The illusion of control [electronic resource] : broken governance in the California community college system

Abstract The Illusion of Control examines the effects of governance structures within a statewide system of higher education, with a particular focus upon the California Community College (CCC) system, to explore whether differences in system or state governance structures can be argued to affect the standardization, adoption and enforcement of policies aimed at furthering student persistence and degree attainment. This research analysis seeks to use the uniformity of system-wide institutional policy adoption as a frame for illuminating and comparing CCC system governance to the governance of the public community college system in Florida, and to the CCC's sister systems of higher education the California State University and University of California systems. Specifically, this dissertation seeks to ask: 1) What effect does state higher education governance structure have upon individual postsecondary institutional behaviors regarding policy adoption and enforcement? 2) Are there organizational or state governance structure characteristics that differentiate the CCC system from statewide systems of community colleges in Florida or from the CSU or UC systems? 3) Do emergent differences in state level postsecondary governance structures measurably impact statewide institutional adoption of selected policy metrics within these states? 4) If certain state or system-wide postsecondary governance structures lend themselves to more consistent system-wide adoption of policy, what factor(s) contribute to the ability or inability to implement such governance structures? 5) Within the CCC system, who are the actors tasked with governance, how and why do they encourage or discourage adoption of differing governance structures/forms, and how do these actions manifest themselves in terms of uniformity of policy adoption? 6) What are the effects of these actions upon CCC students and California taxpayers? How might any change to the existing system come about? The primary research method used is a qualitative comparative analysis, utilizing the differences in governance structure between the CCC system and those of UC, CSU and the State of Florida's public community college system as the independent variable and the uniform adoption of a specific set of policies as the dependent variable. Emergent differences in governance structures that lend themselves towards increased levels of institutional adoption of a specific set of policies are illuminated, allowing further explanation of the origins and causes of these differences. Included in this research process is a review of existing taxonomies for public higher education governance and the forwarding of a new bi-level taxonomy that better captures the complexities of state public postsecondary systems. The policy set used for this analysis includes policies regarding placement assessment, academic advising, inter-institutional course articulation, and common course numbering systems. While these policies are intended to increase student success and persistence in all populations of college attendees, the unique nature of student transfer from community college to four-year schools makes this policy set particularly important to community college students and institutions. The first section of this dissertation defines governance, describes its general form in higher education and situates it in American historical context. I then explore existing literature on the two primary levels of public higher educational governance, individual institutions and statewide postsecondary systems. A brief explanation of differing postsecondary institutional types and their origins is followed by a review of the literature regarding the effect of governance structures on postsecondary policy initiatives and an analysis of my first set of findings. I then provide a modified set of conceptual frameworks for defining governance structures and use those frameworks to examine the effects of state and system governance on my chosen set of policy metrics. The second section of this dissertation is focused upon a comparative analysis of the CCC system against both the UC and CSU systems, as well as the postsecondary system in Florida. This comparison uses the chosen conceptual frameworks for governance to compare the uniformity of policy adoption. I then explore the basis for any emergent differences and suggest how governance plays a role in their perpetuation. The final section of The Illusion of Control is a historical and political analysis focused upon CCC governance, its historical basis, the individuals and agentive entities that participate in governing at local, system and state levels, and the benefits/problems introduced by such governance. I follow with an exploration of strategies for encouraging or facilitating any perceived need for change in CCC system governance, and an exploration of the potential of disruptive technologies or educational delivery systems as catalysts for change.

Keywords: Education.
Advisor: Labaree David F.
Antonio Anthony Lising
Kirst Michael W. advisor. Thesis advisor