Chapter 6 Case Study The chapter began with a review of the current status of faculty demographics, a preview of faculty preparation, and development programs, and concluded with the current status of faculty diversity and benefits of faculty diversification. The specific challenges and opportunities were discussed. The case study that follows chapter content contains many of the contextual elements of this chapter. In analyzing the case study, pay particular attention to how myths, perceptions, and misnomers about faculty, in general, can hinder the practice of leadership in the community college. Also consider how factual information on the status of faculty can lead to a credible resolution. President & Superintendent Francisco Rodriguez Mira Costa Community College Oceanside, California When Language and College Policies Collide Background- Lincoln Valley Community College (LVCC) offers a friendly, welcoming atmosphere where excellence is the standard, diversity is celebrated, and students come first. LVCC offers a vibrant intellectual environment with a multicultural student body of 20,000. The college serves a student ← 142 | 143 → population composed of 35 percent Hispanic/Latino, 20 percent Asian American, 15 percent African American, 2 percent Native American, 22 percent White, and 6 percent international students. The gender makeup of the campus is 60 percent female and 40 percent male. Despite its size, at LVCC commitment to providing a quality education remains a top priority. As such, students enjoy personalized attention from their professors with a faculty–student ratio of 18:1. LVCC is launching its first associate’s degree program in administration studies. The program is an interdisciplinary degree, a joint venture between the business and government departments. Students enrolled in the program can have a concentration in business/industry or in public affairs. Many entry-level employees have taken advantage of this program in order to meet new university employment requirements and to attain salary increases. The students seeking admission into the administration studies program are highly diverse in terms of race/ethnicity and gender, reflective of the campus student demographic makeup. The program is the first generalized administration program offered in the district. Its charge is to build the next cadre of visionary leaders. As a result, it has received a great deal of press, even being featured by local television stations. If successful, other district colleges will be offered an opportunity to launch similar programs in the coming years. This program is also unique in that it is the only academic program on campus that has its own placement test. Students who desire to enter the program must take one year of general education courses and pass the test to “officially” be granted formal admittance to the program. The content of the test was informed by core curricular areas (e.g., introduction to business, i.

1. Chapter 6 Case Study
The chapter began with a review of the current status of faculty
demographics, a preview of faculty preparation, and
development programs, and concluded with the current status of
faculty diversity and benefits of faculty diversification. The
specific challenges and opportunities were discussed. The case
study that follows chapter content contains many of the
contextual elements of this chapter. In analyzing the case study,
pay particular attention to how myths, perceptions, and
misnomers about faculty, in general, can hinder the practice of
leadership in the community college. Also consider how factual
information on the status of faculty can lead to a credible
resolution.
President & Superintendent Francisco Rodriguez Mira Costa
Community College Oceanside, California
When Language and College Policies Collide
Background-
Lincoln Valley Community College (LVCC) offers a friendly,
welcoming atmosphere where excellence is the standard,
diversity is celebrated, and students come first. LVCC offers a
vibrant intellectual environment with a multicultural student
body of 20,000. The college serves a student ← 142 | 143 →
population composed of 35 percent Hispanic/Latino, 20 percent
Asian American, 15 percent African American, 2 percent Native
American, 22 percent White, and 6 percent international
students. The gender makeup of the campus is 60 percent female
and 40 percent male. Despite its size, at LVCC commitment to
providing a quality education remains a top priority. As such,
students enjoy personalized attention from their professors with
a faculty–student ratio of 18:1. LVCC is launching its first

2. associate’s degree program in administration studies. The
program is an interdisciplinary degree, a joint venture between
the business and government departments. Students enrolled in
the program can have a concentration in business/industry or in
public affairs. Many entry-level employees have taken
advantage of this program in order to meet new university
employment requirements and to attain salary increases. The
students seeking admission into the administration studies
program are highly diverse in terms of race/ethnicity and
gender, reflective of the campus student demographic makeup.
The program is the first generalized administration program
offered in the district. Its charge is to build the next cadre of
visionary leaders. As a result, it has received a great deal of
press, even being featured by local television stations. If
successful, other district colleges will be offered an opportunity
to launch similar programs in the coming years. This program is
also unique in that it is the only academic program on campus
that has its own placement test. Students who desire to enter the
program must take one year of general education courses and
pass the test to “officially” be granted formal admittance to the
program. The content of the test was informed by core
curricular areas (e.g., introduction to business, introduction to
government) previously taken by students, and thus serves as a
culminating exam to ensure students gained the knowledge
necessary to be successful in the program. Statement of the
Problem You are a tenure-track assistant professor at the
college and have been given the opportunity to coordinate the
program. This is your first administrative role and you hope that
it can serve as a platform to transition into higher levels of
academic affairs administration. As a new coordinator, ← 143 |
144 → you are striving to implement the placement test, which
is scheduled to be administered in one week. The elements of
the test include: (a) a timed written examination (students will
be given 6 hours to complete an exam designed to be completed
in a 3-hour period); (b) students choose in advance whether they
will write an examination essay specific to their concentration

3. of choice (e.g., business/industry or public affairs); (c) on-site
lunch break allowed (students may bring their own lunch,
however lunch will be provided); discussions of examination are
prohibited during the break; (d) evaluation rubric shared with
students prior to the examination; (e) eight faculty (three
assistants, 2 associates, and three full-time faculty) will serve
on the placement examination’s grading committee; each exam
will be read by two faculty members; in the event that these two
disagree on the outcome to be assigned, a committee consisting
of you and the chairs of the business and government
departments will render a final decision; and (f) possible
outcomes are: (1) Pass or (2) Fail. If students fail, they must
wait one full year to retake the examination. Michelle King is
an older, returning student with a vast amount of practical
experience in the field of administration. She is also an English
Language Learner (ELL). Currently, she works at the college
full time and is well respected by her peers. She has even
received the staff member of the year award for her exemplary
service to the college. However, due to new requirements for
her post, which necessitate (at a minimum) an associate’s
degree, she is concerned that she will receive a pink slip or be
terminated if she does not meet this new requirement. Though
she is not required to receive her degree in administration
studies, her immediate supervisor has strongly recommended it.
During her first year as a student, Michelle excelled in both her
introductory to government and business courses. She is viewed
by the faculty as a good student with a track record of getting
straight A’s in her classes. Upon the completion of her first year
of coursework, she has complained extensively about the
fairness of the procedures relevant to the placement exam. This
sentiment has intensified two weeks prior to the scheduled
exam. She feels the timed element of the exam is unfair to ELL
students and has been increasingly adamant about requesting
that extra time be granted to ELL students. To further
complicate matters, a considerable ← 144 | 145 → number of
part-time faculty members support this demand; however, most

4. tenured/tenure-track faculty do not. The college has a reputation
for meeting the needs of its ELL students, and for many of the
students seeking enrollment in the program, this was one of the
primary reasons (focus on equity) they sought enrollment in the
administration studies program. However, upon you seeking
clarity and guidance from the chairs of the government and
business departments, and even the provost, it was apparent that
existing policies on equity are ambiguous, at best.
Accommodations are mandated for disability students and no
reference is made to accommodations for ELL students. As the
program coordinator, how would you resolve this problem?