Successfully Create Change on Campus with New Technology
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Ideation is one of my Strengths. I love a good brainstorming session and I’m always trying to look at problems from a new angle.
When I was working on campus, I frequently shared new and innovative ideas in meetings. Unfortunately, I was often met with “we tried that a few years ago and it didn’t work,” or “we don’t have the time/money.”
Change on campus is hard. You are up against decades of traditions and comfort in the norm that can be very difficult to battle. However, the world and our students are changing. Therefore, being able to create change on campus is necessary.
So how do we do it? How do we get people on board and find the time and resources to get the work done to actually make change?
I like to use John Kotter’s Process for Leading Change methodology to guide me from ideation to reality. Let’s take a look at the eight steps he sets out. (Please note that the titles of Kotter's steps alter slightly in some of his work, but the overall idea is the same! If you decide to use this model for yourself, feel free to use the titles that speak to you!)
As we walk through each step, we will use the following example: a fictional university’s goal is to use CampusGroups to transition to paperless procedures on campus.
1. Create a Sense of Urgency
In order to get buy-in for your idea, you need to explain the problem you are trying to solve. You also need to make sure that the stakeholders understand the importance of creating change. This is especially true in a field such as Higher-Ed where there is such resistance to modifications. You need to really convince people to even consider new ideas.
Example: Our campus will need to campaign with stakeholders and describe the reasons for paperless procedures. These could include the impact on the environment, the ease of tracking documentation, the saved storage space, and the ease of use for students who may be traveling.
2. Enlist a Guiding Coalition
Large scale change requires a large scale team. You will not be able to do this on your own. You need a group of people with the power, passion, and potential to help you reach your goal.
Example: To build a guiding coalition, our campus might decide to recruit one team member from each office on campus that has paper procedures. This enables multiple stakeholders to take ownership and have a voice in the change process. The team may also ask a few student leaders to join them to help create processes that students will use as well.
3. Build a Strategic Vision
Transform your idea into a vision with an outlined strategy.
Example: In order to make the paperless campus vision a reality, the team will need to build existing processes into CampusGroups. To this end they will need to create a timeline for training, marketing materials, and launch dates for each new procedure.
4. Share the Change Vision
Share the vision, strategies, and expectations fully and repeatedly. Make sure all stakeholders understand the vision and what is expected of them. The guiding coalition should also be ready to answer questions and lead by example.
Example: Once the team is ready with their strategy, they will need to start marketing the change. They might have some promotional materials explaining the importance of going paperless. Further, they will likely meet with the stakeholders in charge of the processes and train them on what they’ve built in CampusGroups. It is important that the team hold training sessions for students as well.
5. Enable Action by Removing Barriers
You will need to challenge systems or structures that prevent you from reaching your change vision. Empower your guiding coalition and the full community to take action toward your vision and to find innovative ways to make it happen.
Example: The team that has been working to go paperless may find some existing paper procedures that they weren’t aware of. They will need to work with the appropriate stakeholders to address this and help them work toward a new process. They can also encourage people creating new procedures to use CampusGroups creatively to ensure that no more paper procedures are created going forward.
6. Generate Short-Term Wins
We are all motivated by success, so it’s important to celebrate the small successes on the way to the big picture. Be sure to think in advance about what those steps will be and how you will assess them. Then take time to celebrate these achievements as you go!
Example: The team might set some goal points throughout their journey. These may include how many budget submissions will come in on the platform by a certain date or how many users they will train by a certain time. They can even use the data in the system to track this. These successes should be celebrated as a team and shared with the campus community!
7. Sustain Acceleration
Be sure that you hire, promote, and develop people who can implement your change vision. Further, continue to reinvigorate the excitement around the project with new projects and ideas that support it.
Example: Encourage team members who sit on other committees across campus, to think about the goal of becoming a paperless campus as new projects arise. They can keep this goal in mind when hiring new staff members, by asking questions about sustainability and use of technology in interviews, or working to recognize good work on campus.
8. Institute Change
Ensure that these changes are part of your culture, leadership, and team development.
Example: Over time, the team will have less task-related items. However, they should still be working to ensure that the culture of a paperless campus is ingrained in everything the community does. They should reward innovative use of technology and work with offices who are struggling to stop their use of paper.
Educational technology itself is a big change for college campuses. The pandemic required people to get on board for a short period of time, but there are still many challenges to keeping people interested and making sure all stakeholders are ready to support the use of platforms like CampusGroups.
Once you have purchased a platform, there is still a lot to do to ensure that you are using it to its full potential. Throughout your use of CampusGroups, you can, and should, be constantly re-evaluating campus processes and finding new ways to innovate with the platform.
We recommend that you use our goal setting process to review ideas and projects from other campuses and work with your Campus Success Associate to set timelines toward these goals. We will walk you through the process of making your goals a reality and will use the Kotter framework to support you so that the changes you make can be lasting!
Visit the CampusGroups resource site from the User Community to learn more about the goal setting process and set up a time to meet with your CSA to get started! We can’t wait to partner with you!
Not yet a CampusGroups client? Connect with a product expert today so that we can start talking to you about common goals that our clients have reached and tell you more about all the ways we will support you as you work toward positive change.
ABOUT BRIDGET:
I have a Masters Degree in Higher Education Administration and worked on campuses in Student Affairs for seven years. Now, as a Campus Success Associate at CampusGroups, I am excited to assist and inspire other Student Affairs professionals as they meet their goals. I am passionate about helping students to effectively engage in their university communities!
Are you a campus leader guiding students on a pathway to success? Reach out to learn more about using CampusGroups to support your student engagement goals. We’d love to hear from you!
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