Abstract
This essay examines the conditions that shape professional advancement in small colleges and outlines strategies for achieving mobility within institutions facing demographic decline, financial constraint, and limited faculty turnover. It begins by noting that reduced student populations, diminished public support for higher education, and high proportions of tenured senior faculty restrict opportunities for hiring, promotion, and movement across institutions. Against this backdrop, the essay argues that new faculty must plan deliberately for professional success by understanding institutional identity, priorities, and expectations. Drawing on a model of organizational assessment, it emphasizes the importance of analyzing mission statements, governance structures, departmental practices, and evaluative procedures. The discussion then describes how faculty can align personal goals with institutional norms through the development of a formal professional plan created in collaboration with the department chair. Teaching is identified as the central criterion for advancement in the small college environment, although scholarship, documentation of instructional effectiveness, participation in professional organizations, and the pursuit of external funding also figure prominently in evaluation processes. The essay concludes that systematic planning, attention to institutional values, and cultivation of positive professional relationships provide essential foundations for achieving sustained success in small college careers.
Recommended Citation
Platt, Richard W.
(1985)
"Achieving Success in Small Colleges,"
Association for Communication Administration Bulletin: Vol. 54, Article 11.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/aca/vol54/iss1/11
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