Guided Pathways Implementation: gaining faculty support to realize successful transformative change

Community colleges have been struggling to keep pace with the needs of local workforce, society, and an increasing global economy while retention and completion rates in higher education have been regressing. Guided pathways (GP) has been presented as a solution to combat these concerns; however, implementing GP necessitates radical change from current practices. Research has shown that both transformative change as well as change among faculty can be especially challenging to realize. W hat is needed is an understanding of best practices on how to facilitate transformative change among faculty so that faculty are integral in supporting, communicating, implementing, refining, and maintaining ongoing change. The purpose of this study was to identify the extent to which change strategies impacted the degree of faculty involvement in GP initiatives as well as the degree to which they affected the robustness of GP implementation. This qualitative research utilized case study methodology that included semi-structured interviews with eight faculty from two Midwestern GP institutions. The conceptual framework for analyzing data included K otter’s eight -step change process and Senge’s systems thinking approach . The study examined t he factors that influenced faculty in their adoption of G P programs and t he degree to which institutional practices were impacted by these change strategies. Zell (2003) maintains that unless faculty agree with proposed changes within their colleges, successful change implementation will not occur. Thus, this study sought to identify the most effective means to ensure faculty support of change. The findings revealed that following Kotter’s steps set the trajectory for a successful change process as each step built upon the next and strengthened a college’s guiding coalition. Additionally, K otter’s process opened the door to Senge’s systems thinking approach as the two systems worked in tandem to strengthen institutional collaboration and best practices. Information gained from this study can b e used to guide institutional change practices to ensure better faculty buy-in , support, and commitment to ongoing change.