The Career Lines of Chief Academic Officers in Public Community Colleges.

Administrative careers in higher education have typically been examined from two perspectives: individual and structural. The vast majority of these studies are from the individual orientation and place attention on the demographics and background characteristics of those holding a particular office. Probably the most well known example is the National Presidents' Study conducted by the American Council on Education (ACE). The National Presidents' Study began in 1986 and has presented a series of reports (Ross & Green, 1988; Ross, Green, & Henderson, 1993; Ross & Green, 1998; Ross & Green, 2000) that profile the professional and personal characteristics of college presidents.

Studies using the structural perspective are based on the concept of organizational careers. Many of these studies point to Spilerman's (1977) definition of organizational careers as "sequences of related positions that are common to a portion of the labor force and for which there is a high probability of movement from one position to another" (p. 560). For this study, we followed the structural perspective, examining the sequence of positions held by individuals who currently occupy the position of chief academic officer (CAO) in public community colleges.

Organizational career structures are most often termed career lines, career paths, or job ladders. We use career lines since "path" and "ladder" imply movement along the path or up the ladder. In fact, movement may also be lateral or even downward (Spilerman, 1977; Vardi, 1980). Ross and Green (1998) found that 20% of college presidents had been presidents of other institutions prior to assuming their current position. Birnbaum (1971) provides examples of downward movement in higher education where an individual moves from a higher-level position at a less prestigious institution to a lower level position at a more prestigious institution.

One way to examine careers as structures of organizations is through labor market theory. As two-year institutions have become their own source for individuals to fill administrative vacancies, they constitute an internal labor market (Ferrari & Berte, 1970; Moore, Twombly, & Martorana, 1985; Schultz, 1965). Althauser and Kalleberg (1981) identified two distinct types of internal labor markets. They defined firm internal labor markets (FILM) as those "established by and confined to a single employer," (p. 131) while occupational internal labor markets (OILM) "consist of members of one or several closely related occupations and are not confined to a single firm" (p. 130). Twombly (1988) contends that the administrative labor market in two-year colleges consists of one or more OILMs. Viewing two-year colleges as OILMs suggests that careers do not exist solely at a single institution. Rather, the OILM consists of all two-year colleges, which are more like each other than they are other types of educational institutions.

There are three structural features of internal labor markets. First, internal labor markets require all employees to begin in lower-level positions termed entry ports (Doeringer & Piore, 1971). Second, internal labor markets develop job ladders or career lines as a result of the need to minimize the costs of training employees (Bills, 1987). Third, movement up the job ladder or along the career lines is associated with a progressive development of knowledge or skill (Althauser & Kalleberg, 1981). Two of these features, entry ports and career lines, are included in this study.

It should be noted that a basic assumption of internal labor market theory is that over time, the sequences of positions that lead to the top become institutionalized (Martin & Strauss, 1956). When sequences are institutionalized, identifiable career lines indicate movement from position to position. These positions can be thought of as training and testing points. The individual receives the training necessary for future positions on the career line and the organization is able to evaluate the individual to determine whether he or she continues to move along the career line. Other aspects of the organization may also be identified through the institutionalization of career lines. For example, lateral movement at a given level of the administrative hierarchy indicates that breadth of experience is viewed as important training to continue along the career line.

As mentioned before, only a few studies have examined administrative careers in higher education from the structural perspective. In their work on career paths, Cohen and March (1974) proposed a normative career ladder for the presidency of a higher education institution comprising five rungs: (a) faculty member, (b) unit chair, (c) dean, (d) provost or vice president for academic affairs, and (e) president. A number of studies incorporated this normative career ladder, finding that numerous positions are likely to be held prior to a presidency rather than a single career line (Cavanaugh, 1971; Moore, 1982; Moore, Salimbene, Marlier,& Bragg, 1983; Salimbene, 1982; Twombly, 1986b). Each of these structural examinations has followed a common strategy suggested by

Spilerman (1977): begin with a top-level position in the organization and trace career lines back from the current position. The emphasis on the presidency in higher education literature is not confined to career studies. An ERIC database search of articles related to community college presidents from 1966 through April 2000 identified 341 documents. A similar search using the title of community college CAO yielded only 36 documents. Spilerman's definition of career lines stresses the "high probability of movement from one position to another" (p. 560). A common finding in structural-oriented research is that CAO is the most commonly held position prior to the community college presidency (Moore, Twombly, & Martorana, 1985; Ross & Green, 1998; Vaughan, 1986). Yet only one study has examined the career lines of community college CAOs (Twombly, 1988).

From a national sample, Twombly (1988) examined the career lines of 268 CAOs from both public and private two-year institutions. The methodology in this study distinguished between positions in higher education organizations and positions outside of higher education organizations. In analyzing career lines, however, no distinction was made between positions held in two- or four-year institutions. Yet entry positions were defined as the first position held in a two-year college.

In considering the immediate previous position, Twombly (1988) established a criterion of 10% of the sample for inclusion in the career lines. Of the immediate previous positions, five met the criteria for inclusion in the career lines, representing 70% of the sample. Serving as the CAO at another institution was the most common previous position (20%), followed by assistant or staff member to the CAO (15%). Only one earlier position (faculty) met the 5% minimum for inclusion in the career lines. The longest career sequence emerged as moving to CAO from department head and to department head from faculty member. Twombly also reported the predominate entry position as faculty

but did not provide information concerning the extent of this predominance.

While Twombly's work is a pioneering effort and certainly provides valuable information, it deviates from strict labor market theory. If two-year institutions are indeed an internal labor market, then both the entry port and the career line should consist only of positions within two-year institutions. As mentioned earlier, it has been shown that two-year institutions constitute an internal labor market. Moreover, studies have found that administrative careers in higher education commonly occur within the same institutional type (i.e., community college, liberal arts college, comprehensive university, research university) (Birnbaum, 1971; Twombly, 1986a).

There are three reasons that support the need for this study. First, the most common position held prior to a presidency is CAO. Using data from a 1986 study, Vaughan (1989) reported that 50% of community college presidents held the CAO position immediately prior to becoming president. Other studies have also pointed to the relationship between the community college CAO and president positions (Moore, Twombly, & Martorana, 1985; Ross & Green, 1998; Twombly, 1988). Second, the limited coverage underscores the need for further research regarding the CAO position in community colleges. The only previous career line examination included positions in both two- and four-year institutions. An analysis of community colleges as an internal labor market separate from four-year colleges and universities will provide information concerning labor markets in higher education as well as greater insight regarding career lines leading to the most common position prior to the presidency. Third, career lines become institutionalized over time. As it has been more than a decade since the initial examination, there is certainly the possibility that career lines leading to the CAO position have become more established. Identification of the training and testing points on career lines leading to the CAO position would prove beneficial to individuals who aspire to the position as well as community colleges searching to fill the position.

For this study, our purpose was to address the three following questions:

1. Are there career lines that lead to the community college CAO position? If so, what are they?

2. Are there specific entry positions to the CAO career lines? If so, what are they?

3. Are there other identifiable characteristics of the CAO career lines?

Methodology

Data used in this study came from a national survey of CAOs in public comprehensive community colleges (McKenney & Cejda, 2000). In addition to demographic information, the survey consisted of a series of questions designed to elicit institutional type, mode of movement, number of years in the position, type of contract, and title for up to five positions prior to serving as CAO. Previously, the questionnaire had been used to gather information on CAOs in four-year institutions.

To develop a sample for this study we obtained a mailing list of chief academic officers from institutions belonging to the American Association for Community Colleges. A total of 1487 individuals were included on the mailing list. The two following limitations were placed on this population: 1) accredited institutions that are state or locally controlled, and 2) institutions matching the definition of a comprehensive community college. We also contacted institutions that are part of a system or district in order to clarify whether the CAO position was centralized (one CAO for the system or district) or decentralized (a CAO at each institution in the system or district). Applying these limitations resulted in a sample of 628 individuals.

These individuals were surveyed by mail between February and August 1999. The mailing consisted of a copy of the survey, a letter of explanation about the project, and a postage-paid return envelope. A follow-up mailing consisted of a reminder, a second survey form, and a postage-paid return envelope. A total of 368 usable questionnaires were returned yielding an overall response rate of 59%.

One of the challenges of studies of career lines has been to find a way to appropriately manage the diversity of titles that is inherent in the educational arena (Arman, 1986; Moore & Sagaria, 1981). For this study, we grouped titles according to HEGIS classifications. These classifications were determined after reviewing position titles; thus, not all of the HEGIS classifications were utilized. Data concerning previous position titles were reviewed and then coded to match the classifications. The nine classifications and their definitions are as follows:

Vice President--Primary responsibility for the functions and operations of an institution under the direction of the chief executive officer.

Chief Academic Officer--Responsible for the academic program of the institution.

Chief Student Affairs Officer--Directs the student life programs.

Primary Academic Officer--Responsible for a specific component of the organization such as a college or division under the direction of the CAO.

Chair or Head--Heads a specific course of study such as a department or program.

Other Higher Education--Higher education administrative position that does not fit any of the previous categories listed.

Faculty--Delivers the academic program.

K-12--Educational positions serving students from elementary through secondary grades.

Other--Positions outside of educational settings.

We followed the methodology of Twombly (1988) to determine the proportion necessary to constitute a career line. Consequently, a 10% minimum was set as the criterion for the first prior position and a 5% minimum was used for earlier positions in the career. We also followed Twombly's example of determining career lines based on the common position sequences of individuals, not the most common titles held in the respective previous positions. For example, if 37 CAOs (10.1% of the 368 returns) came to their position immediately from Primary Academic Officer (PAO) positions, and 19 (5.2% of the 368 returns) of these 37 came to the PAO position immediately from the faculty, a career line was identified: faculty to PAO to CAO.

We decided to define a career line as a sequence of at least three positions. To identify career lines for the CAOs in this study, we first created distribution frequencies for the first and second prior positions. Common, three-sequence career lines meeting the 5 and 10% criteria were then identified. A distribution frequency for the third prior position was then created and the data analyzed to determine if there were any four-sequence career lines.

Results

Tables 1 and 2 present the distribution frequency for the title of the CAOs first and second prior positions. Four categorizations of first prior positions met the 10% or greater criterion, representing 78.7% of the sample. Six categorizations of second prior positions met the 5% or greater criterion, representing 85.4% of the sample. Examining all combinations of these 10 position categories, we identified a total of 18 three-sequence career lines. Figure 1 provides a visual interpretation of the six career lines that satisfy the 5 and 10% criteria. These six career lines describe three-sequence positions for 43.8% of the sample. Incorporating the third prior position into our analysis revealed no four-sequence career lines representing 5% or greater of the sample.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Table 1
Title of CAOs first prior position

Title                                Frequency   Percentage

Chief Academic Officer                  109        29.6
Primary Academic Officer                92         25.0
Other Higher Education                  48         13.0
Chair or Head                           41         11.1
Faculty                                 25          6.8
Chief Student Affairs Officer           22          6.0
Vice President                          18          4.9
K-12 Position                           10          2.7
Other                                    3           .8
Total                                   368        99.9(*)

NOTE. Due to rounding, percentages do not equal 100.
Table 2
Title of CAOs second prior position

Title                                Frequency   Percentage

Faculty                                 76          20.7
Primary Academic Officer                76          20.7
Chief Academic Officer                  55          14.9
Other Higher Education                  48          13.0
Chair or Head                           37          10.1
Other                                   22           6.0

No Second Prior Position Reported       19           5.2
Chief Student Affairs Officer           18           4.9
K-12 Position                           12           3.3
Vice President                           5           1.4
Total                                   368        100.2(*)

NOTE. Due to rounding, percentages do not equal 100.

Table 3 presents a frequency distribution of the entry pons, the initial community college position. The majority entered the community college as a faculty member (51.1%). A faculty position was overwhelmingly the most common entry position for each of the six career lines. Of the 161 individuals in the career lines, 131 (81.4%) entered the community college labor market as a faculty member. Chair or head was the second most common entry port for the career lines, serving as the initial community college position for 12 (7.5%) of the individuals in the career lines.

Table 3
Entry ports for CAOs Entry Position    Frequency   Percentage

Faculty                                  188         51.1
Primary Academic Officer                  64         17.4
Chair or Head                             42         11.4
Other Administrative Position             33          9.0
Chief Academic Officer                    28          7.6
Chief Student Affairs Officer             13          3.5
Total                                    368        100.0

To further examine entry ports and the lack of any four- and five-sequence career lines, we computed three means: 1) the number of community college positions held, 2) the number of faculty positions held, and 3) the number of administrative positions held. As shown in Table 4, the CAOs held an average of three community college positions. Slightly more than the majority (54.3%) of CAOs had previously held a faculty position.

Table 4
Mean number of CAOs previous positions by type of position

Position                          n    Mean     SD

Total Comm. College Positions    368   3.09    1.09
Total Admin. Positions           368   1.93    1.39
Total Faculty Positions          200   1.17    1.12

Conclusions and Discussion

This investigation focused on the career lines of CAOs at public, comprehensive community colleges. From its inception, we attempted to quantify these factors in order to formulate some generalizations about the career lines these academicians follow. Yet in any research project, specific parameters are established that limit the generalization of findings. The limitations of this study are detailed in the following three paragraphs.

Individuals who hold the CAO position provided data for the study. As not all institutions have similar administrative structures, we have assumed that the individual responding was indeed the CAO. Moreover, the respondents decided whether to respond to questions and which pieces of information they would not divulge.

Authors of both empirical and theoretical literature concur that individual, organizational, and external factors influence careers and career lines. External factors influencing the career lines of CAOs in this study were not considered. In addition, only the position holder provided information. As such, organizational considerations that might have influenced career lines were excluded.

The CAOs responding to the survey are employed by public, comprehensive community colleges that belong to the AACC. As a result, the career experiences of CAOs from other types of two-year institutions or similar community colleges that are not members of AACC were not included.

While recognizing these limitations, it is possible to draw conclusions from this study. One aspect of career lines is the existence of entry ports. Entry ports are also one of the three structural features of an internal labor market. Utilizing labor market theory and the concept of career lines proves beneficial in examining how an individual begins a career in the community college. As mentioned earlier, a faculty position served as the entry port to the community college labor market for the majority of the CAOs. In terms of the six career lines, a faculty position was the entry port for slightly more than four fifths of the CAOs.

This finding supports previous research on initial positions that provide access to community college careers. Arman (1986) found that 49.4% of the administrators in community colleges entered their positions from the ranks of the faculty, while 50.6% secured an administrative position as their first community college job. It appears that the administrative labor market in community colleges is not completely closed to those who do not enter through a faculty position. More important, the multitude of alternative career lines may, in part, be a result of both faculty and administrative appointments serving as entry ports.

The findings of this study do not indicate a single, normative job ladder leading to the CAO position in community colleges. We were not able to identify a career line for more than the majority (56.2%) of the community college CAOs. The lack of a normative career line raises questions about whether community colleges constitute an internal labor market. We contend that an internal labor market does exist. Only 7.6% of the CAOs entered the position from outside the community college market. For more than three fourths (77%) of the CAOs, the immediate prior position was administrative. Twombly (1988) contends that particular administrative experiences, rather than specific positions, are more important determinants in the career lines leading to the CAO position in community colleges.

We also found that the career lines leading to the position of CAO have become more institutionalized since 1988. Using 10% and 5% as the criteria for the first and second previous positions, Twombly (1988) was able to identify only one, three-position career line. Including the same criteria, we found six, three-position career lines. This finding supports Spilerman's (1977) contention that there are alternative career lines. The single, three-position career line identified by Twombly (faculty to department head to CAO) emerged as the most frequent of our six lines, increasing from 6% of Twombly's sample to 10.3% of our sample.

Career line does indeed seem to be the accurate term as the sequence of positions included lateral and downward movement. We found that more than one fourth (29.6%) of the sample experienced lateral movement from the CAO position at one institution to the same position at another institution. Two of the six career lines included downward movement, CAO to PAO to CAO and PAO to Other Higher Ed to CAO.

Our results point to the need to examine career lines with greater statistical sophistication. We identified six, three-sequence career lines using the criteria of 10 and 5% of the sample, a level established in a previous study. Are these levels sufficient to indicate a career line? Are there certain characteristics of the CAO's careers that are statistically significant or can serve as predictors of future positions?

We were also interested in other identifiable characteristics of CAO career lines. Our examination of the six career lines revealed two common characteristics shared by at least a majority of the CAOs. A history of community college employment is a characteristic of the career lines leading to the CAO position. As mentioned earlier, 161 (43.8%) of the sample followed an identified career line. Prior to becoming a CAO, almost two thirds (64.9%) of those in a career line held four previous positions at two-year institutions. Moreover, the CAO position was at least the third sequential job at a two-year institution for all that followed a career line. Prior to assuming the CAO position these individuals spent an average of 11.9 years working in two-year institutions. The second characteristic of the career lines was the number of internal candidates moving to the CAO position. Among those following a career line, 59% were internal candidates for the CAO position and 8% moved from another community college in the system or district.

As structures of public, comprehensive community colleges, career lines have implications for both individuals aspiring to the CAO position and community colleges. For individuals, we provide four suggestions to optimize the chances of obtaining a CAO appointment. First, enter the community college labor market as a faculty member. A faculty position was the entry point for more than four fifths of the CAOs in the six career lines. Second, realize that community college experience both in length and number of positions is valued. Each of the career-line CAOs averaged nearly 12 years of experience and held three or more positions in two-year institutions. Third, realize that you may likely assume the CAO position where you serve as a faculty member. More than two thirds of career-line CAOs moved to the position internally or within a district or system. Finally, administrative experiences appear to influence movement to the CAO position. Each of the career-line CAOs held an administrative appointment in their immediate prior position. As the titles of these positions are different, it appears that certain experiences are more important than the positions themselves. Start developing a portfolio of experiences as early as possible, perhaps by volunteering for committees or projects where administrative-like activities occur.

For community colleges, the major implication stems from the basic concept of organizational careers. Glaser (1968) argued that in order to meet their goals, organizations must ensure that a pool of trained individuals is ready to assume leadership roles. The pool of trained individuals requires attention to recruitment, training, and promotion through the organizational hierarchy. Community colleges would best serve themselves by realizing that their faculty is a pool of potential CAOs. A means to identify faculty interested in administration, leadership training and professional development programs, and opportunities to move upward are key aspects for institutions that desire the full advantages of an internal labor market.

A second implication for hiring institutions is the number of individuals who moved from one institution to another in CAO positions. A potential pool of candidates can be found among existing CAOs. It is important that community colleges searching for a CAO realize that there may be individuals who wish to move laterally, possibly within a system or district.

These two implications question the current practice of national searches. If individuals assuming CAO positions are not making long distance moves, why do we continue to search on a national basis? This question supports the importance of institutional and collaborative programs to identify and develop qualified individuals to fill CAO vacancies. A final implication for community colleges is the necessity to specify the desired administrative experiences for the CAO position. It is apparent that rather than a specific position, prior administrative experience is valued in appointing CAOs. What specific areas of administrative experience (budgetary, supervisory, program development) are most valued in considering candidates? The answer to this question would benefit hiring institutions as well as aspirants to the CAO position and is also important in developing training and professional development programs.

Examining the CAO position from a structural point of view identified six career lines. These career lines and their characteristics enable us to provide recommendations for individuals aspiring to a CAO appointment and institutions searching for a CAO. We suggest that the broad community college sector discuss the possibly of expanding efforts to groom internal candidates or collaborations to provide training programs on a state or regional basis. This discussion should include identification of specific administrative skills and experiences necessary to effectively serve as a CAO. Quite possibly, research taking an approach similar to ours would prove useful in examining other top-level administrative positions in the community college.

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Brent D. Cejda is an assistant professor and the coordinator of the Higher Education Program at Texas Tech University. [e-mail]

Cynthia B. McKenney is an assistant professor of horticulture and holds split teaching, research, and extension appointments between Texas Tech University and Texas A&M University. [e-mail]

Hansel Burley is an assistant professor of educational pyschology at Texas Tech University. [e-mail]