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

Document collection. During interview data collection and transcription, the researcher was collecting documents from multiple online sources. The researcher used documents to further explore presidential decision making in KCTCS. According to Merriam (1988), documents help capture data beyond participant narratives to further triangulate data. The researcher gathered both internal and external documents pertinent to study. Internal documents refer to those created by and for the system and colleges, whereas external documents are those created by a third party and reference the system and colleges or are written about the system and colleges. These documents included the following categories: Kentucky Revised Statutes pertaining to KCTCS; Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) organizational chart and strategic agenda; KCTCS organizational chart, strategic plan, and policies; college organizational charts, policies, and resource manuals; KCTCS Board of Regents bylaws and policies; and, college boards of director’s bylaws and minutes.
All documents were accessed electronically in a number of ways. The researcher reviewed multiple websites and downloaded or printed relevant documents. Specifically, the researcher accessed websites for the system and colleges, the Council on Postsecondary Education, Kentucky revised statutes, and Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. The researcher also logged into a system wide SharePoint site and retrieved business procedures and other related documents not readily accessible via the system or
college websites. Documents originating from the system and colleges provided an understanding of the policies, procedures, and rules that inform decision making, as well as outlined the roles and responsibilities of various groups of people.
In addition, the Council on Postsecondary Education website provided access to state policies, initiatives, and strategic plans, and data and research reports for Kentucky postsecondary education, among other documents. Moreover, Kentucky revised statutes were first posted online in 1996 and have been updated after each legislative session since that year. The Kentucky revised statutes provided a rich historical context and understanding of the system since it was created as an act of legislation in 1997. Also, the revised statutes provided clarification on the roles, responsibilities, and authority of various groups of people, including state legislators, the Council on Postsecondary Education, and the Board of Regents and boards of directors. Additional reports retrieved from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce provided concise reports on the state legislative agendas each year, as well as a 2007 and 2016 status report on postsecondary education reform and progress following the legislation in 1997 that created KCTCS and transferred governance of the University of Kentucky Community Colleges and the state Workforce Development technical institutes. Altogether, these documents served as an additional source of information and data on understanding the system, colleges, and state contexts influencing decision making.