Baetz (1998) reveal a significant correlation between organizational performance and satisfaction with the process of creating a mission statement. Moreover, one study determined that a deliberately inclusive process for creating and sustaining an organizational mission facilitated organizational renewal in times of change (Ayers, 2002). Along similar lines, Bart (2001) posits that clear mission statements are especially important in times of change.

The community college mission has been described in terms of its different functions: student services, career education, developmental education, community education, transfer and liberal education, and general education (Cohen & Brawer, 1996). Similarly, Vaughan (1997) lists seven defining characteristics of the public community college--public support, open access, commitment to teaching, an identified service area, community-based programs, comprehensive programs, and support services. From an analysis of mission statements of community college systems, Fountain and Tollefson (1989) indicate that community college system mission statements typically express a mission focus on the following: (a) formal education including college transfer, career education, developmental education, and general education; (b) student services including counseling, placement assessment, and financial aid; (c) continuing education including noncredit courses such as literacy, job enrichment, and topics related to recreation; (d) community services such as seminars, lectures, concerts, plays, and consultative activities that enhance community life; (e) attention to the students to be served including traditional college-age students, high school students, adults of all ages, women and minorities, the educationally disadvantaged, and disabled students; and (f) economic development, which overlies career education but also includes consultative services to employers. Fountain and Tollefson's study not only summarizes the mission foci of community college systems but also reveals a precedent for analyzing mission statements as a means of understanding the strategic focus of American community colleges.

In terms similar to those of complex adaptive systems theorists, Vaughan (1991/1997) advances our understanding of the community college mission by depicting it as dynamic and dual focused. The first focus consists of formal educational programming, or the college's enduring, stable, educational core. It is this core that confirms the validity of the community college as ah institution of higher education. Second, far from the educational core is the periphery of the institution. The periphery is the boundary between the college and the community it serves. Referring to this boundary as "the edge," Vaughan (1997) recognizes this focus as "where the community college intersects with its community and joins with other organizations, agencies, and institutions to identify and resolve broad-based issues that affect individuals and their communities" (p. 38).

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