Research Forum 2003

Myron L. Pope
University of Oklahoma

Community College Faculty-Administrative Trust in the Governance Process: Decision-Making in Critical Times

This study explores the link between faculty trust of administration and their levels of participation in the governance process. Trust has been defined broadly in such fields as psychology, sociology, economics, and organizational theory. Hoy and Tschannen-Moran (1999) somewhat summarized much of this research in their definition of trust as one party’s willingness to be vulnerable to another party based on the confidence that the latter party is (a) benevolent, (b) reliable, (c) competent, (d) honest, and (e) open. This definition, as well as those from other fields, have examined trust at the interpersonal and organizational levels. In these analyses, trust has been shown consistently to improve interorganizational dynamics and efficiency, as well as reduce transactional costs. Despite these apparent benefits to organizational operations between managers and employees, trust has not been analyzed in the context of higher education. The implications of studying and developing trust theories in higher education could be beneficial in enhancing the governance structures of higher education. This pilot study of higher education trust will analyze the trust relationship between faculty and mid-level/upper-level administrators in a community college setting, based on an instrument developed to measure this relationship. The evaluation and modification of this initial study and instrument could contribute to the answers to questions regarding governance at all levels of higher education. Questions to be addressed include the following: 1) How important is faculty involvement in the governance process? 2) What institutional contextual situations (confidence in administration, crisis, etc.) faculty levels of involvement in the governance process? 3) What is faculty perception of trust based upon the constructs of benevolence, reliability, competence, honesty, and openness?