Higher Education Commons^™

An Equitable Approach To Academic Progression Advising: To Use An Automated Tool Or Not?, Frances H. Billingsley

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) is concerned with the problem of inequitable access to an automated degree audit tool at a large metropolitan university in central Canada, which is affecting year-to-year progression and timely graduation. Despite the implementation of this tool 17 years ago, it has not been fully adopted, leaving the campus community to navigate degree progression inconsistently and in isolation, with nearly half the students underserved; of particular concern are first-generation students. Stakeholder theory underpins the organizational change management plan, which espouses authentic, transformational, and shared leadership approaches. Following internal and external analyses, it was determined that the …