The purpose of this study was to examine time on tasks and priority setting for Maryland community college continuing education administrators. The Delphi technique was used to compile a list of 75 tasks. A combination of survey research, card sort, face-to-face interviews, and on-site data collection was used to gather the data. Data were collected on the performance or delegation of the tasks and amount of time spent on them. The subjects reported spending the most time (456.44 hours per year) on supervising and providing leadership to all continuing education staff. The least amount of time (1.13 hours per year) was reported on guiding instructors' orders of textbooks. The researcher concluded from the data that most of the subjects did not have to concern themselves with routine tasks as they had sufficient staff to delegate those tasks to. The investigator developed a demographic survey and found the average continuing education administrator in Maryland to be Caucasian, 43 years old, and holding a master's degree. Fifty percent of the sample were female. The variables from the demographic survey were crosstabulated and correlated with time on tasks. A correlation coefficient of .59, t = 2.733, p. < .01, was found between time on tasks and the number of noncredit FTEs produced by the institution. The correlation coefficient for time on tasks and size of college was .62, t = 2.956, p. < .01. The generation of FTEs at the possible expense of quality was an issue of great concern to the Maryland continuing education administrators. Study findings showed that in setting priorities, small- and medium-sized institutions considered the same factors influential, but that large colleges perceived a different set of factors as being significant.

Ed. D.