Full- and Part-Time Community College Faculty Perceptions of Campus Climate: A Social Network Analysis

• In Event: Faculty Interactions With Institutional Environments

Abstract

Community college faculty play an important role in educating nearly half of all U.S. undergraduates (U.S. Department of Education, 2015). Survey data from 28 community and technical colleges were used to examine faculty peer networks in relation to perceptions of campus climate. Guided by social network analysis, this study explored how social contexts of community colleges relate to differences in how full- and part-time faculty perceive four components of climate: institutional structure, supervisor relationships, teamwork, and institutional focus on students. Findings suggest a significant effect of peer campus climate perceptions. The study has important implications regarding faculty networks and campus climate and contributes to the growing body of literature on social network analytic techniques in postsecondary research.

Authors

• Laura G. Maldonado, North Carolina State University

• Melissa Whatley, School for International Training

• Andrea DeSantis, North Carolina State University