Agile Change Management for Today's Higher Education Leaders
Release Date: 02/03/2026
Building Fairleigh Dickinson’s Lifelong Learning Ecosystem Across Five Generations
Changing Higher Ed
Program discontinuation is usually the fight presidents avoid. Fairleigh Dickinson University put a significant slate of program discontinuations and consolidations to a faculty referendum, and roughly 88 percent of the faculty endorsed it. The vote reflects a larger redefinition underway at FDU: a shift from the four-year degree to a university built around lifelong learning. In this episode of the , Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with and the first FDU graduate to hold the office, about the four-P framework guiding that redefinition: programs, people, partnerships, and place. Avaltroni...
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Pairing Liberal Arts with Tech Readiness: Five Institutional Decisions from Manhattan University
Changing Higher Ed
At Manhattan University, the case for the liberal arts is being made with outcomes, not nostalgia. Its graduates rank in the top 2% nationally for mid-career salaries, and The Wall Street Journal ranked the university 73rd in the country for graduate salaries, social mobility, and cost-effectiveness. The more useful story for institutional leaders sits underneath those numbers: a set of deliberate decisions about , technology preparation, faculty adoption, hiring, and alumni engagement. In this episode of the , speaks with , President of , about how the institution pairs a liberal arts...
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Student Retention: Using AI to Spot Disengagement Before Dropout
Changing Higher Ed
Most retention systems flag struggling students through grades and attendance. By the time those indicators fire, many students are already halfway out the door. Elvee's survey of 1,050 U.S. college students shows why: 86% start college highly motivated, 42% come close to dropping out at some point, and only 17% of those who struggle ever request help. In this episode of the , speaks with , CEO of , whose work with U.S. colleges centers on reading behavioral data for early signals of student disengagement. Drawing on his background in commercial technology, Dar explains how patterns in...
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Higher Ed's Trust Problem Isn't a PR Problem: AAC&U's Trust Agenda
Changing Higher Ed
Half of college presidents worried about public trust are answering with a public relations campaign. According to the AAC&U report at the center of this episode, that is a reasonable instinct but the wrong one. Public confidence in colleges and universities has slid for more than a decade, and messaging alone will not turn it around. In this episode of the , speaks with , lead author of and he co-directs AAC&U’s Advancing Public Trust in Higher Education initiative, about why trust has eroded and what campus leaders can actually do about it. Their conversation moves past naming...
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Why Research Funding Cuts Are a Strategic Risk, Not a Budget Problem
Changing Higher Ed
When the federal government freezes research funding, leaders tend to treat it as a budget problem: a number that was cut and might later be restored. The harder truth in this conversation is that much of the damage cannot be undone. Halted studies, shuttered labs, and departed early-career researchers do not simply resume when the money comes back. Research funding cuts are a strategic risk, not a line item. In this episode of the , speaks with , President and CEO of the and former chancellor of UC Berkeley. Dirks , reflecting on the protests that had put Berkeley at the center of national...
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When AI Finds the Administrative Friction Higher Ed Leaders Miss
Changing Higher Ed
Most AI conversations in higher education focus on the academic side. The administrative side gets less attention and is producing the bigger near-term financial wins for institutions willing to govern the rollout. In this episode of the , speaks with , about how AI is being applied across enrollment and advancement at institutions including Empire State University, Florida Southwestern State College, and Boise State University. Drawing on his career across Blackboard, Instructure, Kaltura, and now Gravyty, Beck walks through the specific case studies behind administrative AI adoption: a...
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Inside CSU’s ChatGPT Edu Rollout Across 22 Universities
Changing Higher Ed
AI implementation in higher education is often framed as a technology question. California State University treated it as with technology as the catalyst, rolling out ChatGPT Edu to 22 universities in 18 months while running the largest AI survey ever conducted at a single university system. In this episode of the , speaks with , about how the system designed and executed its generative AI implementation and what the of 94,060 respondents reveals about AI adoption, faculty engagement, and student behavior. Drawing on her work co-leading the academic side of CSU's GenAI initiative,...
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AI in Higher Education: Bias, Procurement, and Human Oversight
Changing Higher Ed
At sixteen, with straight A's in math and science, Dr. Karen Panetta's school career assessment told her to sell makeup or be a cook. A male friend with lower scores got engineer or politician. No AI was involved. Just a rules-based system applying gender and biographical filters to two teenagers. That same logic now sits inside AI tools landing in admissions offices and HR systems across higher ed, with one critical difference: AI does not eliminate human bias, it removes the human accountability that used to make bias correctable. In this episode of the , speaks with , Dean of Graduate...
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AI-First Business Education: How Kogod Transformed Culture, Curriculum, and Faculty Adoption
Changing Higher Ed
Most business schools are still forming committees to figure out what to do about AI. Kogod School of Business at American University formed a committee, but far from the typical higher ed standards. Leadership gave it six weeks and a five-page limit, and used the recommendation to integrate AI into every department, major, and minor. Three years later, undergraduate enrollment is up 40%, applications are up 50%, and more than 90% of faculty are using AI in the classroom. In this episode of the , speaks with returning guests , Dean of the Kogod School of Business at American University, and ,...
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Closing Higher Education’s AI Readiness Gap with Human-First Transformation
Changing Higher Ed
AI adoption in higher education is moving faster than institutional change models were built to handle. Students are already using AI at high rates, while many institutions are still trying to decide where AI belongs, who should lead it, and how much change is required. In this episode of the , speaks with , serial entrepreneur and founder of , about why higher education’s traditional playbook will not work in the AI age. Drawing on her work with Fortune 500 companies and AI implementation, Barua explains why AI should be treated as institutional infrastructure, not an IT project. She...
info_outlineAgile change management in higher education is no longer optional. Institutions are navigating continuous disruption from AI, shifting student expectations, workforce pressures, and internal cultural resistance. The challenge leaders face is not how to implement change once, but how to build the institutional ability to adapt continuously.
In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Christine Janssen Founder and CEO of Edstutia, an immersive learning company focused on adult learning, about why higher education must move from traditional change models to an agile, iterative approach to leadership, teaching, and institutional strategy.
Drawing on her experience in both higher education and entrepreneurial environments, Janssen explains why institutions struggle when they treat change as a project rather than an operating condition. McNaughton and Janssen outline how agile thinking, faculty adaptation, and a willingness to experiment have become essential leadership capabilities for presidents, boards, and faculty alike.
Some of the Topics Covered:
· Why traditional change management models no longer match today’s environment
· How agile, iterative approaches help institutions adapt faster than governance cycles
· Why AI is exposing weaknesses in traditional teaching and assessment methods
· The role of faculty culture as both a barrier and a solution to meaningful change
· Why preparing students for uncertainty requires faculty to be comfortable with it
· How institutions risk becoming the “yellow cab” in a world expecting “Uber-level” responsiveness
Real-World Examples Discussed:
· How AI forces faculty to redesign assignments and assessment methods
· Why student evaluations often measure the wrong outcomes
· How other industries were disrupted by ignoring customer expectations
· Examples of leaders who prioritize faculty development and innovation
Three Key Takeaways for Higher Education Leadership
1. Institutions must change how they think about change before they can change behaviors.
2. Faculty partnership and professional development are essential to institutional adaptability.
3. The greatest risk to higher education is waiting to see what others will do.
This episode offers higher education leaders a practical framework for understanding why many institutional struggles stem not from isolated issues, but from an outdated approach to change itself.
Read the transcript: https://changinghighered.com/agile-change-management-for-higher-education-leaders/
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