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 …

Increasing Support For Evidence-Based Policing: A Complexity Theory Perspective On Organizational Change, Brad Pearce

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Confidence in Canadian policing is at a critical juncture as demonstrated by public calls for increased oversight and accountability, social movements demanding police reform, political considerations to defund the police, and citizen dissatisfaction with outdated and ineffective policing strategies. This Organizational Improvement Plan focuses on a specific problem of practice that is currently being faced by many Canadian police agencies: a lack of evidence-based policing practices with specific focus on the Bluetown Police Department. Moreover, the problem of practice has led to an overreliance on reactive policing interventions that have prevented the Bluetown Police Department from achieving prescribed internal performance …

Improving Sexual Violence Reporting In Higher Education Institutions, Karen D. Kennedy Ms

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Abstract

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) addresses the lack of sexual violence (SV) reporting at an undergraduate university (Coastal U; a pseudonym) where values of equity, diversity, and inclusion are espoused. Nonetheless, students from diverse cultures at Coastal U report a lack of visibility, unclear pathways for reporting, poor student and staff education, and numerous reporting fears, culminating in a lack of SV reporting. A critical and intersectional feminist lens frames this issue as one of social injustice, wherein inequity and lack of inclusion are problematic. Institutional context, capacity, and readiness, together with consideration of external factors, led to three …