Achieving Change in Educational Policy in American Colleges and Universities

Abstract

Because of an apparent breakdown in the long standing consensus about goals and objectives of higher edu cation, any changes in policies and procedures are likely to be relatively short-lived at best. New goals and objectives may, indeed, lead to new processes for change, but as long as we continue to utilize the traditional, collegial process of decision- making, we should recognize and try to correct certain critical weaknesses in that process. Much more explicit attention must be given to creating awareness of the need for change. An extensive series of policy changes may well involve change in basic educational principles, and however difficult, these changes in principles must be thoroughly discussed and ac cepted. Consideration of a series of policy changes in the collegial setting is a political process, and as such it must be managed if it is to be fruitful. This requires leadership, and leadership is much more likely to be present in decision-making units that are neither very large nor very diverse in terms of goals and objectives.