Expanding a DPT program to include a hybrid online/on-campus cohort: a case study of shared governance
Purpose: Shared governance can be described as a bi-directional faculty-administrator partnership that promotes communication, collaboration, shared decision-making, and accountability. The purpose of this report is to share the process by which a long-standing traditional physical therapy program conducted an 18-month process of shared governance around the decision to expand to include a hybrid online/on-campus version of their DPT program.Methods/Description: When a company specializing in graduate distance education approached our university to explore the possibility of developing a hybrid online/on-campus DPT program, our administrators and faculty embarked an 18 month process to determine whether such an endeavor was not only feasible but advanced our core values and strategic vision. A retrospective analysis of the timeline, communication strategies, key decision points and processes, lessons learned, and ultimate outcome will be shared. Organizational readiness to implement the new program was assessed using the twelve-item Organizational Readiness for Implementing Change (ORIC) survey with an supplemental open text field inviting additional comments. Constructs of change commitment and valence are reported. Two investigators independently coded open text responses and identified common themes to inform implementation of the new program.Results/Outcomes: Program faculty and administrators ultimately agreed to expand our DPT program to include a hybrid delivery cohort. Communication strategies supporting deliberation included four formal meetings with the distance education company and large groups of faculty, four Division-wide strategic planning town hall meetings, extensive deliberation among the faculty executive committee, and regular discussions at bi-weekly faculty meetings. The foundational principle guiding these discussions and the final decision was that the hybrid program must meet the same quality standards established for the on-campus program. The newly extablished hybrid program has the same admissions criteria, curriculum, exams, clinical education experiences, degree, and tuition. Both programs share the same faculty. Forty-seven faculty (32%) completed the ORIC survey. Faculty reporting positive responses (agree or somewhat agree) for five items associated with commitment to change ranged from 94% to 100%. Responses for seven items assessing positive valence for change ranged from 81% to 94%. Themes from open text responses will be reported.Conclusions/Relevance to the conference theme: Our Leadership Landscape: Perspectives from the Ground Level to 30,000 Feet: New and innovative models for PT education are needed to provide access to the highest quality of physical therapy education. However, the process of embarking on major change involves risk shared by all, thus requiring shared governance. Our decision-making process can inform leadership and faculty from other programs as they embark on their own efforts to innovate and advance physical therapy education.References: 1. Bank L, Jippes M, Leppink J, et al. Are they ready? Organizational readiness for change among clinical teaching teams. Advances in medical education and practice 2017;8:807-15. doi: 10.2147/amep.S146021 [published Online First: 2017/12/26] 2. Burke KM. Distributed leadership and shared governance in post-secondary education. Management in Education 2010;24(2):51-54. doi: 10.1177/0892020610363088 3. Shea CM, Jacobs SR, Esserman DA, et al. Organizational readiness for implementing change: a psychometric assessment of a new measure. Implementation science : IS 2014;9:7. doi: 10.1186/1748-5908-9-7 [published Online First: 2014/01/15] 4. Weiner BJ. A theory of organizational readiness for change. Implementation science : IS 2009;4:67. doi: 10.1186/1748-5908-4-67 [published Online First: 2009/10/21]