Perceptions of Trust in Two Year Colleges

OBJECTIVE
To determine the perceptions and misperceptions about trust and/or mistrust in academic administrators and possible identification of situations that either cemented trust or eroded trust.

METHODOLOGY
Participants involved administrators of two-year colleges and universities in Minnesota. Sixty-two of the 92 administrators responded (68.5%), as did 64.5% of their employees (N=175). In addition to providing demographic data, respondents completed the Credibility Factor Index (CFI), based upon the credibility work of Kouzes and Posner (1995), and ten additional personal response items.

KEY FINDINGS
There was not the credibility gag between the perceptions of the administrators and their employees as was expected.