About the CCLP
The CCLP is conceptualized as a program to enhance and develop those competencies, skills, proficiencies, and attributes that are required to effectively lead a successful college with what many perceive as a mission impossible (access with excellence). The program of study is anchored in a fall semester twelve-hour community college "block of time" core program. The CCLP faculty attempts to accomplish several significant objectives in this fall semester course. First, students become familiar with the literature of educational leadership and administration, the problems confronting community college leaders, and the special problems of at-risk students in open-access organizations. Students submit weekly reports on their readings and prepare several scholarly papers, which reflect mastery of the research literature.
Upon entering the CCLP "Block," students individually assess their own skills and identify the competencies that they perceive are needed to function effectively as college leaders. Under the guidance of program mentors, they develop a group strategic plan which guides learning activities through the semester. Through this process, students begin to analyze their own strengths and weaknesses and learn how to work cooperatively and collaboratively with others in the development and implementation of a plan to achieve mutual educational ends. Each week CCLP students select a small team that monitors the operation of their learning plan and makes revisions when necessary. Students also submit bi-weekly reports to professors, which provide individual feedback about the program and further assist students in analyzing their own educational progress. Students work together in groups to manage the learning activities of the Block. This approach builds their competencies as administrators and fosters and reinforces cooperative team-building strategies. During this period, each student is assisted with the development of a plan to achieve individual learning and personal objectives. In all instances, student competencies are developed and evaluated.
Three important efforts are made to test theory against practice during the fall semester. Outstanding leaders--community college chancellors, presidents, deans, and state and federal officials (25-35 each year)--are invited to instruct the group about problems encountered in the "real world" of educational leadership. Furthermore, students make on-site evaluation visits to community colleges (15-20 each year) across the U. S., Mexico, and Canada, where they interview college personnel and students. They benchmark colleges and agencies and prepare formal assessment reports.
CCLP students also complete a required semester-long internship under the tutelage of an experienced community college president. The student is expected to observe, assess, and model that leader's leadership style and the kinds of problems confronted in everyday college administration. The student also is expected to undertake individual investigations of problems facing administrators in colleges during the assigned internship period. The host institution provides the intern a $18,000 stipend for the semester-long experience.
All other courses taken by students in the CCLP are selected from the wide array of offerings in the Department of Educational Administration, the College of Education, the College of Business, and the LBJ School. The average Ed.D. student completes 63+ hours of graduate work beyond the Master's degree prior to dissertation.
