Middle-Out Approaches to Reform of University Teaching and Learning: Champions striding between the top-down and bottom-up approaches

Rick Cummings,Kate Lowe,Rob Phillips,Rhondda Tilbrook

doi:10.19173/irrodl.v6i1.224

Abstract

<P>In recent years, Australian universities have been driven by a diversity of external forces, including funding cuts, massification of higher education, and changing student demographics, to reform their relationship with students and improve teaching and learning, particularly for those studying off-campus or part-time. Many universities have responded to these forces either through formal strategic plans developed top-down by executive staff or through organic developments arising from staff in a bottom-up approach. By contrast, much of Murdoch University's response has been led by a small number of staff who have middle management responsibilities and who have championed the reform of key university functions, largely in spite of current policy or accepted practice. This paper argues that the "middle-out" strategy has both a basis in change management theory and practice, and a number of strengths, including low risk, low cost, and high sustainability. Three linked examples of middle-out change management in teaching and learning at Murdoch University are described and the outcomes analyzed to demonstrate the benefits and pitfalls of this approach.</P>

Highlights

What do we know about change in universities and how it is managed? Recent research, both in the higher education sector and in the broader corporate sector, has contributed significantly to our understanding of change in higher education (Hannan and Silver, 2000; Ramsden, 1998; Scott, 2003)
The process of examining Murdoch University’s change management strategy in teaching and learning against these characteristics, it was found that Murdoch University did not fit into either the top-down or bottom-up approaches to change, but rather a third approach focusing on middle management emerged, which we have termed the ‘middle-out’ approach
We have proposed in this paper that a third approach to change management in universities, middle-out, should be considered in addition to the traditional top-down and bottom-up approaches

Summary

Introduction

What do we know about change in universities and how it is managed? Recent research, both in the higher education sector and in the broader corporate sector, has contributed significantly to our understanding of change in higher education (Hannan and Silver, 2000; Ramsden, 1998; Scott, 2003). In Australia, for example, the participation rate of 15-24 year olds rose from under 10 per cent in 1985 to over 18 per cent in 2001 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003) This growth has dramatically increased student numbers and resulted in people with a broader range of academic ability taking part in higher education, causing concern that a proportion, perhaps a large proportion, will have greater difficulty in learning university level. The Australian Government’s perception of how this will impact on the quality of teaching and learning is summarized in the following passage from the recent national review report: Patterns of student enrollment and engagement in higher education have changed significantly The model proposes the following eight interlinked factors as important in determining how successful a specific change will be: 1. Key people leading change (especially a multidisciplinary team)

Positive patterns of managerial and staff relations

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion