Most dictionaries define bureaucracy as the administration or leadership of an organization, but other definitions may describe bureaucracy as restrictive policies or maddening rules. The word "bureaucracy" is rarely used in a positive way. In fact, the word often brings to mind connotations of a bloated or ineffective organization. For example, the Los Angeles Times ran a column with the headline "Bureaucracy-Mired Colleges" that lamented how, "Many community college districts are hamstrung by inefficient bureaucracies that fail to keep courses up to date with the needs of the job market."
Critics of community college governance might describe it as hierarchical, top-down and acting without the input of the faculty and students it affects, but many scholars agree that this elitist approach is changing with time or at least not seen as a model. A description in the academic journal "Governance in the Community College: New Directions for Community Colleges" reads, "Having evolved from traditional public school bureaucratic and political models that emphasize control and oversight, community college governance is now a dynamic process with a host of participants."
Community College presidents, boards of trustees and other senior administrators will often state their intention to get input from faculty and students and strive to appear accountable to the public, but controversies do arise. Community college bureaucrats may have to make difficult budget decisions that may seem unfair to students and faculty. For example, the Post-Intelligencer newspaper reports that the Seattle Community Colleges governing district's decision to cut language courses resulted in heated protests. "We have been faced with a national financial crisis," Seattle Central College President Mildred Olee explained. "We're faced with a state financial crisis. The governor has given us a mandate."
Many community college instructors do not have tenure and perceive their livelihoods as in constant jeopardy due to the community college bureaucracy being able to easily replace part-time faculty and adjuncts and otherwise make changes that affect them without their input. In a column for the Concord Monitor, professor Jack Hutchinson criticized a recent decision of the Community College System of New Hampshire, explaining that, "This abrupt policy change is being imposed without consultation with those whose livelihood is threatened. In many courses, experienced, respected instructors will be replaced by newly recruited adjuncts."