Course:

MIT 530-Evaluation and Change in Instructional Development   Spring 2004

Instructor and Project Advisor: Dr. Chen, UNCW

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Artifact Links:

Project Reports

Part I: Training Needs Analysis (pdf)

• Executive Summary (pdf)
• Problem Definition (pdf)
• Implementation Methods (pdf)
• Data Analysis and Findings (pdf)
• Results Interpretation and Recommendations (pdf)

Part II Change Management Plan (pdf)

·        Situation Analysis Summary (pdf)

·        Analysis of Environment for Change (pdf)

·        Solutions Analysis (pdf)

·        Implementation Plan (pdf)

IT Competencies Demonstrated

• Domain of Design
• Domain of Utilization
• Domain of Management

Situation:

Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) at UNCW provides resources and assistance exclusively for the faculty of UNCW, which cover a wide variety of pedagogical issues and topics. Some are in the form of group workshops or individual projects. The CTE director Dr. Patricia Turrisi, who was planning on leaving her position within 6 months, expressed a problem related to low participation and involvement in CTE programs by UNCW faculty. Specifically the issue was expressed as “CTE desires more input from its constituents (faculty) as to specific programs and services needed relative to CTE’s mission. There are a very low number of unsolicited requests for CTE services and assistance.”

Performance Issue:

Upon completion of needs analysis, we concluded that the issue expressed by CTE in terms of participation and requests for services, was due to several interrelated systematic problems within UNCW faculty and administration, which constrained pedagogical development in general. Increasing workloads was found to be a significant factor in pedagogical skills development.

Desired Performance:

UNCW faculty participation and involvement with CTE would significantly increase based on resolution of systemic constraints.

Solution:

A detailed multi-level change management plan outlining a formal process whereby faculty skills development and other support needs were identified by each department head and utilized to gradually evolve the services and mission of CTE. All aspects of faculty skills development were expected to be considered. Success will be measured by:

·     1.Significant increases in needs requests and participation in CTE services.

·   2.Adoption by UNCW faculty departments with a goal of 50% within 12 months and 90% within 18 months.

Role:

The training needs analysis was conducted by a four person team of MIT students. My primary role was leading the interview process of information gathering as well as composing the report. Once completed, I acted individually as an instructional technologist in formulating a detailed change management plan as part of my coursework.

Project Summary:

The training needs assessment involved several interviews with UNCW faculty, staff, and administration which produced several potential causes for the expressed problem. An electronic survey of all UNCW faculty allowed us to quantify and qualify these causes based on statistical analysis of the data.

Several potential solutions were developed and evaluated using criteria for selection based on resolution of several performance causes. A hybrid solution was developed which could be implemented over an 18 month period involving UNCW administration, department heads, and faculty. Given the magnitude of the proposed change at multiple levels within UNCW, a change management plan was developed which gradually integrated proposed changes while building motivation for acceptance and eventual institutionalization.

Results:

The change management plan was presented to Dr Chen- MIT, Dr Turrisi- CTE, and Dr Burt- UNCW Administrator.

Utilization unknown.

Reflection:

The project presented a unique opportunity to analyze a performance problem within UNCW. The needs analysis (interviews and surveys) exposed several systemic issues within the UNCW community which affected not only CTE participation but overall faculty performance and resistance to change. Designing, implementing, and analyzing the faculty survey was an excellent learning opportunity. Development of a change management plan which addressed resistance in an academic organization presented some unique real life challenges.

Faced with a similar situation again I would take a similar approach however given more time, the information gathering would be more extensive in terms of involving faculty focus groups and higher participation in the electronic survey. Also utilization of project management tools would have made the process and resource utilization more efficient.