The Covid-19 pandemic impacted many businesses and institutions and led to significant changes in the modern world. Higher education was significantly impacted as most schools closed and opted to teach online. Community colleges experienced multiple challenges when striving to help vulnerable students and had to keep their operations running. Community college presidency was faced with the task of crisis management and change management to keep their operations. This paper analyzes various resources regarding the crisis management practices of community college presidency to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Summary of Articles
Community college presidents had to deal with multiple challenges that impacted the students within their communities. Stripling (2020) examined how McBride, a new president of New School, handle the pandemic. One of the main challenges was that the president had to make critical decisions like when it would be safe for students to return to campus and what could happen to the institution when enrollment drops. One of the strategies used to handle crisis management throughout the pandemic involved channeling funds for student scholarships towards a student emergency fund to meet unexpected and urgent financial needs. One of the most pressing concerns was how schools would handle the financial changes. Some institutions responded through layoffs and pay cuts. The main observation was that college presidents had to respond promptly to respond to the new changes. College institutions also handled the crisis by suspending presidential searches and promote internally. The pandemic showed that it was difficult to predict anything with certainty. College presidents had to think differently, broadly, and boldly to handle the crisis effectively. College presidents also experienced multiple challenges and had to develop multiple competencies to handle the challenges brought about by the pandemic. Artis & Bartel (2020) identified that college presidents and the entire leadership had to prepare themselves by having mentorship, earning a doctorate, and progressive job responsibilities. The main challenges that the leadership faced included enrollment management, financial challenges, unfunded legislation and legal mandate, and working with unions and boards. Community college presidents handled the crisis effectively through reading and understanding trends and challenges facing community colleges and undertaking professional development. The presidents also built a team that was critical to facilitate effective leadership practices. Artis & Bartel (2020) observed that one of the most important themes that emerged from the research on the effective presidency was the support of a team. Effective management of the crisis was only possible when the president constantly sought feedback from others to build a team of experts. Communication was also suggested as a critical competency important for leadership development. Community college leaders that used the different strategies would be effective in managing the Covid-19 crisis. The shift in learning brought about by the pandemic also made challenges that community colleges face become more apparent. Floyd (2020) identified that the pandemic highlighted various inequalities that existed in society, and it was an opportunity for community college presidents to ease the social and racial tension. The author identified that one of the main challenges for leaders brought about by the crisis was the need to embrace questions and to seek sound and creative solutions. The recommendation to the college presidency was to have a collaborative and team approach by involving policymakers, researchers, and practitioners in the decision-making process. Floyd (2020) identified critical questions that the community college presidency had to answer with regard to the leadership, curriculum, funding, technology and digital access, social and racial tension, health and safety, and the community. The leadership had to rethink their roles during a crisis and move away from the old system and ways of being.
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Relationship Between Presidency and Crisis Management
The presidency functions as the top leadership involved in critical decision-making and could determine whether the crisis has been managed effectively or not. A rapid and effective response from the leadership is also critical for effective crisis management. The presidency is given the role to send a clear message to the stakeholders regarding the crisis and that it should be taken seriously. One can also highlight multiple steps to address the challenges. For instance, the coronavirus pandemic led to a transition to remote learning. The presidency was tasked with handling the crisis by advocating for a rapid shift to remote learning. Crisis management also involves identifying various opportunities during a crisis and capitalizing on effectively managing them. The Covid-19 pandemic created a new opportunity for remote learning and remote working, and the presidency could capitalize on the opportunity by improving the technology and digital resources to facilitate digital learning. Crisis management also requires that the presidency showcases some skills and abilities. One of the most important strategies to handle the pandemic effectively involved incorporating a collaborative and team approach to handling the crisis. The presidency and leadership had to shift from an authoritarian style to shared leadership. The benefit of having the shared leadership approach is that it would be effective in dealing with multiple uncertainties and complexities that could come about from a crisis. Stress levels can be high during a crisis, and the president should address the distress and emotional instability. The presidency would have to adopt servant leadership with emotional and emotional stability. The nature of communication during a crisis should be clear, frequent, and empathetic. The leader should incorporate various communication challenges to improve the effectiveness of communication.
References
Artis, L., & Bartel, S. (2020). Filling the leadership pipeline: A qualitative study examining leadership development practices and challenges facing community college presidents in Illinois. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2020.1771476 Floyd, D. L. (2021). 2020, The Year None of Us Predicted: COVID-19 and Community Colleges. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 45(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2020.1841649 Stripling, J. (2020). Welcome to the College Presidency. Oh, the House Is on Fire. The Chronicles of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/welcome-to-the-college-presidency-oh-the-house-is-on-fire/
