ERIC EDINFO: Community College Trustees

Community College Trustees

EdInfo 2002-07
October, 2002
ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges

This survey, conducted by the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), investigated aspects of the community college trusteeship. Surveys were mailed to 5,204 appointed and elected trustees in the 36 states which have local community college governing boards. The overall response rate was 36.5% (1,901 respondents), with 36.4% (1,184) of the appointed trustees and 36.7% (717) of the elected trustees responding. The survey instrument was divided into five parts: (1) Demographic Profile, (2) Appointment Process/Elections and Campaigns, (3) Political Activity, (4) Board-Community-College Relations, and (5) Opinions and Attitudes. Highlighted here are findings as they relate to the factors appointed and elected trustees indicated were reasons they acquired their positions.

Factors that Contributed to Becoming a Trustee	Type of Trustee
Factors that Contributed to Becoming a Trustee	*Appointed*	*Elected*
Prior leadership in the community	79.9%	78.1%
Experience in business	51.9%	39.6%
Experience in education	47.0%	48.5%
Recommendations from people with connections to the appointing authority	51.1%	N/A
Prior relationship with the appointing authority	34.7%	N/A
Recommendations from other board members and college personnel	31.1%	N/A
More exposure than other candidates	N/A	32.4%
Weak or no opposition	N/A	30.2%
Extensive campaign	N/A	16.8%
Active in a political party	23.2%	9.5%
Made contributions to a party or campaign of the appointing authority	5.3%	N/A
Financial support from organized groups	N/A	3.5%

This information was reported in ED459869, "The Political Nature of Community College Trusteeship" by Cindra Smith, Bill Piland, and George Boggs.A full-text copy of this document may be obtained by contacting ERIC Document Reproduction Services (EDRS), 7420 Fullerton Road, Suite 110, Springfield, VA 22153-2852; or by calling (800) 443-ERIC.This project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education under contract number ED-99-CO-0010.The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.ERIC EdInfos are in the public domain and may be freely reproduced.

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