Prepared by the Council for the Study of Community Colleges

Graduate Students

“Frequently Asked Questions”

About Conducting Research or Working at Community Colleges

To assist graduate students in higher education leadership programs envision their potential career pathways, CSCC has prepared the following set of FAQs about conducting research and/or working at community colleges. We remind graduate students that the community college world is highly diverse in structure and functioning across states and local districts, so always make direct contact with institutions to discover their unique characteristics and how they operate.

How do I find a topic about community colleges?

First, you must consider your area(s) of interest and how they would manifest themselves in community colleges. Is it teaching and learning? Student services? Governance, finance and administration?

Reflect on the large social, economic, political issues of the day – most likely they intersect with community colleges (e.g., undocumented people, job training, civics education, technology and education, state and federal education policy, etc.)

Speak with community college students or graduates or faculty, staff and administrators about strong or weak points in their experience.

Read dissertations and journal articles, and look for “areas for further research” that are discussed; talk to scholars for their ideas; if you know community college faculty, administrators, or student services staff ask them for their ideas (they most likely know from experience or have read the literature as well).

Consider reading outside of higher ed – political science, sociology, etc. and utilize community college students/institutions as subjects.

Subscribe to and follow the Chronicle of Higher Education, which often covers issues and controversies in community colleges. Join listserves and watch for higher education policy briefs.

Find specific community colleges via

How can I find out what research has recently been done about community colleges?

Read Community College Review, Community College Journal of Research and Practice, New Directions for Community Colleges, Journal of Higher Education, Higher Education Review, Community College Enterprise, Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, and others. Go to the CSCC website ( into community college policy research sites.

What are some of the recent dissertations on community colleges?

The Community College Journal of Research and Practice regularly publishes a list of recent dissertations on community colleges. Current issue can be foundfor purchase at

CSCC Members have free access through the CSCC website.

You can also search ProQuest Dissertations database. Many university libraries have a subscription to this service.

How do I find a topic that would be useful to community college faculty and staff?

If you have connections at a campus talk to faculty, administration, ask the Grants Office, research national initiatives and trends. Contact state coordinating boards or review their websites for recent initiatives. Ask legislators what “hot button” topics are being discussed about community colleges.

How do I gain on-site access to community college(s)?

Network; ask people here at CSCC to help you connect. Reach out to people at your target colleges; introduce yourself, share your work, and explain what you would like to do. This person may act as a gatekeeper for providing you access. Approach the institution’s Research Office.

How do I find community college data aggregated outside individual community colleges?

Some general places to start include:

*IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) *CCSSE (Community College Survey of Student Engagement)

*National Community College Benchmark Program (for subscribers)

*Grapevine (for financial data)

*State coordinating agencies

If I worked at a community college how would I be able to carry out research?

Depending upon your position you might be able to do research as part of your normal responsibilities, or you might have to make arrangements through leadership to do research outside of your normal work hours. If you are in student services, for example, working on student recruitment or retention, doing focus groups on student retention issues may be considered part of your job responsibilities. Check with your institution to see if an IRB is required for work that you want to present or report out. Faculty members will often find potential research topics on the scholarship of teaching and learning, shared governance, assessment, retention, etc., right in their own classrooms, departments, unions, and academic senates or councils.

Here’s a reference that you might find interesting: Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning ( Vol. 12, No. 1, February 2012, pp. 8 – 22.Graduate student development through the Scholarship ofTeaching and Learning by Laura N. Schram and Michelle G. Allendoerfer.

What’s it like to work at a community college?

Working at a community college can be very rewarding. The ability to impact and change lives is significant. Students can be challenged by overwhelming personal issues, and supporting them and watching them grow and develop to meet their educational and personal goals is impactful. While the work can be hard, for most of us the reward of helping individuals who need it the most is invaluable.

From a faculty perspective, community colleges emphasize teaching over scholarly research. If classroom and/or online teaching appeals to you, community colleges offer a dynamic, student- and community-focused environment. From a student services perspective, most community colleges are commuter-centered rather than residential campuses, which bring to the fore a particular set of challenges in supporting students on their educational pathways.

How can I become a full-time faculty member at a community college?

Full-time faculty positions are very competitive, and minimum requirements vary from college to college and by discipline. Requirements often differ for teaching in the sciences, arts, and humanities compared to vocational fields, now often called professional-technical fields.

For sciences, arts, and humanities, many districts require a master’s degree in the specific discipline, such as sociology or biology.Few require a Ph.D. in the field although having a discipline-based Ph.D. may provide you a competitiveadvantage in the hiring process.Having a master’s or a doctorate in Higher Education per se is usually not enough. In some cases, a master’s in any field with a specified minimum number of credits in the specific discipline may meet the minimum qualification requirement. Degree requirements vary by college, accreditation requirements, and disciplinary preferences.

For teaching in a professional-technical field such as computers or health occupations or the construction trades, many community colleges require a certain amount of work experience in the field in addition to a bachelor’s, but do not require advanced degrees.

For a variety of reasons, many community college teaching positions are now part-time. Part-time or “adjunct” teaching may be satisfying for some, and may also provide a stepping-stone to full-time positions when they become available. However, part-time teaching positions are often not accompanied by benefits or job security, sometimes leading part-time instructors to try teaching at multiple institutions at the same time.

With my master’s/doctorate, will I be qualified to work at a community college?

Most positions outside of faculty and few leadership roles do not require a master’s or doctorate, but certainly the degree could make the candidate more valuable. The specific educational requirements will vary by institution and unit of the college.

How do Institutional Review Board (IRB) processes work differently at community colleges than at my university?

IRB requirements are set up differently at each college. Some colleges have institutional research (IR) offices and procedures, and others may not have a formal process. The best thing to do is check to see if the college has an IR office and contact that office first. In lieu of a formal office, contact someone who can act as a gatekeeper and who would be able to find the resources you need to navigate the institutional review procedures and processes.

Can I submit my research for presentation at a CSCC conference even if it’s not finished?

Yes, most proposal review processes for conferences request proposals well in advance of the conference, so they understand that the research may not be completed, but will judge your proposal (in part) based on the likelihood of it being done by the time of the conference. Reviewers will make this evaluation based on the depth of your proposal (we can tell if it’s just an idea or if it is something that is well on its way to being completed, or is completed). Research that is not completed may also be eligible to serve as the foundation for a Roundtable or a Poster Session.

How can I connect with mentoring opportunities and other resources through CSCC?

For a formal mentoring experience, sign up as a newcomer for the conference. It is a great way to meet experienced professionals. However, most people at CSCC are willing to mentor those who are new in the field. Introduce yourself to people you would like to meet and talk to them about your research interests. The CSCC website also provides a number of resources that are valuable to members.

What journals accept articles about community colleges?

For relatively new scholars, there are a variety of journals that would be a good place to start – including Change,Community College Review, Community College Journal of Research and Practice, Community College Enterprise, New Directionsfor Community Colleges, Journal of Applied Research in the Community College. There are also many journals within the professional groups such as student services, human resources, finance and accounting, budgeting and planning (to name a few). And for all researchers there are other higher education journals such as the Journal of Higher Education, Review of Higher Education, to name a few.