Institutional Analysis of Root Causes: The Case of Disability Services

• In Event: Systems Thinking in Higher Education

Abstract

This research represents a self-study at a Hispanic Serving Institution. The purpose was to examine/field-test an organizational analysis tool, using supports for students with disabilities as a case example. Campus organizational data were systematically collected from policy documents, organizational charts, procedural manuals, and interviews. A discrepancy analysis was conducted (external/internal policy landscape). The internal document data were coded and analyzed using a four-frame analytical tool grounded on Bolman and Deal’s (2017) and Minzberg’s (1989) frameworks. Our presentation details research-informed institutional operational improvements toward inclusion of students with disabilities, as examples of the framework’s application. We discuss the scaling up of the framework in identifying campus-wide root causes of organizational dilemmas and developing matching multi-prong solutions to them.

Authors

• Tiina Itkonen, California State University - Channel Islands

• Michelle Dean, California State University - Channel Islands