Recruiting and retaining rural community college faculty

Abstract

Much is being written about a potential shortage of quali Recruiting and Retaining Rural Community College Faculty John P. MurrayMany educators believe that because of unprecedented faculty attrition (Berry, Hammons, and Denny, 2001), rural community colleges will have difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified faculty (Leist, 2005). Nonetheless, there is a paucity of literature that specifically addresses faculty job satisfaction at community colleges, much less at rural community colleges. This chapter begins by describing the challenges presented by rural settings to those who might wish to teach at a rural community college and offers suggestions for recruiting and retaining faculty in a rural setting. Challenges of the Rural EnvironmentFaculty members face a number of challenges when they accept a position at a rural community college. Prospective community college faculty members need to understand that individuals living in rural areas suffer from a number of social and economic ills. Rural areas often have high levels of illiteracy, low levels of educational attainment, high unemployment, and extreme poverty. Although not all rural communities are impoverished, many are. "Of the almost four hundred counties with poverty rates of 20 percent or greater in every decade since 1959, 95 percent are rural" (Mosley and Miller, 2004, p. 2).The poverty of rural areas is exacerbated by the loss of industry and the consequent loss of employment opportunities. America's traditional rural 57 6

Faculty issues in rural community colleges

“…As Murray (2007) summarized, "Individuals whose expectations of the job are more closely aligned with the reality of the job are more likely to experience job satisfaction, and therefore, more likely to fi nd a career fi t" (p. 60). The fact that the fi t between the person and the environment has been identifi ed as the primary factor in job satisfaction (Bertz and Judge, 1994) and the fi ndings on fi t in a rural environment (Leist, 2007;Pennington, Williams, and Karvonen, 2006;Twombly, 2005) support the contention that rural community colleges should initiate socialization at the beginning of a search.…”

“…Neither of these resources, however, presented specifi c information on why rural institutions face this challenge. Murray (2007) points out that there are fewer local residents qualifi ed for faculty positions in rural communities. Therefore, most faculty who are hired must move their residence.…”

“…Faculty are often the only individual teaching in their respective fi elds and thus have sole responsibility for the curriculum (Vander-Staay, 2005;Murray, 2007). When asked to describe a faculty position, a rural community college president explained, "Our physics instructors also will teach astronomy and maybe geology .…”

Planning for online courses at rural community colleges

“…Murray (2007) noted that a rural faculty member often functions as the only instructor for a given discipline. Hence, these faculty members are often reluctant to participate in any form of distance education (Cejda, 2007).…”

“…Many rural areas face high rates of unemployment and illiteracy and low educational attainment levels. These characteristics can have a profound impact on a local tax base and result in the lack of funds for expensive curricular programs, faculty salaries, and professional development (Murray, 2007).…”