Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Davis, James E.

Committee Member

Olinzock, Anthony

Committee Member

Wiseman, Marty

Committee Member

Stonecypher, Wayne

Date of Degree

12-15-2007

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

Community College Leadership

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

College

College of Education

Department

Department of Instructional Systems, Leadership and Workforce Development

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to find out if there is a significant amount of involvement among workforce personnel and to try to identify the types of activities that were most prevalent. The study attempted to gauge community and economic development involvement by surveying participation in a variety of programs. The following organizations were studied: The State Board for Community and Junior Colleges, The Mississippi Manufacturers Association, The Mississippi Entrepreneurial Alliance, The Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Mississippi, The Society for Human Resource Managers. Over two dozen other organizations were also included in a survey along with data from the federal Workforce Investment Act, the Mississippi Legislative Accountability Report, and the corresponding WIN Job Centers. The following research questions were used in the study: 1. Are community college’s actively encouraging their workforce personnel to be involved in statewide groups and local civic organizations? 2. Do community college workforce personnel actively engage in meeting with, or serve in leadership roles in, statewide groups and civic organizations? 3. Are community college workforce personnel actively engaged in working with the Workforce Investment Act (W.I.A), and their respective local WIN Job centers? 4. Do demographic variables affect the level of involvement with local civic groups, state-wide economic development groups, WIN Job Centers, or the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges? 5. Do community college workforce personnel work with businesses in their district in addition to the traditional state training contracts they may administer? The study supported the following conclusions: 1. Community colleges are not actively encouraging their workforce personnel to be involved in statewide groups and local civic organizations. 2. College workforce participation in statewide associations designed to promote community and economic development is low. 3. Community colleges do a very good job of partnering and embracing the concept of taking the colleges’ programs to the community through the medium of the WIN Job Centers 4. There is a strong commitment to businesses in the local community college district.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/17232

Comments

economic development||community college||community involvement

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