Last year, ACCT began a collaboration with the Center for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC) to conduct a comprehensive survey of community college trustees throughout the United States and beyond. Sue Kater, Ph.D., an associate professor at Idaho State University and an educational consultant at the League for Innovation in the Community College, approached us about a pilot survey she and partner Carrie Kisker, Ph.D., president of Kisker Education Consulting and managing director of CSCC, had conducted and presented preliminary findings about during the 2023 ACCT Leadership Congress. Our membership was interested in the findings—and so were we.
The survey is based on a broad and deep study of community college board members originally conducted decades ago by George B. Vaughan and Iris M. Weisman, which was published by ACCT. Weisman gave her blessing to Kater, Kisker, and their partners to conduct an updated version of the survey, resulting in the 2023 pilot. Together, we have expanded the scope of the ACCT-CSCC Survey of Community College Trustees to encompass community college board members everywhere for the sake of better understanding who serves on community college boards today, why they serve, what drives and matters to them, and much more.
As the end of our data collection period draws near, Trustee Quarterly spoke with Carrie Kisker about the project’s origins and how we hope to apply the findings.
How did you come across the original research by George B. Vaughan and Iris M. Weisman? Why is it important to update the survey, and why now?
In 1997, ACCT published Community College Trustees: Leading on Behalf of Their Communities, a book based on findings from Iris Weisman’s doctoral dissertation and co-authored by well-known community college scholar George Vaughan. Their seminal work included surveys of community college trustees, board chairs, and college presidents and is, to date, the most comprehensive and influential empirical examination of community college trustees.
Much has changed since 1997, both in community colleges and in the communities they serve. Arguably, today’s trustees are tasked with guiding their institutions through a far more complex political and social landscape than 25 years ago. Current data about their beliefs, values, and decision-making processes will be invaluable for both scholars and college leaders. Findings from the ACCT-CSCC Survey of Community College Trustees can also be used to inform future professional development opportunities and highlight the important role community college trustees play in helping their institutions navigate contemporary challenges and opportunities.
What brought you and Sue Kater, Ph.D., together to work on an updated survey?
Sue has studied community college governance for many years, and a few years ago she approached me with the idea of revising and readministering Weisman’s 1997 survey (having already secured Weisman’s permission to do so). As a national organization with a mission to engage in and support research related to community college leadership, practice, and policy, The Center for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC) was well-positioned to take on this project, and we successfully piloted the survey in 2023. Soon afterward, CSCC began collaborating with ACCT to administer the survey to its entire membership, as the rest, as they say, is history.
What has surprised you most about the survey findings so far?
The most surprising (and wonderful!) thing about our experience with the ACCT-CSCC Survey of Community College Trustees so far is the fact that so many respondents have volunteered to participate in follow-up interviews with our research team. Trustees across the country are eager to share their experiences and perspectives, and to talk about the challenges and opportunities their institutions are facing. As scholars, we are thrilled to be able to contextualize survey findings with rich qualitative data.
Because the survey is still being administered, we have not yet conducted in-depth analyses of the data. However, a few surprising tidbits have emerged.
For example, did you know that 42% of trustees are themselves the first in their families to attend college? Or that 63% attended a community college? Another surprise is the fact that roughly one-third of respondents say they are somewhat or very likely to run for political office after their term has expired, indicating that many trustees view community college boards as a way of jumpstarting their political careers. We look forward to sharing more fascinating (and perhaps surprising) survey results with you in 2025!
Yes! We know that trustees come from a wide array of backgrounds and all have strong motivations for serving on a community college board, but we’re excited to learn exactly what those backgrounds and motivations are. What do you think has been most significant about the findings so far?
By the time the ACCT-CSCC Survey of Community College Trustees survey closes in February 2025, it will have captured responses from between one-fifth and one-third of all active community college trustees, which will enable unprecedented analyses of trends, demographics, beliefs, and values at both the national and regional levels. This, alone, is incredibly significant, as it will provide trustees, college leaders, and researchers with empirically grounded data about what trustees believe their colleges need to do today to prepare for tomorrow’s challenges.
Survey findings will also provide significant insights into trustees’ beliefs and values and can be used to design future professional development opportunities, create more innovative and equitable institutions, and inform policymakers and the public about the very important work that community college trustees do. Findings will be especially useful if the data can be analyzed by state or region, which can only be accomplished if we receive enough responses from each part of the country. So if you haven’t already taken the survey, please share your thoughts and experiences now and help make the findings as significant and useful as possible.
ACCT will continue collecting survey responses through the end of March We encourage any trustees who have not yet taken the survey to complete it.
Complete the ACCT-CSCC Survey of Community College Trustees here.
Photo Credit: Keith Weller for ACCT. Trustees participating in an ACCT meeting.
