COLORADO COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND OCCUPATIONAL EDUCATION SYSTEM: A CULTURE STRUCTURED FOR INNOVATION

Abstract

When examined closely, culture and leadership are interrelated. To understand dramatic changes in community colleges and to anticipate their future, we must recognize the importance of the culture and the organization's ability to accept significant change. The cultural conditions within the Colorado system have had a significant impact on the individual state system colleges' effectiveness. The shared assumptions, norms, values, and climate, as defined by Edgar Schein (1991) in Organizational Culture and Leadership create a view of the organization within itself and in its environment. This article describes the development of an organizational culture that helped create a climate for innovation and led to the emergence of the Colorado Community College and Occupational Education System as a major innovator in the higher education systems of Colorado and the nation. The cultural transition described consisted of many different legal steps, personnel and policy decisions that culminated in the creation of a unique system that merged community college governance and secondary and postsecondary vocational administration. This unique system is currently addressing a range of opportunities that will contribute significantly to the role of community colleges for years to come. Five windows into the future role of community colleges are discussed, focusing on distance education, career academics, the role of the Americans with Disabilities Act, workplace learning, and the use of foundations to develop innovative funding sources.