Publication Date

12-2012

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Dr. Randall Capps, Director, Dr. Sally Ray, Dr. Keith Bird

Degree Program

Educational Leadership Doctoral Program

Degree Type

Doctor of Education

Abstract

As corporations compete they recognize the need to reengineer operations to reflect the impact of a globalized market and attract, retain, and grow the skill sets of employees as strategic assets. To meet the need for employee continuous learning, financial turbulence, and rapid technological advancements, corporations have accelerated the formation of collaborative partnerships with higher education. At the same time, higher education institutions have a growing number of working adult students in attendance and view collaboration with corporations as a means to increase enrollment and revenue streams. These factors have created an opportunity to explore the dynamics of key factors and stages of collaboration between community colleges and automotive manufacturers and suppliers to enhance the educational process.

This study examines the dynamics of college-industry partnerships through the Automotive Manufacturing Technical Education Collaborative (AMTEC) that includes community colleges from 12 states and several large automotive manufacturers and their tier suppliers. In this context, James Austin’s (2000a) theoretical model of collaboration provides a promising framework in which to view college-industry interorganizational collaboration. The model is based on a continuum of stages in collaborative relationships, from philanthropic to transactional to integrative. The model also uses the Wilder Collaboration Factors Inventory (WCFI), a set of success factors that influences the collaborative process. Data collection used for the case study includes survey results to measure success factors of collaboration that influence the collaborative process and stages using Austin’s collaboration continuum framework categories.

Disciplines

Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research

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