A number of challenges like emerging teaching and learning technologies, the proliferation of social media, shrinking external funding as well as the demand for flexible and competency based courses require the universities to do things faster, better and cheaper.  If put more aptly, the need of the hour is to become ‘Vibrant Varsities’. The predominant attribute of a vibrant university is agility, meaning the ability to quickly respond to the unexpected changes, rapid advancements or sudden shift in the circumstances taking place in the market.

Some institutions have already begun to implement educational strategies to create a vibrant 21st century university culture and embrace the market changes swiftly. Let us take an overview of five key characteristics that can be instrumental in the creation of Vibrant Varsities.

Centralized and Flat Structure

A bureaucratic educational leadership is often responsible for terse communication and lack of accountability between the central department and its learning units. However, a nimble educational institution flourishes in a non hierarchical management structure, with a single or minimal point of control. Flatter the institution is, quicker the decision making is and better the scope of innovation is.  Similarly, a central body ensures that all strategic matters such as policies, reforms, resource allocation, admissions and faculty management become less daunting challenges for the concerned subject matter departments. A central leadership takes the role of a catalyst and a facilitator, without losing the touch base with the entire structure.

Student Engagement Based Learning

The traditional course content in a majority of universities still largely revolves around classroom learning, textbook assignments and manual grading. But the modern age students expect courses that not only allow flexible schedules, but also sharpen their critical thinking and real – world skills. Hence, responsive universities should focus on customized, experiential and hybrid course modules, rather than the standardized offerings. A competency based project or an interactive online learning course can give the students an opportunity for peer interactions and two way feedback at their own pace. The higher education sector is also being gradually driven by automatic grading and data driven assessment, making it crucial for the institutions to adopt an integrated learning model.

Collaborative Leadership

In an article published in the October 2009 issue of Outlook, it is mentioned that agile organizations are able to change ahead of the curve when it comes to planning and developing a workforce with the right competencies and in the right numbers. They have deeper strategic insight into their human capital, and can use that insight to proactively put in place the right workforce that can effectively respond to urgent marketplace needs.

In the higher education sector, academic leadership can play a significant role in reinforcing receptive processes, innovation and culture. But to achieve this, they need to take off their anti-bureaucracy eyeglasses to highlight on the individual strengths and eliminate Achilles’ heel.  At  a broader level, the management can ensure a work tandem between the leaders through equitable compensation, job security, employment benefits, flexible work schedules and automated learning programs.

Meeting Industry Expectations

More than often, the  industry that absorbs the students post their university stint, express their concern over the lack of ‘entrepreneurial’ ability and ‘up-to-date’ knowledge in the new recruits. Colleges and universities prepare their students for analytical thinking and problem solving approach, but only theoretically.  What industry expects from the vibrant universities is an emphasis on the practical, rational content program, which also integrates the latest inputs and changes from the market. In the same way, the curriculum should empower the students to start their own ventures or multiply employment avenues for them.

Adoption of Technology

Ewart Woodridge CBE, Chief Executive of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, says, “The ‘Agile University’ is about the capacity to innovate, particularly in new business or operating models. It requires a creativity in how an institution is structured and people are equipped to lead and manage it. It also requires a strategic and an entrepreneurial approach to the use of technology.”

Technology is dominating various spheres of our lives, why higher education should be an exception? Most of the universities across the globe have realized the potential of technology assisted learning, and hence started leveraging on its benefits.  A fine example of this is the growing popularity of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), a distance learning course, which resembles classroom learning and is free to use for anyone without any admission criteria.

The above model gives a snapshot of which areas the higher education sector needs to focus on to become flexible and vibrant.

Vibrant Varsities are trending, are here to stay and ready to bring a paradigm shift in the higher education scenario.

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Even the most well-outlined plans may fail to deliver their promise if the institution’s culture is pushed to the lower rung of the ‘change’ ladder. Shawn Parr, CEO of Bulldog Drummond, resonates this fact in his article ‘Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch’.  According to his viewpoint, “Culture is the environment in which your strategy and your brand thrives or dies a slow death. There are significant benefits that come from a vibrant and alive culture. A vibrant culture provides a cooperative and collaborative environment for a brand to thrive in.”  This holds true for the higher education sector too. Hence, universities and the academic leaders must realize that culture can be an exponential tool in their armory for an effective change management.

In our concluding part of the series ‘Vibrant Varsities’, we bring a concise, practical guide for the institutions to cope and manage change, taking culture’s influence into consideration.

Define the Problems and Change Objectives

The first step is to identify the barriers to the strategic change. An in depth review should answer why your institution needs to become responsive to the changes.  Another focus should be on the type and scale of change. Whether it should be structural, cultural, process or all these three?  Do you want to make all the changes right away, or take an incremental approach? You must also include problems such as lack of resources,  leadership conflicts and policy issues in your action plan. Let’s say,  the problem is the lack of modernization in the current curriculum. The desired outcome might be a technology enabled learning (TEL) course structure. To achieve this, you will have to find out which is the right technology, who are the innovative educators and will it increase the student engagement. In a nutshell, after you have established the key problems, there would be much more clarity in proposing specific and detailed outcomes to each of these problems.

Form a Team of Change Agents

Change means a potential threat to the existing way of doing things. This translates into likely resistance from the stakeholders in the institution.  It is at this juncture, that the institution can bring the right and  like-minded senior academic leaders to the table to wear the cap of change agents or problem solvers. These change makers are willing to take the institutional change personally; believe that the changes they are bringing are genuine; and can even change their leadership style to accommodate the changes.  They can lead, inspire, influence and motivate the academic and student community to make the change happen and give it an image akin to a campaign.

Forge ‘Change’ Network Alliances

A Harvard Business Review study shows that network centrality is critical to the success for the change agents, irrespective of their formal position in the institution.  In order to sell the idea of ‘change’ to the ‘change targets’ (people who will benefit from the change) and ‘change haters’ (people who resist the change), the change agents have to build alliances with other academics.  Whether they route it through their personal, formal or informal network, either way, more people are expected to join the mission and extend their support.

Adopt an Organic Approach

An incremental approach to change can yield better results than a radical transformation. This is because, the stakeholders in your institution may not respond suitably, if the changes happen too quickly. Hence, the change makers can initiate the process by entrusting one department at the university with this responsibility, challenging them to diagnose issues and develop creative solutions. Based on the outlook, views and feedback of this department,  the changes can be extended to other departments as well. This way, the relationships and networks will multiply, making it relatively an effortless exercise to implement the changes across the entire campus.

Communicate the Changes to the Top Line

For a continuous improvement in the change process,  it is imperative for the vice chancellors and deans to be aware of how things are unfolding at the bottom. The wealth of information collected from different departments can back the decisions made by the leaders and also measure the impact of the changes in the institution. A continuous evaluation of the change management initiatives will also help to reaffirm the organizational commitment at various levels and across different stakeholders.

Implementing changes in the university culture are difficult, but not impossible. They do not happen overnight. To embrace the changes successfully, the institutions as well as the change makers are required to exercise the virtues of patience and lead by example.

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