Leveraging Incremental Transformation to Create and Support Large-Scale Institutional Change

Change tends to be a constant in higher education. Some changes may be relatively narrow in scope, such as shifting the curriculum within a first-year seminar course. Other times, transformational change—that is, the alteration of the “operating systems, underlying values, and culture of an organization” (Kezar, 2018, p. 85)—may be warranted to respond to external or internal pressures. There are some (often unspoken) assumptions about what this change looks like and how it happens. Many higher education stakeholders assume that transformational change is  a big initiative that a senior leader (often a president or dean) manages from the top down and that includes a new strategic plan or set of policies with clear goals, steps, and timelines for the changes. While transformational changes are not typical, we are familiar with stories of transformational change. For example, President Russell Lowery wanted to transform to improve student retention at Amarillo College. He changed institutional policies and structures across campus that ultimately led to a 40 percent increase in retention. These changes included