Driving Change Effectiveness in Higher Education
April 22, 2024
As the higher education industry embraces the post-pandemic work environment, the basic requirement of an agile workforce ready for change is more critical than ever. However, change in higher education can be challenging. The cultural nuances and institutional structure within higher education are unique. That doesn't mean higher education isn't profoundly capable of embracing and sustaining change; it just means the process is often met with thoroughly embedded skepticism.
This behavioral response is often labeled as resistance—resistance that some colleagues and institutional leaders will characterize as based on a lack of understanding. Other experts will even tell us why we struggle against change within higher education is because all the change is exhausting. It isn't resistance, and it isn't exhaustion that makes us resist change. Quite simply, we get stuck.
Getting stuck is a biological response to change rarely explored or acknowledged in higher education institutions. We build entire algorithms, schema, or mental models that work like road maps to navigate the world. Those road maps are deeply wired into our brains. When a change comes along, we often must rewire these algorithms. Our instinctual response says, "Whoa ... maybe this isn't a good idea." From the brain’s perspective, we like things the way they are. We get stuck because our brains get attached to the way things are today. So, how do you get unstuck?
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:
- Discuss the instinctual behavioral response fundamental for successfully implementing change and transformation in higher education.
- Recall tools to identify and support behavioral responses unique to higher education.
- Describe real-time higher education case studies that include the integration of tools.
- Identify the process for integrating behavioral-based change strategy within the higher education industry.
Presenters
Scott Spohn, Victoria Grady