Change management (ITSM)

Mathematics education

Process (computing)

Engineering

Public relations

Pedagogy

Operating system

Economics

Computer science

Semi-structured interview

Qualitative research

Institution

Psychology

Political science

Sociology

Operations management

Organizational change

Economic growth

Lean manufacturing

Higher education

Social science

Studies in Higher Education

While university change initiatives have become more common in the face of changing learner needs and higher education funding, many fail to produce desired effects, even when guided by organizational change models. The purpose of this study was to document a successful change process in an engineering department at a Hispanic-serving institution in the southwestern United States. The change effort focused on enhancing faculty capacity to support diverse student success. The change process was planned using Kotter’s eight-step change model (1996) and was therefore a prescribed, linear, sequential change process. Qualitative analysis of audio-recorded faculty interviews and meetings, artifacts, field notes, and participant observation highlights how Kotter’s change model was implemented iteratively and emergently. Early steps were revisited and strategies were treated as improvable. This approach enhanced faculty buy-in and project success. Characterization of each step provides insight into ways to apply Kotter’s change model in higher education settings.

Guiding change in higher education: an emergent, iterative application of Kotter’s change model