Open to Change? Academic Structure in the Postrecession University

• In Event: 61.071 - Sheraton Roundtable Session 10 - Grand Centre
  In Roundtable Session: 61.071-7 - Theoretical Considerations of Organizational Culture and Change in Higher Education

Abstract

Are universities truly open systems? Research has repeatedly shown that the academic structure of universities is subject to environmental pressures (an open system) as well as immune from these pressures (a closed system). This paper seeks to determine the extent to which universities’ academic structures change in a time of increasing instability and environmental stress and what factors affect the scale and nature of change. We use original data on the academic units of 113 research universities in 2012 and 2017 to explore responses to increased competition and instability in the wake of the Great Recession. Findings suggests a diversity of responses to shifting environments with universities growing, downsizing, or remaining stable depending on their size and status.

Authors

• Sondra Nicole Barringer, Southern Methodist University

• Kim Nelson Pryor, Southern Methodist University