Effective change management is essential to successfully implementing Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM). In the latest SEM Quarterly, authors Clayton Smith, Janet Hyde, Tina Falkner, and Christine Kerlin provide an overview of change management in higher education, identifying levels of change management
and how to manifest change in institutions.
Beyond cooperation
“By implementing structured processes to encourage collaboration, we can enable earlier and more effective organizational change,” they write. “Many will immediately assume that they are already collaborating, but collaboration in
this sense is a structured process that goes beyond cooperation to embrace the constructive management of differences.”
Examples of collaboration include hosting “team innovations” and committing to other team activities.
“These techniques could be effective in building bridges between different constituencies within a postsecondary education organization and could lead to a more collaborative environment that supports effective change," they write.
Planning for long-term sustainability of change
In addition to structured collaboration, the authors suggest the following are significant success factors for achieving organizational change:
- planning at the outset for the long-term sustainability of the change,
- organization-wide and top-to-bottom ownership of and commitment to change, and
- clear accountability for specific actions.
The authors also offer specific ways in which community colleges and four-year institutions are managing change at both the project and enterprise levels—from the reengineering of the registrar’s office to a change in an academic calendar
to the establishment of a one-stop shop on a campus. In addition, the article includes recommendations for professional practice and future research ideas.
SEM Quarterly: Bridging the gap between theory and practice
In SEMQ, thought leaders and practitioners address the emerging dynamics of SEM, including executive-level leadership, leading strategies, internationalization, research, academic orientation, and current trends.
- A Practical Framework for a Data-Driven Graduate Enrollment Management Plan by Shaimaa Nabil Hassanein
- Strategic Enrollment Management in Medical Education by Katherine Ruger
- Influencing Institutional Expectations through Organizational Leadership and Contextual Data by Alexis S. Pope and Susan Davies