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Change leaders at all levels of the university will need to grapple with both the content and the process of change. This book tackles the question of how universities can lead change from within.
Nearly one thousand colleges and universities in the United States face major challenges—from catastrophic hurricanes to loss of accreditation to sagging enrollment. What can leaders of such at-risk institutions do to improve their situation? Turnaround gives college and university leaders the tools they need to put their fragile institutions back on a path to success. This comprehensive handbook outlines how board members, presidents, and administrators can identify their institutions' weaknesses, implement plans for improvement, and mitigate existing damage. Turnaround also identifies the legal pitfalls that often accompany institutional change, offering solutions for how to overcome such obstacles or avoid them altogether. Evaluating the experiences of two hundred college leaders, the contributors share such critical information as: • 20 indicators of institutional vulnerability • 10 necessary skills for presidents directing a turnaround • 5 characteristics of institutions that have completed successful turnarounds • 10 lessons of successful turnarounds Featuring candid advice from decision makers who have faced severe challenges, Turnaround is a valuable resource for college and university leaders facing tough times.
LEADING SCHOOL TURNAROUND Leading School Turnaround offers new perspectives and concrete, evidence-based guidelines for the educational leaders and administrators faced with the challenge of turning our low-performing schools around. Using the tools outlined in this groundbreaking book, school leaders can guide their schools to higher levels of achievement and sustained academic success. Based on research conducted in the United States, Canada, and England, Leading School Turnaround addresses in three parts the dynamic context of the turnaround environment, what turnaround leaders do, and the incredible challenges of moving from turnaround to "stay around." Filled with illustrative examples, the book outlines the best practices and behaviors successful turnaround leaders exercise. The authors include detailed information for applying the four main categories of turnaround leadership: direction setting, developing people, redesigning the school, and managing the instructional program. This important resource can help any school leader get their school back on the track to academic success.
This book focuses attention on deans as agents of change using the conceptual framework of "turnaround leadership for higher education" (Fullan and Scott). Drawing on this tramework, case studies of six deans of color are presented. Interrogating the framework through the lens of these individuals is particularly cogent, given their positions as leaders of colleges or schools of education in a variety of institutional settings.
What are the hallmarks of a lasting institutional turnaround? It is too easy to mistake a single initiative_mounting a new marketing program, for example, or bringing in a million dollar donation_for a true turnaround. Successful turnarounds involve profound, often difficult, actions that affect the finances, academic offerings, and reputations of colleges and universities. They take institutions to new levels of performance and then present new challenges. MacTaggart examines the several stages that comprise institutional turnarounds and offers practical advice on setting and reaching higher levels of performance. MacTaggart also discusses the early indicators of a college or universityOs need for a turnaround. He and his colleagues outline financial trends and other indicators of distress, as well as benchmarks for the various stages in an effective turnaround strategy. Academic Turnarounds will help trustees, presidents, and faculty members diagnose whether or not they are in denial over the true condition of the institution they are charged with preserving. Donors, state officials, accreditors, and others interested in the quality and vitality of American higher education will find direction in this book.
Provides an in-depth examination of the causes and symptoms of degeneration and a two-part model for preventing educational collapse and crafting an effective turnaround.
"Peer leadership programs are not only pervasive, but also offer an effective and efficient means to advance students' adjustment, learning, development, and success. Student leaders, educators, and paraprofessionals make it financially feasible to run large-scale programs and are likely to be an even greater component of campus life and academic support in the future. The student outcomes of peer leadership are mutually beneficial: the students who provide the mentorship, leadership, or education gain as much, if not more, from the experience than the students they serve. Further, the range of positive gains from peer leadership has significant overlap with personal, civic, and social outcomes of college that are essential for success in a global society and economy."--Publisher.
No greater challenge faces our society than improving the educational opportunities for millions of young people trapped in chronically low-performing schools. Overcoming this challenge requires talented and dedicated school leaders whose knowledge and skills extend far beyond what is covered in conventional principal preparation programs. This book draws on extensive research by the author and others on the actions needed to turn around low-performing schools. First, however, the book examines the personal qualities needed to undertake the turnaround process. Following chapters provide guidelines on diagnosing the school-based causes of low achievement and developing a school turnaround plan. The author focuses on the importance of continuous planning – a departure from standard practice. A major portion of the book is devoted to examples of first-order and second-order strategies for raising achievement. Specific recommendations for launching the turnaround process and sustaining gains beyond the first years of turnaround are provided. The concluding chapter addresses the role of school districts in supporting school-based turnaround efforts.
