Shared governance in the community college: The rights, roles and responsibilities of unionized community college faculty

This study examines shared governance in public, unionized community colleges and creates an inventory of faculty participation in governance as prescribed by collective bargaining agreements. Two hundred thirty-eight contracts representing faculty across 22 states were reviewed in order to identify in what areas faculty participate in institutional governance as well as for regional differences in patterns of governance across the United States. The results are intended to increase the understanding of shared governance in the community college. Grounded in organizational theory, the research adopts a theoretical framework which conceptualizes the internal governance of community colleges as primarily a political processes working within the framework of a professional bureaucracy. The findings suggest that faculty (both full-time and adjunct) are contractually obligated to participate in governance in a number of areas, and that there are regional differences between faculty participation as outlined by the language of the bargaining agreements. The study suggests the need for further research into the process and outcomes of collective bargaining in community colleges