This is a challenging time in higher education. Higher educational institutions face increasing pressures from consumer and policy stakeholders, and from ever-changing student populations. Efforts to achieve diverse student bodies are under attack. Because educational institutions are complex organizations with multiple powerful stakeholders, finding collaborative solutions can be challenging.
Relational coordination - a mutually reinforcing process of communicating and relating for the purpose of task integration - is known to help diverse stakeholders more easily achieve their desired outcomes through the development of shared goals, shared knowledge and mutual respect, supported by communication that is frequent, timely, accurate and focused on problem-solving rather than blaming. For a systematic review of the impact of relational coordination on performance outcomes across 73 industry sectors in 36 countries, please see Bolton, R., Logan, C.K. & Gittell, J.H. (2021). Revisiting Relational Coordination: A Systematic Review, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science.
Student success is one area where higher education can benefit from increased relational coordination. The inability of students to access services and resources can be a significant inhibitor to student success. This is especially true for populations of students who have been historically and systemically under-resourced, marginalized, and discriminated against, for example students of color, low-income students, first-generation students, disabled students, LGBTQ students, and immigrant students, especially those who lack familial networks to help navigate policies and structures that can be confusing and daunting.
There has been increased focus on going beyond creating access for college students, to ensuring that institutions of higher education are creating the necessary academic, environmental, and structural supports to assist students in retention, persistence, and graduation. State and federal governments along with the philanthropic community have increasingly invested resources to encourage and hold institutions accountable for the success of the students they admit. In addition to student success, there are other challenges in education as well, including faculty and staff retention, curricular innovation, social climate, research and development, financial management, alumni relations, and external stakeholder relations more broadly.
Based on relational coordination theory, we propose that strengthening relational coordination between departments and across levels of leadership within educational institutions, with their broader networks of external stakeholders, and with students themselves, will enable educational institutions to adapt to their changing environment and more easily achieve their desired outcomes.
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Resources
RC Cafe: Relational Coordination for Higher Education in a Rapidly Changing World, April 13, 2023, 3-4:00 pm ET.
Working Paper: Grim & Gittell (2016). Organizing for Collegiate Student Success: A Proposal for Relational Coordination in Higher Education
Slide Deck: Goulding & Shanti (2022). Higher Education Advising: Trust, Ties and Transition
Slide Deck: Introduction to Relational Coordination in Higher Education
Purpose of this Innovation Lab
The purpose of the Higher Education Innovation Lab is to create a community of scholars, practitioners, and scholar-practitioners to use the principles and practices of relational coordination to advance positive outcomes for administrators, faculty, staff, and students. This Innovation Lab will connect members from various institutional types, roles, and interests to create synergy for community-building, practice-sharing, and research opportunities. To join us or learn more, please contact one of the Founding Members below.
Initial Focus of this Innovation Lab
We are launching this Innovation Lab with a few initial areas of focus, while remaining open to new interests and ideas from future members:
- Student Affairs & Academic Affairs Partnerships
- Student Services Coordination
We aim to achieve:
- Increased equity in student retention, persistence, and graduation, and
- Improved quality of work and retention of faculty and staff through
- Positive working relationships between administrators, faculty, staff, students, and other key stakeholders