Learning Resources

Abstract: Implementing Sustainable Change in Higher Education: Principles and Practices of Collaborative Leadership
by Brent D. Ruben
Stylus Publishing: Sterling, Virginia: 2022
229 pages
ISBN: 978-1642674415

How should higher education leaders take on the challenges of change? In Brent Ruben’s Implementing Sustainable Change in Higher Education: Principles and Practices of Collaborative Leadership, the author says there’s no simple approach. Instead, he encourages leaders to “understand and leverage the dynamics of change; lead collaboratively and meaningfully; engage one’s colleagues; and adopt and pursue a shared vision of organizational purpose and aspirations.”

Abstract: Integrated planning during profound change requires extra flexibility and attention to user engagement while utilizing new modes of interaction. This article summarizes a successful virtual and comprehensive planning process, including consensus-building, and approval at Harper College. It reviews results and lessons learned by this large community college as it embraced virtual communication platforms and moved forward with a viable 10-year plan during a global health crisis, economic turbulence, and technological change. The authors share the remote process used to set goals, assess resources, define needs, explore options, and guide decision-making with numerous stakeholders.

Abstract: The Agile College: How Institutions Successfully Navigate Demographic Changes
by Nathan D. Grawe
Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore: 2021
298 pages
ISBN: 978-1421440231

Does hope motivate action or complacency? Does crisis induce change or despair? Nathan D. Grawe readily acknowledges this tension in The Agile College, his follow-up book to his 2018 Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education. The latter propelled the inescapable discussion throughout higher education of the looming “demographic cliff.” The Agile College suggests how agile institutions might prevent demography from becoming destiny.

Abstract: Middle managers are often blamed for change failure and portrayed as change resisters or saboteurs. However, what looks like obstructionist behavior could actually be the observable effects of role ambiguity. Absent clear expectations, middle managers might assume their own unsanctioned change leadership path or take on no role at all because they lack understanding about their responsibilities. This article explores the complexity of middle managers’ experience, examines how middle managers at a two-year college navigated the uncertainty of their role within the context of institutional change, and provides readers with suggestions for equipping middle managers to become effective change agents.

Abstract: When carefully considered and thoughtfully planned, physical campus space has the power to reinforce an institution’s values around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Abstract: Historic campus buildings are often perceived as a burden, but by integrating them into your campus planning, their continued reuse can help solve some of the specific challenges facing university planners today, specifically in the context of sustainability. There are numerous case studies that demonstrate the successful adaptive reuse of varied campus buildings as well as an undeniable body of evidence showing the benefits of such an approach in working toward carbon neutrality. As long-term stewards of their built environments, colleges and universities are uniquely positioned to realize enduring savings from investing in the energy performance of existing buildings.

Abstract: In 2018, the Institutional Effectiveness Office at Kaua‘i Community College developed and administered community and workforce surveys to better understand current and future educational needs of residents and employers on Kaua‘i. These single island surveys highlighted the need for a comprehensive neighbor island survey to collectively advocate for additional online post-associate degree programs that best align with and support these geographically isolated communities. This project demonstrates how surveys can be used to inform decisions and integrated planning across multiple scales within a university system, especially in regards to distance education.

Abstract: This excerpt is taken from Section Two of SCUP’s Second Edition of A Practical Guide to Strategic Planning in Higher Education. Section Two provides definitions of the basic components of a contemporary strategic plan and explains how they are used to create the foundation for a comprehensive institutional strategic planning process.

Abstract: A global health crisis intersecting with a racial reckoning has led to a renewed commitment to reflect on complex histories and plan for more inclusive futures on many American campuses. Institutions, which benefitted from traditional hierarchies of power, are starting to grapple with histories of developing indigenous lands and the legacy of a western and able-bodied vernacular within campus design that continues to reinforce in-groups and out-groups. The authors are presently leading first-of-their-kind DEI planning initiatives; in this article they unpack how a public institution is meeting their past head-on to plan better futures.

Abstract: Since 2011 Michigan’s Muskegon Community College has held all-campus meetings every Friday morning. Initially the meetings were for student services staff to share information and updates. When COVID-19 caused a rapid shift to virtual course and service delivery, meeting attendance more than tripled as the college community drew together to understand what was happening, what was needed from and expected of employees, and how to connect with colleagues when doing so in person was not possible.