Notes: Do Faculty Connect School to Work? Evidence From Community Colleges

Abstract

Despite an emphasis in recent policy on connecting school to work, relatively little is known about how these connections are made and what they look like. In this article, we explore the relationship between community college faculty and their local labor markets. We use a unique national survey that provides the first systematic data from a large number of faculty on this issue, supplemented by case studies. We show that faculty engage in a range of relatively low-level connecting activities; stronger connections are rare. Faculty receive minimal institutional support for such efforts. There are several important barriers to improving linkages related to faculty time and institutional structures.