ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSE TO UNSATISFACTORY FACULTY PERFORMANCE

This research analyzed administrative response to unsatisfactory faculty performance at 158 Western public community colleges. Participating administrators completed a questionnaire which described nine hypothetical personnel situations involving unsatisfactory faculty performance. The situations differed as to the length of employment, tenure status, racial background, and political influence of the faculty member. Participants also answered questions concerning actual faculty dismissals at their colleges. Results indicated that a very narrow range of strategies was used by adminstrators when confronted with unsatisfactory faculty. Dismissal and counseling were the most frequently employed methods. Dismissal was the strategy of choice in situations describing clearly documented incompetence. Respondents were somewhat less likely to choose this strategy if a minority faculty member or a politically influential faculty member were involved. Counseling was preferred for recently tenured faculty who had become unresponsive, or for unsatisfactory faculty who had been with the institution for many years and had a history of satisfactory performance. Nearly 72 % of the surveyed colleges reported faculty dismissals within the last five years. Only two respondents reported unsuccessful dismissal attempts ¦within the last five years.