The Postpandemic Revitalization of a Minority Serving Institution Through Structural and Operational Organizational Changes

Abstract

"St. Augustine College, a small, bilingual higher education institution, survived the pandemic by implementing structural and operational changes. The primary objective was two-fold: to create organizational changes that addressed the consequences of an unprecedented pandemic and to create the tools and mechanisms needed to sustain those organizational changes. Despite the circumstance, the institution’s commitment to its nontraditional student population, primarily female (78%) and Hispanic students (85%), motivated the necessary changes. The theoretical framework that supports this research study is the work of Kurt Lewin (1942)’s 3-Stage Model of Change. A mixed methods study determined the framework for data collection and analysis. The newly created Office of Academic Effectiveness (OAE) was the unit of analysis. The OAE is responsible for the quality assurance of the institution. Through qualitative data including interviews and observations, the Latino Educational Model, the new foundational teaching and learning philosophy of the institution, was developed. The quantitative data that served as the model’s creation was generated from four satisfaction surveys as well as students’ evaluations of course and instructors. This study provides a close examination of the office’s accomplishments and failures, institutional obstructions and passageways, and the balancing of existing traditions with new best practices. As a result of an arduous reframing process intended to revitalize the traditional culture, the college community united to create new units, revamp enrollment and admission procedures, update technology for different instructional delivery modalities, hire system disruptors, design and implement new policies, enforce assessment measures, craft onboarding regulations, establish faculty evaluation guidelines, build new academic programs, restructure and reevaluate the curricula, set up academic internships, conceive new certificates, and rebrand the institution, among other initiatives. The institutionalization of these changes seems to be the catalyst that will lead the institution to reclaim its position in the higher learning community."