Higher education system governance: an exploratory study of presidential decision making in the kentucky community and technical college system

Appendix E

Consent Form for Initial Participant Solicitation
CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN A RESEARCH STUDY

An exploratory study of presidential decision making in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System

You are invited to participate in an exploratory study of presidential decision making in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. The system president and all college presidents are being solicited to participate in this study. You are being invited to take part in this study because you serve as a president in the system.

The person in charge of this study is Sarah Jill Page of University of Kentucky Department of Educational Leadership Studies. As a doctoral candidate, she is being guided in this research by Wayne Lewis, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership Studies.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the location of decision making in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and further explore how presidents negotiate shared decision making between the system and individual colleges in certain areas.

You will be asked to participate in a survey in Phase One of the study and an interview in Phase Two of the study, though you may elect to participate in only one or both phases of the study. Also, you will be asked to provide documents related to presidential decision making, such as meeting agendas, meeting minutes, and system and college policies and procedures.

You will be asked to participate in either an online survey or interview, or both. The survey will be administered electronically via an email link in February and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Additionally, interviews will take place in April in one of several formats, including either in-person, video-conference, or phone. All interviews, regardless of format, will be audio recorded. You will select which of these formats you are willing to be interviewed. Interviews will last approximately 60 minutes. In-person interviews will be conducted at an agreed upon site location. The total amount of time you will be asked to volunteer for this study is approximately 90 minutes between the months of February and April for both Phase One and Phase Two of the study.

Your participation in this study will be confidential. Every reasonable effort will be made to keep confidential all research records that identify you to the extent allowed by law.

Your information will be combined with information from other people taking part in the study. While publication or presentation of the results of this study will include the name
of the system, you will not be personally identified. All results from this study will be reported in aggregate and coded using pseudonyms.

I will make every effort to prevent anyone who is not on the research team from knowing that you gave us information, or what that information is. Paper records will be stored in a locked file box only accessible by the researcher. All paper records will be scanned and stored electronically. Electronic records will be stored on a password-protected computer with firewall protection. Coding and the use of pseudonyms will be used to protect your name and identity. I may be required to show information which identifies you to people who need to be sure I have done the research correctly; these would be people from such organizations as the University of Kentucky.

Please be aware, while I make every effort to safeguard your data once received from the online survey/data gathering company, given the nature of online surveys, as with anything involving the Internet, we can never guarantee the confidentiality of the data while still on the survey/data gathering company’s servers, or while en route to either them or us. It is also possible the raw data collected for research purposes may be used for marketing or reporting purposes by the survey/data gathering company after the research is concluded, depending on the company’s Terms of Service and Privacy policies.

You may elect to participate in all, part, or none of the study. You may withdraw your participation from the study at any time and for any reason. There are no discomforts associated with participation, nor are there any direct benefits to you. There is a risk that you could be re-identified due to information published about participants. Additionally, there are no costs associated with taking part in this study, nor is there any reward or compensation for taking part in this study. If you do not want to participate in this study, there are no other choices except not to take part in the study.

You may ask any questions that come to mind. If you have questions, suggestions, concerns, or complaints about the study, you can contact the investigator, Sarah Jill Page by email at [e-mail] or by phone at 850-712-6320. You may also contact the supervising UK faculty member, Dr. Wayne Lewis, by phone at 859-257-2540, or by email at [e-mail]. If you have any questions about your rights as a volunteer in this research, contact the staff in the Office of Research Integrity at the University of Kentucky between the business hours of 8am and 5pm EST, Mon-Fri. at 859-257-9428 or toll free at 1-866-400-9428. I will provide a signed copy of this consent form to all persons who consent to participate in any part of the study.

If you are willing to participate in all or part of this study, please select one of the boxes below indicating your consent to participate in either only Phase One, only Phase Two, or both Phase One and Phase Two of the study. If you decline to participate in this study, please indicate below by selecting the appropriate box. Please submit this form electronically to the investigator at [e-mail].

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  Phase One only (online survey)
  

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  Phase Two only (interview)
  

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  Both Phase One and Phase Two (online survey and interview)
  

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  Neither Phase One nor Phase Two (decline participation)