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[gmhopkins]

So I'm tenured and full professor at a community college.  The academic dean (who likes to fashion herself "Chief Academic Officer" and holds an Ed.D in higher ed administration) is incompetent and does nothing to ensure that the LAS transfer programs at this community college make sense and are actually student-centered and transfer-aware.  Consequently, almost no students graduate in LAS --- they leave without graduating. This is increasingly a problem in this era when any sort of document helps the students prove they are making some progress.  And some four year colleges now WANT to see the 2 year degree - it shows persistence on the part of the student.  This dean has been in this position for five years. She spends all her time on "flavor of the month" community college initiatives like e-portfolios and learning communities and service-learning.  She ignores all this institution's serious shortcomings in flawed academic programs; she ignores graduation and transfer issues completely.  She's also constantly looking for a new job in a different state.  In the meantime, I'm faculty and I'll be here forever, and I'm VERY motivated to successfully see students leave the community college and go on to a four-year. (Oh, and our state is one of those that has a special deal whereby the community college LAS degree basically ensures admission to the best state university if the gpa is high enough.)
What to do about this incompetent dean?  Can I call in a newspaper reporter to ask questions after I show the reporter various documents that reveal the horrifying details?
Oh, and said dean went on a two week vacation abroad in October, smack dab in the middle of the semester when students, faculty, etc., need her services the most .....

[biomancer]

GMH, given that you're tenured, could you throw your weight around and do one of the following:

- Go over her head and let someone higher-up know that the situation with transfer programs is creating a retention problem, and/or present the list of concerns about this dean?

- Offer to do whatever paperwork needs to be done for the LAS program - perhaps by taking up a position as "LAS Coordinator"?

- Communicate about this with enough faculty to produce a vote of "no confidence" in the dean?

I think if you opt for #1 it might go better if you have other faculty (especially tenured) on board with you.  One voice complaining is just a complaint, but if there's a significant fraction of faculty raising their voices together, you might be able to get somewhere.

[gmhopkins]

Thanks, Blomancer ---- yes, I'm trying to throw my weight around.  I've offered to be LAS Coordinator, but this dean is finding it easier NOT to have one because she's worried about who to appoint. She wants to make everyone happy but she will only talk to her inner circle.   And I no longer want to be LAS Coordinator because they want someone to do it with no release time, etc. 
Well, I am working on distancing myself from this problem ....... but it's not easy to sit quietly while the incompetence constantly breaks in waves over me ...... and harms the students .....

[ursula]

So that's where my former dean went . . .

[hulkhogan]

This is a tough situation. Depending on how your CC hierarchy is structured, the person above the dean may well be the college president, and any issue you bring to this person will likely blow back into your face. Why? Because the president probably had the final word in hiring or appointing this dean, and any criticism of the dean will be interpreted as criticism of the president's judgment. Since the dean is actively looking elsewhere, the president may figure s/he'll just wait her out instead of removing her. It could even be that the dean knows she's a walking Peter Principle and will keep any assistance away lest she look bad in front of others. Your best bet is to throw your weight around in such a way that the dean's incompetence affects lots of other people on campus. Even though you're tenured, inertia is a major force in academia. You may be protected but still quite powerless. What you need is strength in numbers. If you can manage to have the dean's actions annoy as many people on campus as possible, then you have some leverage for change.

[gmhopkins]

"Inertia is a major force in academia," says Hulkhogan.
Too true.  And there's the rub.
Other tenured full professors know .... but do not care ... because inertia reigns.  I can't blame them! I'm just hard-wired differently ....... or I need more Xanax.
And you are right about the president .......... He's not exactly thrilled that I'm pointing out the Potemkin Village/Emperor's New Clothes aspect of things.
Ah, well.  State institutions.  Mediocrity reigns.  Security junkies hold fast to their priorities.
Old story, I guess.

[larryc]

There will be a state board that oversees community colleges in your state. There are accreditors who review your college. These are the people who can get heard, you need them to hear you.

[anthroid]

And the colleges to which students transfer will not be happy either.  It's in everyone's best interest to have clear articulation agreements; indeed, in your state it might be mandated by the legislature.  Have you chatted with whoever does the transfer stuff--probably the registrar or someone in that office? 

BTW, not to pick nits, but it sounds as though your dean is in fact the CAO, unless there is someone (other than the Prez) above her.  She's entitled to call herself that even if she sucks at it...the fact that she insists on calling herself that tells me that she might be pretty insecure about her abilities.

And I'm hoping your moniker is not your actual name!  :~)  (I suspect I know what you teach...)

[prytania3]

Part of the problem, OP, is that much of the power lies in the hands of the legislature. There should be a clear state mandated agreement between the 2-year cc's and the 4-year state colleges. It sounds like you all are cobbling out agreements for this college and that transfer program with nothing comprehensive in the system. That's not the way it should work. Many states (Virginia comes to mind) have programs where students who get their degrees from a cc and maintain a 3.0 average or whatever are immediately matriculated into a 4-year school, including UVa and W&M. This is the ideal solution.

As for your dean, it sounds like she's on her way out the door, and as Hulk pointed out, the president is going to back her because he no doubt had a hand in hiring her.

Instead of going to war with the dean, which I don't suggest because it sounds like she's going to leave anyway, your time would be better spent lobbying the fools in your capitol city; moreover, if your cc is part of a state system, it would behoove you to make contacts with other cc faculty in that system who could help you lobby your elected fools, who are probably much bigger dopes than your dean, but they can be persuaded by the power of the vote.

Perhaps, you should even make this suggestion to the dean and try to recruit her in your mission. If she's not willing to jump in because she's more interested in jumping out, she might be able to hook you up with others who have your similar goals.

It's a huge undertaking, but these little cobbled-together agreements here and there and what's transferable are not in the interest of the student. You really need to get the legislature to make a law.

Additionally, here is the link the guaranteed transfer program in Virginia. They have very extensive transfer plans with not only the state colleges but also some of the private colleges.

Good luck.

http://www.vccs.edu/Students/TransferList/tabid/106/Default.aspx

[prytania3]

An addendum: Perhaps your colleagues aren't suffering from inertia so much as they don't see an LAS as a worthy transfer project.

[gmhopkins]

Thanks, Prytania.  I looked at your link, but my state's agreement is equivalent to your state's agreement ------- so it's not about that .....
I'm basically thinking that there is an obvious weak link in community college administration.  It seems to attract embarrassingly weak and unskilled people ........

[zharkov]

Thanks, Prytania.  I looked at your link, but my state's agreement is equivalent to your state's agreement ------- so it's not about that .....
I'm basically thinking that there is an obvious weak link in community college administration.  It seems to attract embarrassingly weak and unskilled people ........

Or they are just normal people with different priorities than you have.  Maybe the dean has a list of 10 goals for the year, your item is number 6 on the list, but in the real world, only 5 out of 10 are going to happen, owing to time, energy, funding, and so on.

[gmhopkins]

Well, the dean is a "normal" person, yes, but her priorities are: 1. finding a new job for herself in a different state and 2. doing as little work as possible in her present position (including a 2-3 week personal vacation at the height of the fall semester).
And so, yes, her priorities are different from mine. 
That doesn't necessarily mean her priorities are helpful to my institution ........ because she may not get another job for years .....

[gmhopkins]

This issue has remained unresolved and it is preventing students from graduating.  They cannot access the correct program requirements (because the information isn't available to them in any comprehensible form and because there is no faculty point-person tasked with making sure the information exists and makes sense).
I have been informing administration of this serious problem for over a year.
They consider me a nagging trouble-maker.
Now I am going to the press and to state legislators. 

[larryc]

Now I am going to the press and to state legislators. 

If you can get the students and their parents to do this it will have so much more impact.