| The purpose of this national study was to develop a profile of chief business officers in America's community colleges, identify and develop a profile of outstanding business officers, and compare the profiles. Six variables were used as components of the profiles: institutional information, personal information, perceptions of role relationships within the college, attitudes regarding business officer mentoring/development, identification of skills and abilities critical to success, and perceptions of major issues and concerns.;Major conclusions. (1) In statistical terms, all CBO's and outstanding CBO's appear to be more similar than different. They tend to be male, to have obtained their present jobs from a position outside the college rather than being promoted internally, not to be working on a higher degree, to work a similar number of hours per week, and to allocate their work time similarly and to similar work activities. Their identified areas of expertise tend not to be significantly different. Their rankings of required skills for chief business officers tend not to be significantly different. Similarly, their rankings of issues and concerns facing CBO's are not significantly different. (2) Several statistically significant differences were observed. Outstanding CBO's tend to work at larger colleges than do the average of all CBO's. They have a tendency to have assumed leadership roles in both civic and professional organizations. Their willingness to be involved in matters outside their specific areas of responsibility (especially mentoring) differentiate them from other CBO's. They tend to hold higher degrees than does the population, usually in education or educational administration. (3) Analysis of frequency variations that are not statistically significant suggests that the two groups may possess different attitudes toward themselves, their co-workers, of their roles within their colleges, their professions, and their communities.;A survey instrument was used to gather data. The population used was the total membership (964) of the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges (AACJC). There were 296 responses to the survey questionnaire, a return rate of 30.7 percent. |
