Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

5-2026

Abstract

This qualitative study examines how community college faculty conceptualize, communicate, and enact academic rigor and care in their teaching practice. While post-pandemic debates have positioned rigor and care as opposing forces—evident in the "Rigor Wars" that framed care as performative laxity and rigor as gatekeeping—community college faculty successfully integrate these practices to support holistic student success. This research addresses critical gaps in higher education scholarship, which has studied rigor and care separately, focused primarily on four-year institutions, and overlooked faculty perspectives on how integration occurs in practice. Drawing on a single-case study of 38 faculty members at a large Midwestern community college, this dissertation employs reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews, course syllabi, and focus group discussions. Participants represented 22 disciplines across career and technical education and transfer programs, with teaching experience ranging from 4 to 38 years. Findings reveal that faculty construct rigor and care as distinct but complementary pedagogical commitments rather than competing priorities. Faculty employ seven specific interrelated communication strategies to simultaneously convey responsive rigor—maintaining academic standards through curricular design, transparent expectations, and supportive scaffolding—and strategic care—fostering success through personal relationships, classroom community, intentional language, and targeted support. However, structural pressures including student unpreparedness, mental health crises, and institutional accountability metrics constrain faculty capacity to sustain this integrated praxis. This dissertation introduces "responsive rigor" and "strategic care" as theoretical constructs and presents a multi-level framework connecting macro-level structural forces, meso-level faculty praxis, and micro-level student experiences. The research contributes to understanding community college pedagogies by documenting how faculty navigate competing demands within institutions characterized by open access missions, diverse student populations, and limited resources. Implications suggest that faculty development programs should support the integration of rigor and care as core competencies rather than separate practices. Institutional policies must address sustainability by providing resources such as smaller class sizes, stable faculty positions, and time for relationship-building. To advance equity, effective practices must be institutionalized so that holistic student success does not depend solely on individual faculty capacity. This research positions community college faculty as experts whose pedagogical wisdom can inform broader conversations about teaching and learning in higher education.

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