Change Management in the
Introduction of Sakai at
Charles Sturt University
Dr Philip Uys
Charles Sturt University, Australia
Manager, Educational Design and Educational Technology,
Centre for Enhancing Learning and Teaching
puys@csu.edu.au
Available for consulting on institutional and educational change – see
http://www.globe-online.com/philip.uys
5th November 2007
Introduction
Sakai = CSU Interact
Engagement & interactivity
Introduction
CSU is a complex organisation when considering
change management:
• DE (70%) and Internal
• 5 campuses and additional sites
• Partner organisations
• International campuses in Canada, Malaysia,
China etc
• Full-time and casual academic staff
• Movers and shaker academics and more
traditional
• Strong print history
Introduction
Sakai = CSU Interact
Engagement & interactivity!
Drucker: leadership
Ramsden: academics and change
Daft: bottom up in isolation fails
Fullan: first order and second order changes
Yet typically governance is top-down and change
management instruments lack an educational base
and do not reward collaboration
Trust needs to be built
Gunn: using top down and bottom-up change
approaches in tandem
Top down
Middle out
Bottom-up
Inside out
Case studies: Massey University,
Wellington, New Zealand (95 – 99)
governance… Principal: resources
not related to a specific strategic goal
action research project: plan, observe, act and reflect
diagnostic action research  limited effect
not transformative through creating learning communities
Case studies: Cape Technikon, South
Africa (2000)
governance… resources
strategic plan
task group
faculty level work groups
development team
community of practice
Case studies: University of Botswana
(2001 – 2004)
mission and vision
VC and DVC support
UBeL such as UBel Committee
inside-out strategies
UBeL Club
UBeL Certificate, UBeL List, and eTeams
development teams
central leadership from a learning and teaching group
Three additional key bottom-up strategies
emerged over the last 12 years:
1. building learning communities
2. applied research
3. sharing of best practice
The key is to constantly consider
the people dimension
Regardless of plans, strategies and
technology, it is worth remembering that
it is people who do the work
Colin Powell
Charles Sturt University, Australia
Process started in January 2007; December 700+ academics; January 35 000
students
1. Various communities of practice/learning
Charles Sturt University, Australia
1. Various communities of practice
2. Institute for Innovation in Flexible Learning and Teaching
-applied research framework and a “Teaching Scholar”
scheme
Charles Sturt University, Australia
1. Various communities of practice
2. Institute for Innovation in Flexible Learning and Teaching
- action research framework
3. Showcase of good practice: Learning Designs Showcase &
Stories
Charles Sturt University, Australia
1. Various communities of practice
2. Institute for Innovation in Flexible Learning and Teaching
- action research framework
3. Showcase of good practice: Learning Designs Showcase &
Stories
4. Bromage: i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Mutual education
Collegiate approach
High quality evidence
Spirit of open debate
5. LASO
Top down
– CSU plan;
SC; PT;
HOS
Bottom-up
- pilots; PD;
comms;
Students;
EDs
Charles Sturt University, Australia
6. Kotter and Cohen promote the use of eight steps and
focus on the affective domain (similar to Wilber, 2001)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Create a sense of urgency
Build the guiding team
Get vision right
Communicate for buy-in
Empower and remove barriers
Achieve short-term wins
Don’t let up
Embed change within the organisation culture
The Seven Dimensional “Diamond”
Framework for Change
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Caring for people – continually think about where groups and individuals are at
Create and maintain a sense of urgency – 10th and 17th December; university
wide implementation
Collaboratively guide the change process - OLE SC; In Divisions; In schools
Create alignment - “By 2011: Leader in flexible provision of quality learning and
teaching”; extensive communication plan; school-based plans; divisional plans
eg within CELT; CD
Empower and remove barriers – extensive PD and Support plan; procedural
changes; policy issues
Achieve short-term wins – pilots and in 2008
Consolidate performance improvements – two PD phases; 2008; – takes time!
It is no recipe!
more than one dimension need to be addressed at
the same time
Tsoukas and Chia (2002) - “to properly understand
organizational change one must allow
for emergence and surprise”
change leaders must expect the unexpected
Pascale et al (2000) - changing organisations
are operating on the edge of chaos
LASO model: technological transformation has a ragged
implementation contour
In summary: the BIG FIVE!
Change management is about people
No trust, no change
For change to be sustainable,
it needs to be collaborative
Use a multi-pronged approach
It is an art to manage change
The biggest temptation is to
settle for too little
Thomas Merton
Thank You
Available for consulting on institutional and educational change – see
http://www.globe-online.com/philip.uys
Dr Philip Uys <puys@csu.edu.au>
Manager, Educational Design and Educational Technology,
Centre for Enhancing Learning and Teaching
http://www.csu.edu.au/division/celt/exec_staff/philip.uys