Curriculum Change as Collective Work: Understanding Graduate-Level Curricular Reform in Computing at Minority-Serving Institutions

• In Event: Negotiating Progress: Postsecondary Faculty Development, Collaboration, and Governance

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates how faculty and staff engage in curricular change within graduate-level computing programs at Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs)—a critical yet underexamined context in postsecondary education. Guided by a shared leadership framework, we analyzed semi-structured interviews with 11 faculty and staff across diverse MSIs. Findings illustrate how curricular reform is shaped by both collaboration and competition, revealing tensions between institutional support and structural barriers such as resource constraints, disciplinary silos, and enrollment-driven funding models. This study contributes to research on leadership, equity, and organizational change by examining how shared decision-making processes unfold in MSIs. Insights inform policy and practice for advancing graduate education reform, particularly in interdisciplinary and under-resourced institutional settings.

Authors

• Annie M. Wofford, Florida State University

• Morgan Danyi, Florida State University

• Lara Perez-Felkner, Florida State University