Initial Publication Date: July 9, 2018

Making and Sustaining Institutional Change

From the SERC Portfolio:

Accelerating Systemic Change Network
ASCN is a network of individuals and institutions formed with the goal of advancing STEM education programs.

InTeGrate: Catalyze Systemic Change
The InTeGrate program models documented their plans for and experiences with making change happen.

Network of STEM Education Centers
NSEC shares effective practices for running STEM Education Centers which often have institutional change goals.

Pathways to Institutional Change
This resource from the HHMI Capstone Institutions presents strategies for sustaining institutional change.

Enacting successful institutional change requires an understanding and vision of the complex institutional system. Complex institutional change initiatives can only be solved by collaboration between multiple parties (individuals, departments, programs, institutions, etc.) with a diversity of experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds. On top of this, each institution is unique, necessitating a specialized approach to sustainable institutional change.

These strategies, resources, and example programs have been compiled to help change agents make and sustain successful institutional change. Many of the components of institutional change efforts are interwoven, and strategies for change can be drawn from multiple resources and themes. The examples of institutional change program models provide an array of tactics and techniques that can be applied to a diversity of change implementations.

The resources showcased here are a synthesis of material made available by the InTeGrate STEP Center project, the Accelerating Systemic Change Network , the Network of STEM Education Centers, Supporting STEM Success in a Liberal Arts Context, and Building Strong Departments.

Jump to: Other Institutional Change Resources

Designing for Institutional Change

It is important to understand the desired changes as well as the particular context of your institution in order to create sustained change. Learning about how change happens at your institution will begin to develop the relationships and resources that will be necessary to build on for change.

Supporting Institutional Change

It will be necessary to provide professional development to faculty, staff, and administrators around issues involved in the change. Campus STEM teaching and learning centers can be well placed to provide these development opportunities, as can national or regional conferences. In order to be successful, these supports should be ongoing and long-term rather than one-off opportunities.

Foster institutional change
Identify resources needed for change
Secure funding and resources
Build and maintain partnerships
Professional development opportunities and webinars from ASCN

Institutional Change Program Models

There is a growing suite of published examples of how programs, departments, and institutions have successfully tackled change agendas. Each implementation is an instance of making particular change in a particular context, but they all show that positive, sustained change can happen in the complex world of undergraduate education.

Evaluating Institutional Change

How does a change agent assess the progress of an institutional change initiative? Evidence and data can be used to guide change implementations and evaluate the success of sustained change efforts. Evaluation can also be used to generate buy-in and encourage collaboration within institutional communities.