Creating a framework to guide the development of onboarding for a new community college president

While executive onboarding has been used in the business and government sector, it is
only recently gaining attention and traction in community college presidential transitions.
AACC, ACCT, and Aspen Institute have all recently published calls to action and
recommendations that governing boards and presidents develop an intentional transition or
onboarding plan to take place when a new president joins the institution. Presidential retirements
have been occurring at a rapid rate and are predicted to continue at a high rate into the near
future. There appear to be fewer presidential candidates with a history in the traditional academic
path to the presidency or even with a history in higher education, and the operating environment
of community colleges is rapidly evolving. As the president has a significant impact on a
community college institution, it is critical that leadership transitions within community colleges
receive specific focus and resources to support a successful transition.
The matrix created for this dissertation is intended to provide a framework to guide
conversations between governing boards and their newly hired community college presidents in
the development of an onboarding plan as part of the transition process. Based on existing
academic and practitioner literature regarding the components of existing onboarding models and
the reasons that a new executive might not be successful in their first year at the helm in a new
organization, as well as a review of existing and recommended onboarding activities and best
practices, the author created a matrix to indicate the intersection points of onboarding program
objectives and the causes of executive derailment those objectives will impact by reducing the
likelihood of occurrence.