Higher education scholarship is focused largely on professors who guide students in their learning and students who participate in the educational process. The contributions of professional staff (i.e., those supporting the work of faculty and students) have not been as well understood, particularly those who reside in academic departments. We…

Recent history has seen many schools shift from their original purpose of standardization and facts to focus on soft skills and global preparedness. The physical design of a school follows suit, shifting from identical classrooms and autonomous teachers to more collaborative shared spaces deemed 'innovative'. While those who formulate such schools…

In this paper, we employ Punctuated Equilibrium Theory to consider institutions' shifting goals, priorities, and constraints, and to explore the nature of change at colleges and universities in the United States. By exploiting annual changes in institutional budget decisions over a 29-year period, we seek to understand the extent to which…

Purpose: For a university to be a prime mover for sustainability transformation, all units of the university should contribute. However, organizational change in educational institutions is often studied by examining specific domains such as research or operation in isolation. This results in a less-than-complete picture of the potential for…

While undesirable, unexpected disruptions offer unique opportunities to enact adaptive expertise. For adaptive expertise to flourish, individuals and teams must embrace both efficiency and adaptation. While some industries do it readily, others continue to struggle with the tension between efficiency and adaptation, particularly when otherwise…

Purpose: Much of the scholarship relating to educator learning in the context of school change centers on promising organizational structures that support educator knowledge-building and sharing. However, recent studies have found that educators' social networks also enhance learning of new practices. This study aims to explore how informal…

The purpose of this study was to assess the contribution of mid and lower-level academic leaders in bringing about change readiness in the university. To this end, 180 academic staff were sampled from the five colleges and one institute using a stratified random sampling method. Data were collected using a modified form of the organizational…

Applied learning includes a variety of curricular and co-curricular experiences within higher education, including student internships, undergraduate research, cooperative learning, capstone experiences, and independent/directed study. While research has shown the benefits of applied learning experiences related to student outcomes, how to…

Despite the growing popularity of mergers in higher education, limited research examines their sociocultural impact on faculty which is arguably a university's most valuable resource. This paper examines a merger of disparate institutions in the University System of Georgia (USG) and presents faculty research productivity results over time, given…

This case study was conducted to develop a proposal comprised of best practices for institution-wide implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in higher education. The analysis of data collected from interviews with individuals from institutions endorsed by the Center for Special Technology (CAST), the founding organization of UDL,…

Purpose: This paper aims to present insights on the governance of sustainability transitions in higher education in Africa. The authors interrogate the research literatures on the governance of socio-technical transitions in water, electricity, transport and waste management, and identify barriers and enabling factors that enhance transformative…

In higher education literature, academic staff have long been considered the main blockers in internationalizing study programs, but recent research suggests that the real blockers are the many changes required in their disciplinary contexts. However, both perspectives have not been based on organizational change theory including academics and…

Purpose: Learning organization (LO) concept has received much attention in the last decades. The purpose of an LO is to proactively shape its future by fostering a culture of continuous learning among its members. This approach empowers the organization to adapt, evolve and innovate, aligning with the needs and aspirations of both internal and…

It is predicted that higher education institutions, based on the current landscape, will need to merge, be acquired, or close at increasing levels in the coming years. This level of organizational change is challenging for those who are a part of it. The purpose of this research was to explore the experiences of trust at an institution of higher…

The purpose of this research was to understand faculty mentors' perspectives on the impact of CPED-aligned methodology courses on doctoral students' development as scholarly practitioners. This study was a pilot study and exploratory in nature. Methods included distribution of a survey which included Likert items, as well as open-ended questions.…