The Challenge of Change Reinvigorating a Student Learning Outcomes Initiative Kris Abrahamson, Ed.D. Dean, Liberal Arts and Sciences Santa Rosa Junior College

Research Questions Problem: The SLO Initiative at SRJC appeared to be losing momentum and had not yet produced desired results. Could John Kotter’s model for leading organizational change help SRJC reinvigorate an SLO initiative and encourage faculty to actively participate in the identification and assessment of SLOs? As a result of using Kotter’s model, was SRJC better able to meet ACCJC Accreditation Standards (2002)? What aspects of Kotter’s model for leading change work well in a community college setting, and what aspects needed to be changed or modified?

Action Research Methodology Action research case study: research concurrent with action. The goal is to make action more effective while contributing to a body of scientific knowledge. Action research puts theory into practice. Action research takes action, solves a problem, develops holistic understanding in a real life setting, includes multiple methods of data gathering, fundamentally about change.

Kotter’s Change Model 1) Establishing a sense of urgency 2) Creating the guiding coalition 3) Developing a vision and strategy 4) Communicating the change vision 5) Empowering broad-based action 6) Generating short-term wins 7) Consolidating gains and producing more change 8) Anchoring new approaches in the culture

Establishing a sense of urgency “By far the biggest mistake people make when trying to change an organization is to plunge ahead without establishing a high enough sense of urgency in fellow managers and employees. This error is fatal because transformations always fail to achieve their objectives when complacency levels are high.”-John Kotter

Establishing a sense of urgency Avoid “happy talk” (We’re the best CC in the state, or even the nation). Set challenging goals and targets for SLOs and assessment. Remind faculty that reaffirmation is no longer assured: accreditation warnings, probation, and midterm visits are now common. Encourage all leadership groups to convey this sense of urgency.

Faculty Perception of Urgency

Building the Guiding Coalition “Because major change is difficult to accomplish, a powerful force is required to sustain the process… A strong guiding coalition is always needed -- one with the right composition, level of trust, and shared objectives.”-John Kotter The Guiding Coalition must have position power, expertise, credibility, and leadership.

Building a guiding coalition at SRJC In 2005 a Steering Committee was created, but it lacked a clear structure. In fall 2007, the structure of the Steering Committee was clarified, along with roles of task committees and SLO Coordinators. A formal charter was approved by the Board in spring 2008, granting standing committee status. The Steering Committee role was to provide vision, direction, coordination, goals, strategies, trainings, communications, & scholarship. Interviews with committee members suggested that the necessary elements of positional power, expertise, credibility and leadership were realized in the guiding coalition. All members of the committee agreed that there was trust and a shared commitment to change. The Committee felt that more visible support from Senior administrators was needed.

Full-time faculty perception of visibility of leadership

Developing a vision and strategy “Vision refers to a picture of the future with some implicit or explicit commentary on why people should strive for that future.” - John Kotter

Project LEARN Vision at SRJC “SRJC is a learning centered institution. The College, through Project LEARN, provides a foundation for a community of inquiry, where ongoing dialogue, collaborative review of evidence, and deliberate reflection support the improvement of teaching and learning.”

Faculty perception of Vision

Communicating the Change Vision “A great vision can serve a useful purpose even if it is understood by just a few key people. But the real power of a vision is unleashed only when most of those involved in an enterprise or activity have a common understanding of its goals and directions.” -John Kotter

Full-time Faculty perception of frequency of communication from different sources

Empowering broad-based action “The purpose of stage five is to empower a broad base of people to take action by removing as many barreirs to the implementation of the change vision as possible at this point in the process” -John Kotter Four biggest obstacles: skills, systems, structures, and supervisors.

Empowering broad based action: acquiring skills

Faculty Perception of Quality of Trainings

Faculty perception of obstacles to broad based action

Generating short-term wins “Major change takes time, sometimes lots of time. Zealous believers will often stay the course no matter what happens. Most of the rest of us expect to see convincing evidence that all the effort is paying off.” - John Kotter To overcome resistance to change generate short-term wins and never let up before the job is done.

Short term wins: faculty perception about “making a difference”

Consolidating gains and producing more change “Major change often takes a long time, especially in big organizations… Whenever you let up before the job is done, critical momentum can be lost and regression may follow.” -John Kotter SRJC continues to use this change model to create long-term, sustainable change.

Anchoring new approaches in the culture “Anchoring a new set of practices in a culture is difficulty enough when those approaches are consistent with the core of the culture. When they aren’t, the challenge can be much greater.” -John Kotter

Alignment of SLO initiative with faculty culture What aspects, if any, of the new accreditation standards and/or the SLO initiative do NOT align will with your own values and beliefs about teaching and learning? 30% felt that the standards and SLO initiative align well with their own values 12% weren’t sure what the standards were 20% concerned about standardization of learning, testing and measuring 12% thought SLOs bureaucratic or a waste of time 4% thought SLOs threaten freedom to teach and love of learning 3% thought SLOs only pursued for accountability and accreditation

Progress in identifying SLOs

The Big Challenge: Assessment 2482 Courses 254 Programs (174 certificates and 80 majors 16 Institutional Outcomes 18 Student Services

Findings Establishing a sense of urgency for SLOs is possible by stressing accreditation mandates, but this emphasis may undermine more intrinsic motivations, such as improving student learning. A guiding coalition and faculty coordinators are capable of providing visible leadership, even with low visibility from the Academic Senate and the President. An SLO vision can be crafted that aligns with the values of most faculty. Frequent communication is critical, and frequent email updates is an effective communication tool. The initiative did not successfully demonstrate short-term wins, a “making a difference” quality, to most faculty, but this is still a goal. Aspects of the SLO initiative do not align well with faculty culture and this represents a significant challenge. This case study is not generalizable, but it suggests that Kotter’s model could be a useful tool in reinvigorating an SLO initiative in a community college setting.

Change model: John Kotter’s Leading Change Harvard University Press, 1996 Kris Abrahamson Ed.D. Dean, Liberal Arts and Sciences Santa Rosa Junior College Kabrarhamson@santarosa.edu (707) 521-7950