Coping with organizational change: How mid-level administrators experience an organizational change process in a large Southwestern community college

In recognizing that higher education faces new and increasing economic, societal and technological challenges that require responsiveness, adaptation and ultimately sustained systemic change, this case-study research focused on the experiences of mid-level administrators during a four year period of a major change initiative at a large, southwestern community college.; A mixed methods approach with a phenomenological lens was chosen to analyze, explore and reflect on the experiences of this group of mid-level administrators who were the focus of this study. In the initial phases of the research, interviews were conducted with the key senior administrators responsible for rolling-out and monitoring the change initiative, as well as with a sampling of mid-level administrators from each of the main structural divisions at the college. These interviews were followed by a Web-based survey, which was administered to all of the college's mid-level administrators, and was designed to gain information about the levels of commitment, involvement, and understanding the study group had regarding the change initiative as well as the influence that senior leaders had on the change-related experiences of this group. Sixty-seven percent of the mid-level administrators at the community college responded to the survey.; Results from both the interviews and surveys indicated that many of the mid-level administrators believed the change initiative had been worth the effort and would result in some marginal sustainable change for the organization. On the other hand, although mid-level administrators indicated an increased level of commitment to the change over the four-year period, their involvement with the change and their understanding of the foundational values associated with the change increased only minimally. This seems to indicate that the mid-level administrators at the college never gained the knowledge needed about the change initiative to fully understand and apply the values inherent to that change. The results of the study and corresponding discussion reinforce and support the notion that how change is introduced and rolled out within the organization will impact the experiences of individuals regarding the change. In addition, it is critical to the success of the change that individuals within the organization understand the foundational values of the change in order to motivate them to actualize and integrate the change principles into normal organizational functioning.