Online Contract Training: Applying Organization Theory to Reconcile Competing Missions Within Community Colleges

Abstract

Community colleges in the United States have become major providers of human resource development services, particularly through offering workforce development training to local employers. The addition of workforce development services to community colleges is a fairly recent phenomenon. Some see workforce development efforts as diluting community colleges' historic mission of providing affordable and accessible opportunities for students to transfer to 4-year institutions. The addition of online training has created additional stressors, because of increases in costs, opportunities for outsourcing, and increased opportunity for serving those outside of the local community. Using an organizational theory framework, this conceptual article addresses the competing emphases in the community college mission and attempts to understand how various types of institutions overcome internal and external barriers in introducing online workforce development through organizational change initiatives.

Capacity and Capability Building for National HRD

“…Availability and accessibility of programs remain a common theme, particularly in regard to in-demand and growing occupations. The manner in which education providers respond to employers is a crucial link in this relationship between individual, organizational, and national levels (Ghosh & Githens, 2011). In some cases, evidence suggests that higher education institutions lack responsiveness to employers and individuals by not creating programs for in-demand and growing occupations, which hampers efforts to create workforce readiness (Githens, Sauer, Crawford, Cumberland, & Wilson, 2014).…”

Introducing a New Paradigm for 21st-Century HRD

“…A small group of other HRD scholars, including Melendez, Hawley, and McCormick (2012); Moore and Gorman (2009); Hawley, Somers, and Melendez (2005), and Ghosh and Githens (2011) have challenged us to reconsider HRD as more than T&D (training & development), OD (organization development), and CD (career development). Whether the focus is on understanding the benefits of cross-sector organizational collaboration (Melendez et al, 2012), or the role of community colleges in workforce development (Ghosh & Githens, 2011), a small number of HRD scholars have focused on workforce development problems, challenges, or issues.…”

“…A review of the websites of many nonprofit and University-sponsored workforce development institutes and centers suggests that research on workforce development issues is not lacking. Studies focus on low-income adults (Bozell & Goldberg, 2009); on health care workforce development (Conway et al, 2006); on recent college graduates (Stone, Van Horn, & Zukin, 2012); the long-term unemployed (Van Horn & Zukin, 2011); and the missions of community colleges (Ghosh & Githens, 2011), to name a few. As described earlier, land-grant universities have centers and institutes dedicated to serving the workforce and economic development needs of their state.…”

Online Workforce Development in Community Colleges

“…For example, an institution that operates under a statewide administrative structure might be more likely to respond to economic and Source. Adapted from Astley and Van de Ven (1983) and Ghosh and Githens (2011). Orientation workforce needs on a micro level.…”

“…Adapted fromAstley and Van de Ven (1983) andGhosh and Githens (2011). at which the stakeholders are most prevalent in creating the present and future…”