This document discusses implementing a new online application import process at the admissions office of Mia College to streamline the application processing workflow. Currently, support staff manually enters data from each application into the database, which is time-consuming and leads to errors. The proposed change would allow application data to be automatically imported from the online application into the database, saving an estimated 350 hours of manual data entry per year. This is expected to improve accuracy, reduce paper and printing costs, and allow counselors to contact applicants sooner by getting application files to them in a more timely manner. Interviews and surveys found that staff support the idea but may be anxious about technological changes.

1. 1
Karen Pilarski
Mia College 2010
Support Staff is a sub-department within the Admissions Office of Mia College. Support Staff is
responsible for processing transcripts, applications, letters, reports and various other data entry. It is a fast
paced environment and the work load is usually heavy. Support Staff works and communicates with the
undergrad and graduate counselors. The group processes letters to potential students such as missing
credentials, acceptance,refusal,etc. In addition, they canceland delay files and push files to be registered.
Support Staff also runs reports to help analysis where the Admissions Office is in terms of accepted
students, cancels, registrations numbers etc. Support Staff main purpose is to keep files moving in order
for the counselors to spend more time recruiting potential students.
For my project I will be focusing on implementing a new method to speed up the application process.
Currently Support Staff retrieves Mia College applications from a database. Support Staff has to key in
data from applications such as name, address, emergency contact, etc.
Recently a change was implemented for Support Staff to key in more information from applications. For
example parent information, addresses,reasons why the student is applying to Mia College, etc. This
extra data entry causes staff to take longer to process applications. This holds up counselors from
contacting applicants to discuss the next step in the admission process. Furthermore it backs up Support
Staff from other duties such as processing transcripts, processing accepts and completing letters.
Information Systems department at Mia recently approved setting up the online application import. This
is a bridge between the online application and the Admission’s database that allows the data to be
imported automatically. By implementing this change there is a possibility that the new process will do
the following:
 It will save approximately 350 hours of manual data entry.
 Improved data accuracy.
 Cut down on paper and printing costs (we will no longer need to print the online application)
 Allowing counselors to receive applications in a timely manner (perhaps even contact students
sooner).
 Extra time could allow for cross training and projects such as matriculation and file purging.

2. 2
Organizational Diagnosis and Assessment Phase
I conducted a needs assessment by interviewing the Director of Training and Technology and Information
(TTI) and sending an online survey to counselors, Support Staff and by observing staff meetings.
During transition of change it is important to clarify the purpose of the change. This means to answer
these questions (Bridges, 2003, p 61)
 What is the problem? Situation that requires this change to solve it?
 Who says so and give proof?
 What would happen if no one acted?
 What would happen to us if this occurred?
There are signs indicating there is a need to change how applications are processed. The biggest sign is
time constraints. There are two document secretaries in Support Staff. One handles undergraduate
applications and the other one handles graduate applications. In the morning the secretaries prints
applications that are completed and not processed and in-progress and not processed. Depending on time
of year an application has to be at a certain percentage completed in order to be processed.
Undergraduate population generates majority of the applications. Support Staff was asked to time
themselves to see how long it takes to enter an application (not including printing missing credential
letters). If an applicant isn’t in Datatel(student database) it takes up about 7 minutes. If an applicant has
some information already entered it takes about 4-5 minutes per application. Graduate applications have
more information to enter but there isn’t as many to process in a day.
Recently the Director of Admissions has asked for more data to be entered from applications. The use of
information is to help create reports to better recruitment focus/targets.
Monday morning is the busiest day since applications accumulate over the weekend. Depending on the
number of applications printed it could take several hours to enter all information and print up letters.
Support Staff is expected to process missing credential letters by 10am and enter transcripts by noon for
counselors to review them. Support Staff has to stop processing applications in order to meet this
deadline. If they become bogged down by other tasks (transcripts, accept files, refuse,cancels) there is

3. 3
always the risk of not processing all applications in a day. If one of the document secretaries is out it is up
to other Support Staff to process applications. At times another member may not get to processing
applications if they are busy with their own job responsibilities.
This brings up another issue lack of time causes. The online survey I conducted asked the following
questions: what is going great in Support Staff and what could be improved? 100% responded that people
work together efficiently and collaboratively. 40% responded that cross training is needed in the office.
Cross training means to have other members of the group be trained in different duties. This helps with
productivity and if someone is on vacation or out sick. In addition, if the work volume is very heavy and a
group member needed help. Due to heavy work volume (applications and other data entering) cross
training has been impossible to complete.
When applications aren’t processed in a timely manner it causes issues for counselors. After a counselor
receives an application file she reviews the application and reads over the letter to make sure it is correct.
The counselor then calls the potential student to give the next steps in the application process. When they
receive application files late in the day there may be a risk of not being able to get hold of the applicant.
Also it backs the counselors up in terms of their own job duties.
Another sign there needs to be a change is the issue with errors. It is expected that Support Staff process
all documents in an accurate and timely manner. Due to more demand for additional information to be
entered errors have increased. Typically when there is an error a counselor will give the file back to
Support Staff to fix. Errors can range from simple typos to errors in processing a file. Lately the Director
of TTI has been informed from the Director of Admissions of continuing issues. The Director of TTI has
shared this with Support Staff during staff meetings and face to face with staff members. If Support Staff
has to stop to fix errors it takes away from processing other files. This is especially important at the end of
month when application/accept/ cancelnumber reports are created. Counselors become upset if their
numbers are not correct due errors.
Lastly, another issue is the amount of paper used to print applications. According to the Office
Coordinator, Support Staff goes through four cases of copy paper a month. This is 40 reams of copy paper
at a cost of $139.80 per month. Not only is this a waste of money but not a ‘green’ way to conduct
business. Other departments such as Business Office have stopped printing paper by having documents
online instead of mailing them out to students. Last year we printed 543 on-line applications. Two pages
per apps so 1,086 pieces of paper were used. There are 500 pages per ream which means we used 2

4. 4
reams of paper last year for printing on-line applications. Although this doesn’t seem like much, it is still
a waste of resources.
I used Lewin’s Force Field Analysis to determine the forces for change and resistance factors. He notes
that changes in performance “could be achieved by either a strengthening a ‘driving’ force or weakening a
‘restraining’ force. (Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and Sullivan, 2010 p 77).This means to look at the
reasons for and against the decision. What using this tool does is increase supporting evidence why a
change should take place.
Although the work load is usually heavy there are days when there is a low amount of applications to
process. Support Staff may feela decrease in job security. However a strong reason for this change is that
excess time could be spent doing training or helping a colleague out with other tasks. By increasing skills
of Support Staff this actually adds more value to them as employees. This helps keep the office
productive and moving which is the biggest reason to implement the new application process.
Secondly, another force for the change is reducing errors by using new technology tool. A reason why
people may resist is the fear of technology. Support Staff has been processing applications online for
severalyears. Although Datatelis not new to them, a new way of using it is. This may cause anxiety and
apprehension. However,there have been changes in the past that Support Staff has adapted to. For
example the new Datatelformat, new Outlook, and the new application back office system.
Thirdly, a reason for the change is to improve accuracy. The potential resistance is for Support Staff and
Counselors to depend on Datatelto upload application information correctly. There could be glitches with
Datatelsuch as uploading information incorrectly. However,Datatelissues are usually detected fairly
quickly. Most issues relate to rule issues in Datatel. The Director of TTI can fix issues quickly. Also,
counselors are supposed to call students and double check information before they get too far in the
application process.
The desired state for Support Staff is to accurately and quickly provide information to counselors. By
implementing a new application process it makes the day more productive and efficient.
One of the principles of organizational development is that it works “best when it is supported by top
managers.” (Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and Sullivan, 2010, p 14). The stakeholders are Director of TTI,
Directors of undergrad& graduate Admission, and Support Staff, and counselors. Due to continuing
issues with accuracy and time management this change is anticipated by all who are involved. The higher
level managers are willing to go along with a change if it benefits the department in the long run. By
changing the way applications are processed counselors will have more time to focus their efforts on

5. 5
potential students. The long term benefit is it could possibly help increase numbers (accepted,registered
students).
Design Phase
In order for a project to succeed it is important to know where the project is going. A successfulchange
agent needs to create a ‘road map’ to move the change and organization forward. Using the first four steps
of Kotter’s Eight Step Change model (personal communication, OD 657 handout) will help me create my
own roadmap. I will use the last four steps in the next phase.
Establishing a sense of urgency
It is crucial for the whole Admissions Office to want the change to the application process. A strategy to
gain buy in is to create a sense of urgency and appeal to the values of the department. I will first address
to Support Staff that the current state is causing issues. An activity I plan on doing is to hold a Support
Staff meeting. The culture of Admissions is to have a department meeting but each group within the
Admissions Office holds their own weekly meetings. During the meeting I would discuss how
applications numbers are down since last semester. Lowered applications means a decrease in potential
accepted and registered students. This promotes a sense of crisis (urgency) with the current state.
In terms of Support Staff, to get buy-in I will again appeal to the value of time. Entering data from
applications takes a few hours to complete. Then it takes awhile to run letters and routing forms. The new
process will cut down the amount of time for applications. In addition, errors have been an issue. The
change will decrease the amount errors from occurring since the information is being entered directly
from the applicant. In terms of Support Staff, to create buy in I will again appeal to the value of time.
Entering data from applications takes a few hours to complete. Then it takes awhile to run letters and
routing forms. The new process will cut down the amount of time for applications. In addition, errors
have been an issue. The change will decrease the amount errors from occurring since the information is
being entered directly from the applicant. This means Support staff will not have to rerun letters to
applicants due to staff errors. The excess time can be spent processing applications and working on
various other projects.
In addition I will hold a separate meeting with the counselors and appeal to them the urgency. One way is
to discuss how not changing the application process will have negative results. Spring is the busiest travel
time for counselors to recruit potential students. By focusing and clarifying this, people in the department
can understand changing the way applications are processed needs to happen right away. During the staff
meeting I will discuss the possible outcomes if the change isn’t completed in the near future. The

6. 6
counselors work load will be very heavy when they are away during travel season. This means applicants
aren’t getting letters and phone calls in a timely manner. This could make a potential student lose interest
in Mia and apply elsewhere.
To create buy-in I will appeal to the value of time. One of main reasons for the change is to decrease
errors. When counselors have to proof read every communication to potential students, they are losing
time. By implementing the new application process,it will help to streamline applications. The potential
student will be keying in their own information when applying. The new process will upload the data
directly to Datatel. This takes out manual errors done by Support Staff. The change will be helpful to
counselors during travel season. It would be less work for them when they come back into the office.
They won’t have to spend as much time proofing letters. In addition more time can be spent
communication with potential college students.
To gain buy-in with the directors I will appeal to the value of time. When there are errors it not only
shows up in letters but in the data reports that are processed. The directors rely heavily on spreadsheets to
predict number forecasts. When errors happen this means the directors has to have Support Staff fix the
errors and then re run the reports. This decreases time. The new change will get rid of manual errors and
help the directors to run more accurate reports.
By creating a sense of crisis and explaining consequences of not supporting the change it helps to get buy
in with the department. Also tying in the urgency with department and individual values assists with
making the change happen.
Forming a potential coalition
In addition to needing buy in, there needs a group of people who get help cheer/rally for the change. “The
leader is the centralcheerleader for the vision. The leader must also work diligently to ensure that the
stakeholders know where this vision is going and how it affects them (Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and
Sullivan, 2010 p.149). For this change I need support from the Director of Admissions as well as
Directors of Graduate and Undergraduate Admissions. The directors have the most power and influence
in Admissions Office. “It is important to identify potential leverage points for change by understanding
the organization’s power system (the people who have influence or authority over key systems and
processes,rewards and incentives and people. “(p. 219). The directors make the decisions about what
changes or what policies should remain in place. They have the authority to lead the group. If I ask them
to support this change I will have the internal support I need to help push the change. An activity planned
is to have the Director of Admissions email the department about the upcoming staff meeting to introduce

7. 7
and discussing the change. What this does is keep the department in the loop of what is going on and
preparing them for the change. In addition, because directors hold more power and authority the email
will encourage everyone to support the new process. During the staff meeting the Directors will ask the
department for feedback of the changing the application process. In this department Directors usually
don’t usually include the whole department to discuss potential changes to policies and procedures. The
Directors usually just announce a change. If the whole department is included they will feel like they
contributed and support the proposed change.
Create Vision for the Change-
During the staff meeting I will address the vision for the change.” People need something they can see at
least in their imagination. A picture of the outcome will look like. The picture in everyone’s head is the
reality they live in. During the ending phase it is where this ‘mental picture’ falls apart. “(Bridges, 2003, p
64) it is important to show stakeholders how having a new application system will look like in their
world.
The new application process will:
 Save time
 Improved data accuracy
 Save money
The most valuable thing in the Admissions Office is time and numbers (accepted and registered students).
This is a fast paced environment where time matters. The Admissions Office has to keep up with current
trends in marketing and technology to stay afloat. “Like many people in today’s fast-moving
environment, organizations can go from champ to chump and success to failure in a short time if they
don’t keep improving and adapting. (Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and Sullivan, 2010, p. 239). Previously
all applications had to be manually entered from paper applications. As technology improved so did the
application process.
A new online application was created. The online application also offered applicants to apply online for
free. This was a great way to entice potential students to apply. The paper application had a fee attached.
The online application method increased the amount of students who applied. The increase in online
applications has created a heavy work load for the Admissions Office. Support Staff spends most of the
morning keying in applications while counselors spend the afternoon trying to contact potential students.
As applications have decreased over the past year the Directors have asked for more information from

8. 8
applications to be entered. This is to target/market to potential students. It now takes Support Staff twice
as long to process a day’s worth of applications. The lack of time has made it impossible for department
to hold cross training which is needed. Cross training would allow other members of Support Staff to
learn each other’s jobs in order to help out in the office. The proposed change will be reinforced by the
increase of processed applications and increase of time for Support Staff to conduct cross training.
Some issues with the past paper application method was errors. In the past errors were made because an
applicant’s handwriting was hard to read. The current state is Support Staff is trying to get all applications
processed quickly that sometimes errors happen. Errors can be simple typos or something more severe
such as creating duplicate records. There is only one person in Support Staff that is trained to merge
duplicate records. This takes time and causes delays in processing applications. A reward or a measure of
success is the decrease of duplicate records. The change will be reinforced by the decrease of errors and
timely processing of information. If the application information is automatically uploaded to Datatelthere
will be less probability of errors.
Lastly, the paper applications cost the department money. It was expensive to mail applications and have
them printed. The paper applications used to be sent in inquiry packets. Once the online application
process was implemented there wasn’t a need for paper applications. This cut down the cost of mailing
and printing a formal application. The current state is it costs the department money to keep printing up
applications from the application database. Extra money in the budget could be used for other resources
such as new office equipment, which is needed.
Communicate the Vision
The Admissions Office communicates mainly through emails and staff meetings. Because of the fast pace
environment a new change or initiative can quickly be forgotten. This is especially true if behaviors of
directors (or me) don’t reflect the vision. “A vision is only effective if the actions taken reflect the
vision.” (Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and Sullivan, 2010, p 149) an example of doing this is for the
Directors to keep reminding the department of the change and the progress of the change. This could be
during the next all staff meeting or in sub-department meetings. Another way is to listen to the department
concerns. A common concern people usually have is finding the time to do the actual training of a new
process. As the consultant is it is my as well as the directors responsibility to make the transition as
smooth as possible. During meetings I would discuss time management strategies and ask for input about
when to schedule a training session. This goes along with the most important vision, which is to save
time.

9. 9
Implementation Phase
Beginning in July 2012 the change process will start. The new application process will be ready for staff
to use for the spring 2013 semester. July is an appropriate time because it is after graduation and during
the lull of the summer when it is quiet around the department. The office begins to get hectic in the
beginning of August (last minute students applying, last minute recruiting efforts).
During the pre launch of my project the Director of Training & Technology and Information will be
responsible for contacting Information Systems (Datatel) for timelines and Datatelinformation. She will
also be in charge of relaying information/progress to the Director and Assistant Directors of Admission.
The Director of TTI and I will schedule a face to face meeting with the Directors to discuss project
proposal and gain by-in. This meeting will form my “coalition of supporters”.
Both the Director of TTI and I will also be responsible for arranging and planning a Support Staff and
counselor meeting. During the meetings I will make an announcement about the new application process.
Normal meetings involve staff listening to their supervisor and taking notes. This meeting will be
interactive. During this meeting I will ask everyone to do a round robin response. I will ask them to tell
me what are positive and negatives of implementing the new application process. I will record everyone’s
responses. According Kotter’s Eight Step Change model (personal communication, OD 657 handout)
“Empowering others to act on vision by changing structures,systems, policies and procedures in ways
that will facilitate implementation” is the 5 of 8th
step of the change model. By making the staff meeting
interactive it makes staff feellike part of the process. Changing the structure of the meeting also creates a
sense of valuing their opinions. In the past there was never a feedback session asking what others thought
of a change. Changes are usually just implemented by the Directors.
By asking staff to reflect it will give me valuable feedback about potential roadblocks/barriers that could
hinder the change. It is important to have an open and honest relationship with people who are affected by
the change. “Openness is important to the relationship because the client and consultant have to share all
information affecting the change effort. This includes information about the organization and personal
concerns,fears and opinions of key clients, sponsors and consultant.” (Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and
Sullivan, 2010 p.214). As discussed in the design phase I will talk to sub departments about the potential
benefits of changing the application process. This will be achieved by describing the sense of importance
of the change and creating my vision (step one and three of Kotter’s model).

10. 10
During the summer the Director of TTI will define parameters of Datatel(using the test version of Datatel
for experimenting). She will report any glitches or concerns to Information Systems. She will also
communicate with IT for final approval and go ahead.
During the testing stages the usual weekly Support Staff and monthly all staff meetings will occur. During
the meetings I will keep the department up to date on the progress of the new application method. During
meetings I will keep talking about potential benefits (communicating the vision). For example if during
the meeting the Director of TTI discusses errors in data entry, I will talk about how the new application
process will remove manual errors. This keeps staff enthusiastic about the change.
It is important to note that in order for Admissions to stay committed and energetic about the change it is
crucial to communicate small successes. Kotter’s6th
step (personalcommunication, OD 657 handout) is
“Planning for and creating short-term wins by publicizing success.” One of the roadblocks that are stated
frequently is that people are too busy to train. Also there is lack of confidence that Directors won’t get
sidetracked with other initiatives. “Early wins, especially ones that are visible and have tangible benefits,
are very important to target so the change process will have credibility.” (Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and
Sullivan, 2010 p.264) An early win could be an extra hour of calling students that would have been used
waiting for applications. Easy wins build confidence (Bridges, 2003, p.71) Confidence in term builds
creditability and deters negative behaviors “Believers may begin to doubt, and doubters turn into critics.
Quick successes reassure the believers, convince the doubters, and confound the critics.”
In late October of 2012 the Director of TTI will arrange and plan Datateltraining sessions for staff.
Training will be scheduled during normally scheduled weekly staff meetings. The duration will be kept at
two hours to avoid staff from being backed up with work. Training will take place in computer labs on
campus to avoid distraction (incoming calls, emails, visitors, etc).
Mia College Admissions Office has a budget in place for the academic year to cover the costs of
purchasing materials, copying, software etc. The most important ‘cost’ of this project is time spent. The
duration of this project will take 6 months to complete.
The following is a list of resources that the department has already purchased or not responsible for costs
incurred.
What Costs Department budget covers cost
Staff Labor $15 per hour x 1440 hrs=
$21, 600
Yes
Sponsor Labor $25 per hour x 1440 hrs= Yes

11. 11
$7200
Copies for training materials $300 Yes
Total cost for 6 month project=$29,100
Costs not included in the budget are:
Maintenance costs- Mia College has an Information Systems department to assist if there is a software
problem or Datatelconcern. The college has a help desk as well to address issues that come up.
Room/Facilities-There is no cost to reserve a room for meeting. This is done through Mia’s room
scheduling system or by contacting the Facilities department in the college. No refreshments are served
during meetings unless the Director brings some at her own discretion.
I discussed previously about my road map. It is important when going on any journey to anticipate road
blocks or resistance. One source of resistance is that variables always fluctuate. Reasons for applying
changes from semester to semester. Many things can determine if someone applies, enrolls or changes
his/her mind. For example job stability, income, parental influence, etc. Making the application process
faster doesn’t automatically guarantee success. A way to manage this for the director of IIT to keep up to
date on trends in the application process. This is done through weekly spreadsheets.
Another limitation or source of resistance is time. The Director of TTI (project sponsor) is very busy. She
would be the person in charge of running reports and creating models for meetings. She has many
pressing duties within the office and this may be pushed on the back burner during a heavy work load. A
way manage this is to utilize the collation I created. This means to depend on a back up person to help run
reports or communicate with Information Systems if there are issues with Datatel.
In addition the learning curve could be an issue. The terminology of Datatelis geared towards people with
a higher level of technology experience. The current office is experiencing some turnover (due to
employees leaving the department). This may cause issues with training especially if the new employees
are not familiar with Mia and the Datatelsystem. A way to manage this is to have training options such as
extending training hours or having the new employee shadow a more skilled Datateluser.
Resistance is a natural part of any change. It is a shock to the system when there is a sudden change.
People often are fearful of the unknown. This is why communication is necessary in dealing with
resistance. “It is not enough to know why people resist change. It is also important to take proactive

12. 12
approach to overcoming resistance to change.” (Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and Sullivan, 2010 p.265)
Keeping staff up to date on the progress and addressing concerns will assist me in my change effort.
Evaluation
A core value/belief of Mia College is assessment. This means the recognition of yourself and each other.
Assessments help students/employees gain insight into their own progress. Assessing gives the
opportunity to take responsibility for one’s learning by monitoring progress. The self-assessments help to
see areas that are strengths and challenges. In addition self-assessments allow everyone to formulate plans
to successfully reach their goals. “When considering the ‘why’ or purpose of an evaluation, it boils down
to two aims. First to prove the intervention worked and to evaluate an intervention in order to improve it
for the future.”(Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and Sullivan, 2010 p.273). The use of data collection and
surveys (self assessment tool) will give me the information I need to see what worked and what part of
the application process could use some further development.
The new application process is scheduled to be fully implemented by January 2013. One outcome of the
proposal is to save time (proving the intervention worked). Based on prior testing/timing it was concluded
that a new application takes about 7 minutes to be entered. Once the project is completed Support Staff
will be asked to record how long daily amount of applications takes to process. The new application
process will upload applicant information to Datatel. Support Staff will only have to enter codes and
make sure there isn’t missing information. Once all codes are entered,letters can be printed and routed to
counselors. This data gathering will be done for two weeks. I will calculate the average time and report
findings/results to the Director of ITT. In addition, The Information Processing Analyst will generate
weekly funnel reports. The funnel reports will show how many applications were processed per week.
The reports will be given to the Director of ITT for review.
Another outcome is to improve data accuracy (proving the intervention worked). Due to accuracy issues
in the past, the Director of Admissions created a “Best of Practices” log. This log was created as a method
for consistently tracing issues and suggestions as they occur or come up, and for recording solutions or
outcomes. The ultimate goal is to have employees reflect on work and focus on how employees can
continuously improve work and processes. The “Best of Practices” log asks employees to document when
an error is made and prompts them to put in a comment. The Director of ITT will review the log weekly
to monitor errors.
It is expected errors will decrease as a result of application information automatically being uploaded.
The extra time the new process allows will help keep support and buy in. Step six of Kotter’s change

13. 13
model states “planning for and creating short-term wins by publicizing success,thereby building
momentum of change.” What this means is by communicating some small positive change (a week with
no errors, or an extra hour a day to complete tasks) will give me credibility and keep interest in my
change.
After each positive or negative result it is important to evaluate the reasons behind it. Step seven of
Kotter’s model states (personal communication, OD 657 handout) “Consolidating improvements and
changing other structures, systems,procedures and policies that aren’t consistent with the vision.” The
Director of ITT will determine if errors were the cause of Datatelglitches or a need for training (improve
intervention for the future). For example, if Support Staff entered a wrong code for a letter or if a
counselor didn’t communicate what was needed to process a file. This is an ongoing evaluation tool with
no determined end date. The Director of ITT will report results to employees in a face to face meeting or
an email depending on severity of the errors.
In addition an online survey will be used to ask stakeholders how the process is going. The questions will
ask stakeholders (Support Staff, counselors and Directors) to rate each question. I decided on an online
survey (surveymonkey.com) because of time and privacy. The Admissions Office is a face paced work
place and there is hardly a down period when face to face interviews can be conducted. Every member of
the group has time sensitive duties to handle.
Another reason for the survey was location. The office is very small and there is no private area unless
down outside of the office or using a director’s office. If face to face meetings were to be conducted in the
office confidentiality would be compromised. I created a short survey because I wanted the participants to
be able to finish it and still give valuable feedback. The following is the survey:
1. The new application process has been beneficial to me
®Agree ® Unsure® Disagree ® Other (please specify)
2. The goals/outcomes were clear and manageable
Agree ®Unsure® Disagree ®Other (please specify)
3. The project manager keeps me informed of results in a timely manner
®Agree ®Unsure® Disagree ®Other (please specify)
4. The project manager provides ongoing communication of training, deadline, etc
®Agree ®Unsure® Disagree ®Other (please specify)
5. The new application process has mostly helped me most with (check all that apply)
®Saving time ®Accuracy® Morale ®Other (please specify)

14. 14
Comments?
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
The survey will be completed during training and again after 6 months after implementation. Results will
be reported to the Director of ITT. The purpose of this tool is for me to get a clear picture of myself as a
change agent and how others feel about the process. “By stopping and reflecting, meaning can be made
that will support future initiatives” (Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and Sullivan, 2010 p.287). I can take the
feedback and use it to help me improve how I design, implement and evaluate another change initiative.
In addition, after 6 months the survey is a useful way to have closure. After the responses are recorded I
will go over the results with the Director of ITT. She will provide a summary of the funnel reports of the
past 6 months, survey results and errors to the Director of Admissions.
Step 8 of Kotter’s change model (personal communication, OD 657 handout) states “institutionalizing the
new approaches by publicizing the connection between the change effort and organizational success. This
means to keep communicating how the change is going and sharing what is successful. For this project
this will be done through emails and all staff meetings. This doesn’t mean just sharing that the new
Datatelprocess is running smoothly but how it affects the organization. For example I would be sharing
how the new system is allowing for additional cross training or additional time for counselors to call
potential students. These examples keep interest of all stakeholders and give a type of incentive/reward
for supporting the change (saving time, needed training of office responsibilities). The whole idea for the
change came from a desired state,which the bottom line is to save time.

15. 15
References
Bridges, W., 2003, Managing Transitions,Da Capo Press,Cambridge MA
Rothwell, W., Stavros, J., Sullivan, R., Sullivan, A. (Eds.) (2010). Practicing organization development: a
guide for leading change. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley and Sons.
Whitney, R. & Trosten-Bloom, A. (2010). The power of appreciative inquiry: a practical guide to
positive change. San Francisco,CA: Berrett-Koehler.