It is odd; the more I read about change in higher education the more pessimistic I get about some of the people who populate those hallowed halls. Countless articles come out about a wide variety of changes that are occurring all around the country and when you read the comments sections at Inside Higher Ed., The Chronicle, or the New York Times, the people who leave them are all angry!
Not all of these angry comments can be left by trolls and I assume the vast majority of these people work in higher education (who else reads The Chronicle or Inside Higher Ed.)? I also understand that everyone has different life and career experiences; some ‘better’ than others. But I do not understand why so many people seem to be angry to the point of being mean and insulting, often belittle the writer of the article in-question, do not seem to trust anyone especially administration, rarely offer constructive criticism, only seems to want to put up roadblocks, and blatantly project their biases on whatever is being discussed (I always thought higher education was about controlling and overcoming your biases).
So with this said, my advice to people who are constantly obstructing change in higher education; keep on doing what you are doing and please...don’t change. The only problem with this advice is that if you actually do nothing and don’t change you might be put in an awkward position when change comes your way .
Who. It depends on who you are. If you are a tenured professor who is know around the country/word/universe then you can probably do whatever you want. You have been around long enough to have seniority over most other professors and are on committees that gives you some political power. But if you are adjunct, a lecturer, working on tenure, are newly tenured, or are at the end of your career and you decide not to change; you might be put in an awkward position.
What. It depends on what content you teach in. If you are in business, one of the lucrative sciences, a high enrollment content area, or a field that brings in plenty of money then keep on doing what you are doing. If you are in the other sciences, the humanities, the fine arts, or social sciences and you decide not to change; you might be put in an awkward position.
Where. It depends on where you are. If you are at an institutions with a large endowment that is not susceptible to economic cycles and the majority of your students are super-high achieving then keep on doing what you are doing; there will probably be little internal or external pressure for you to change. But if you are at an institution where budgets are tight, state appropriations are shrinking, or enrollments have dwindled and you decide not to change; you might be put in an awkward position.
Before I move on, is all change good? No, of course not. Are all decisions in higher education (or anywhere) made by listening to every stakeholder and carefully considering every possible option? No, unfortunately not. Is higher education changing? Yes. Will it look the same as it did for the last few decades? No, most places it will look different by 2025.
Finally, how. How will change occur? Unfortunately change occurs differently depending on the institution, the people involved, the transparency of change, and how inclusive the process is or is not. In addition, when people plan for change by the time it is finally implemented many aspects of the original plan have been changed.
So if you were not immune to change what should you do? When I was young I was taught that when you play with others you play fair, you play nice, and do not cheat. As I have aged I transposed this to my work life; you follow rules, you act friendly and cordial to others, and you do not lie for selfish gain. (You also use your critical thinking skills to ask the difficult questions, creativity to solve problems, and use your interpersonal skills to build a network; everything you learned during college).
So my only advice to people in higher education is to act professional, be nice, and do not do anything for selfish gain (that includes a lot of things). For many change is here and it is unnerving; people get defensive when the unknow occurs. But if you work with the people around you, contribute honest and constructive feedback, and do everything for the betterment of your institution, things should work out.
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