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##  Facing Challenges: Identifying the Role of the Community College                Dean. ERIC Digest.                                                           

The variety of responsibilities facing deans at community colleges              can be difficult to manage. Accordingly, deans must have the                    required knowledge, skills, and abilities in order to carry out                 their tasks. Continuous changes and unpredictability create a                   complex environment for these managers of academic affairs. What is             the dean's role in the community college environment and how can                they fulfill their obligations? This Digest focuses on four main                areas: the dean's role in community college, the daily decisions and            conflicts facing managers of academic affairs, management concerns,             and professional development. DEAN - A DEFINABLE ROLE?The                 multifaceted role of the "dean" in an institution of higher                     education leads to ambiguity and poses obstacles in defining the                dean's purpose. Although there has been a lack of "scholarly                    attention" paid to the role of the dean in the community college,               Robillard (2000) provides insight into the responsibilities facing              those managing academic affairs. Summarizing the duties of the                  community college dean from Vaughan's 1990 study, Robillard                     describes how the nature of these duties varies due to the wide                 scope of activities, resource constraints, and the differing                    responsibilities within each institution. In order to deal with such            ambiguity, managers of academic affairs should have experience in               dealing with administrative and supervisory activities when they                come into the role of the dean. 
How does the dean deal with the               changing community college environment? Erwin (2000) describes two              basic models of change: bureaucratic and participatory. Although the            bureaucratic model is often viewed as slow and detrimental to                   change, there are merits to any change model. Both models emphasize             that the community college student should come first, thus                      emphasizing learning as an essential aspect of the dean's leadership            role. Challenges to these goals are the processes and the                       participants in the process. Often, the dean's response to any                  challenge is restricted by distinct guidelines and processes                    outlined by the institution. Cross-departmental and divisional                  challenges also influence any changes the dean envisions. With                  student learning as the objective, instructional technology                     influences these processes, both positively and negatively. These               change models describe the dean as playing a unique leadership role             within the institution; they must handle complexities, attempt to               initiate change, and remain focused on the student. 
The faculty               and the president of the community college are primary participants             in the processes that deans must follow. Andrews (2000) describes               the conflicting needs of both the faculty and the president that                confront the academic deans. It is essential for the dean to develop            a working relationship with the faculty and the president of the                institution in order to reduce conflict and meet the variety of                 challenges. In order to maintain good working relationships,                    communication is essential and deans must build a trusting                      environment with the president and faculty (Kuss, 2000). By doing               so, deans can be successful managers of change and                              innovation. DECISIONS AND CONFLICTGeorge Findlen (2000)                   describes the dean's job, which includes making difficult decisions,            as a "lonely activity." Reactions to the dean's decisions often come            quickly and from a variety of constituents (i.e. faculty, staff, and            students). While providing examples of particularly difficult                   decisions, Findlen outlines five aspects of a problem: the problem              itself, the issues, the players, the alternative courses of action,             and the motives and goals. In all, the difficult decisions that                 deans must make are often complicated any of these problems. 
As               Rose Findlen (2000) states, "Conflict is the job" (p. 41). The                  manner in which deans view conflict can actually affect the way they            handle difficult situations. In most cases, although students and               faculty can be major sources of conflict for the dean, this conflict            should be viewed as healthy in order to deal with it effectively.               Findlen recommends three basic approaches to dealing with conflict:             traditional, behavioral, and principled. The traditional approach is            used to eliminate conflict, the behavioral approach is used to                  accept and deal with the conflict, and the principled approach is               implemented to initiate the conflict to ensue                                   communication. MANAGING RESOURCESCommunity colleges are faced             with the task of providing quality education and programs for                   students. In most cases this needs to be done with considerable                 constraints on resources. The dean is responsible for many aspects              of the budget, such as budget development, management, brokering                resources, reviewing the budget, and perhaps even fundraising. With             all of these necessary responsibilities, how are deans able to                  effectively carry out the management of academic resources?                     McBride (2000) describes a general lack of knowledge and competence             in financial matters by deans at community colleges. By providing a             glossary of accounting terms, the author highlights some of the key             areas that deans should know and in which they should become                    proficient. 
In addition to financial resources, the dean is                   responsible for managing the data and the resulting information                 about the institution and its constituents. This information can be             useful in assisting the dean in making difficult decisions, thus                improving the decision-making process. Although most community                  colleges have a great deal of data, the ability to transform that               data into useful information requires competent staff and                       appropriate know-how (Johnstone and Kristovich, 2000). Storage and              retrieval are key elements in the effective management of the                   institutional data and will assist the dean with the often difficult            task of managing academic affairs. PROFESSIONAL                               DEVELOPMENTLeadership is a necessary and critical skill for                 those managing academic affairs. The dean as the leader                         actually, "create[s] the stage for future operations while managing             day-to-day activities" (Bragg, 2000, p. 75). In one sense the                   community college is in a constant state of transition and renewal,             and must strive to be both consistent and flexible within the                   particular environment. Changes in faculty, staff, students, and the            organization itself are common to the community college environment.            Bragg lists six core knowledge areas for deans: 
(1) mission,                  philosophy, and history 
(2) learner-centered orientation 
(3)                instructional leadership 
(4) information and educational                      technologies 
(5) accountability and assessment 
(6)                          administrative preparation. 
A dean must deal with a highly diverse            group of students, faculty, and staff at the community college. This            environment necessitates the use of professional development to help            the manager of academic affairs to attend to these various groups               and needs. George Findlen outlines a practical source list for the              dean of a community college by providing references and resources               for key responsibilities deans may face. These responsibilities                 include: conducting faculty evaluation, overseeing the discipline               and termination of students and faculty, and enforcing student                  privacy. In addition to these responsibilities, Findlen highlights a            few sensitive and pressing issues confronting deans, such as dealing            with sexual harassment, enforcing American with Disabilities Act,               and having a general knowledge in the legal                                     arena. CONCLUSIONTrying to manage diverse populations with a              variety of needs can be daunting and pose problems for academic                 deans. Yet, clarifying the role of the managers of academic affairs             and defining their responsibilities are crucial to understanding the            nature of the job. Because deans must make difficult decisions,                 dealing appropriately with conflict that results from those                     decisions is a determinant of how effectively the dean manages the              academic affairs at an institution. Hence, information and                      communication are key elements for deans in carrying out the                    day-to-day activities at the community college. Effective leadership            and a broad base of knowledge are tools necessary to help the                   manager of academic affairs lead the institution into the                       future. REFERENCESThis digest is drawn from: "Dimensions of               Managing Academic Affairs in the Community College." New Directions             for Community Colleges, Number 109, Douglas Robillard, Jr., Ed.,                Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, CA, Spring 1999: 
Andrews, H. A. The               dean and the faculty (pp. 19-26). 
Bragg, D. D. Preparing community            college deans to lead change (pp. 75-86). 
Erwin, J. S. The dean as            chief academic officer (pp. 9-18). 
Findlen, G. L. Aspects of                  difficult decisions (p. 33-34). 
Findlen, G. L. A dean's survival              tool kit (p. 87-94). 
Findlen, R. Conflict: The skeleton in                    academe's closet (pp. 41-50). 
Johnston, G. H. & Kristovich, S. A.             R. Community college alchemists: Turning data into information (pp.             63-74). 
Kuss, H. J. The dean and the president (pp.                           27-32). 
McBride, S. A. Academic economics: The academic dean and              financial management (pp. 51-62). 
Robillard, D., Jr. Toward a                 definition of deaning (pp. 3-8). 
The ERIC Clearinghouse is                    administered by the National Library of Education and operates under            the OERI Contract No. ED-99-CO-0010. The opinions expressed in this             Digest do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of OERI and            no official endorsement by OERI should be inferred.                          **Title:** Facing Challenges: Identifying the Role of the Community College                Dean. ERIC Digest.                                                           **Note:** Drawn from: "Dimensions of Managing Academic Affairs in the                     Community College." New Directions for Community Colleges, Number               109.                                                                         **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges, University of California             at Los Angeles, 3051 Moore Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1521. Tel:               310-825-3931.                                                                **Descriptors:**  Academic Deans, Administrator Responsibility,  Administrator Role,             College Administration,  Community Colleges, Conflict Resolution,                Instructional Leadership, Management Development, Resource                     Allocation, Two Year Colleges                                                **Identifiers:**  ERIC Digests                                                                
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