How Did That Happen? The Actions and Stages of Change when Launching Online Programs

Concurrent Session 5
Leadership

Session Materials

Brief Abstract

Distance education at universities is skyrocketing, but how is change happening? What actions or stages support successful online program launches? Based on original research at a large, public university, this session will explore what leads to change and suggest a new potential change model for launching online programs.

Presenters

Extended Abstract

Distance education at universities is skyrocketing, but how is change to e-learning happening? What actions lead to successful online program launches? What stages are expected in the transition? So far, there is little research helping to answer these questions or how the leadership of change is being applied to starting online programs. Based on original research at a large, successful, public university, this session will explore the actions and environment leading to change and suggest a new potential change model for launching online programs. 

First, participants will explore original interview data from distance education administrators who successfully launched online programs. Then,  a conceptual change model that was created using established leadership change models will be described and critiqued. Finally, the presenter will describe how the data informed and improved a final, more accurate model of change for launching online programs, what might be lacking from this model, and how it could be useful as institutions launch new online programs.

In this interactive session, participants will also help build knowledge by presenting their own experiences of change to e-learning and submitting questions through web-based polls. An interactive group activity will be utilized to demonstrate the difficulty of change in an established organization. 

Participants will learn:

  • About the stories of faculty and administrators starting online programs at a large, public university

  • A standard, historical approach to initiating organizational change based on four well-established change models

  • How the standard approach may be wrong or incomplete when applied in the modern university 

  • Additional actions and approaches that may be more helpful when initiating online programs at universities

If you are thinking of launching a new online program or are curious about how to do it better, come learn more about leading change to e-learning.