A Study of Organizational Structures Impacting Noncredit Workforce Education and their Effects on Determining Workforce Development Strategies in Louisiana\u27s Community and Technical Colleges

The Lumina Foundation (2007) indicates that 54 million adults in the workforce are seeking noncredit education opportunities in a credit course/program delivery system designed to meet the needs of traditional college students. Working adults seeking continuing education coupled with dislocated workers as a result of changing economic situations represents this growing population. Community and technical colleges in Louisiana benefit from a for-credit formula funding model and do not benefit from a formula funding mechanism that supports noncredit education enrollments. As Louisiana’s community and technical colleges face continuous budget challenges resulting from economic recession, college leaders are making critical decisions in restructuring college business models. These models are becoming increasingly important as they support increased revenues and sustainable ventures that will carry the college through difficult times. The significance of this study and contributions associated with findings provide important insights into decision making, organizational change, and policy factors considered in determining workforce development strategies. Utilizing Multiple Criteria Decision Making by (Zeleny) 1981 in addition to Mintzberg’s Five Basic Parts of an organization (1979) as a conceptual framework, causes and effects of decision making on organizational structures and workforce development strategies were examined and analyzed providing insight and recommendations for future consideration. Findings in this study suggest that as organizational structures are challenged due to simultaneous issues related to economic recovery and reduced budgets, noncredit education is impacting strategic decision making by college leaders evidenced by current college reorganization efforts, joint credit and noncredit curriculum development activities, and innovation associated with enhanced workforce development strategies. Keywords: Noncredit Education, Workforce Training, Organization, Structure, Colleg