Bringing about change in universities

Since becoming an independent consultant, I have started thinking a lot about how we effect change in universities. I have written two journal articles on the topic. The first Brown, S. “Bringing about positive change in the higher education student experience:  a case study” published in Quality Assurance in Education Vol 19 No 3 p195-207 has just been chosen as an Outstanding Paper Award Winner at the Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2012.

The second: Brown, S (2012) Managing change in universities: a Sisyphean task? Quality in Higher Education, Vol18 No 1 p139-46 has just been published this month.

To summarise briefly what I propose, I argue that change in higher education institutions doesn’t happen through managerial dictat, but through painstaking, evidence-based, long-term work, where managers strive to bring colleagues with them in a collegiate fashion, focusing on the student experience.