The Role of External Factors in Rural-Serving Community College Faculty Attrition

The existing research on community college faculty attrition has focused on such internal institutional factors as faculty work life and morale. Few studies have examined factors outside of an institution’s control that may influence faculty attrition and no studies to date have examined such factors in a sample of rural-serving community college faculty. The present study explores the relationships of geographic issues, counterstream migration, economic concerns, and social responsibilities to attrition in a sample of full-time rural-serving community college faculty. Implications for rural and rural-serving community college human resources professionals and administrators are discussed.