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Faculty qualifications at 2-year public colleges are typically based on standards set by outside accreditation agencies, such as the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools—Commission on Colleges (SACS-COC). These standards usually focus on graduate hours or advanced degree completion to determine if content knowledge meets minimum requirements. However, research shows that content knowledge alone is not sufficient to be an effective teacher (Chickering & Gamson, 1996; Levin et al., 2006; Mishra & Koehler, 2006; Wyner, 2014). Many students entering 2-year public colleges are academically underprepared or otherwise at-risk of non-completion (CCCSE, 2016; USDoE, 2023a-d; Friedel et al., 2014) and research has proven that learner-centered teaching practices and technology infusion are critical for at-risk students’ success (e.g., Bailey et al., 2015; Darling-Hammond et al., 2014).
At this time, there appears to be no commonly used objective assessments of person-job fit by knowledge, skill, and ability (KSA) in the post-secondary academy. This report seeks to discover a cost-efficient self-assessment instrument that 2-year public colleges can use to assess faculty KSAs for person-job fit for the not-yet-employed, or for professional development for incumbents.
In 2021, U.S. public 2-year colleges, also called community colleges, received approximately $485.5 billion dollars in revenue across all sources (USDoE, 2023a). Of that, approximately $73.7 billion dollars came from federal monies; approximately $123.9 billion from state and local funds; and a further $78.4 billion came from tuition and fees (USDoE, 2023a). This makes the 2-year public college system in the United States a bigger revenue generator than the top 50 largest companies by revenue (Horowitz, 2022).
More than half (63%) of all post-secondary students attend a 2-year public college (USDoE, 2023a-d). Community colleges served approximately 7 million students in 2020-2021 while about 11.1 million attended 4-year public colleges (USDoE, 2023b). Graduation data indicate that in 2021, 36.4% of students at 2-year institutions completing their degree or certificate in 150% of the normal time to degree (USDoE, 2023c). However, 4-year public institution data from the same period shows that 60.9% graduated in 150% of normal time to degree. In summary, while most students attending post-secondary school in the United States are attending a 2-year public college, their completion rates are 40.2% lower than their 4-year public college peers. These data indicate the public and student returns on investment (ROI) for 2-year public colleges is lacking. Students and the public seek better ROI for their time and dollars (Carrns, 2021; Horowitz, 2022; Pelletier et al., 2023).
In the education sector, faculty are the first-line workers that help create the product: graduates. While faculty cannot create the product alone, their knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) directly impact the ability of their students to complete their studies and graduate. The EDUCAUSE Horizon Report for 2023 identifies key technologies and practices that will impact higher education institutions and faculty. Among those included are micro-credentialing, learner-centered pedagogies and modalities, and new technologies such as predictive AI and personal learning paths (Pelletier et al., 2023). TPACK research associated with student outcomes reinforces the need for high-quality pedagogical practices and the incorporation of technology to support the curriculum. Well-deployed active learning methodologies incorporating the appropriate use of technology have a positive relationship to community college student achievement (Farrelly & Kaplin, 2019; Fuchs & Tsaganea, 2020; Oncu, 2021; Novita et al., 2022).