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Lorilee R. Sandmann
Director, Community Outreach
Michigan State University


Change That Must Occur to Create the Twenty-First Century Lifelong University

Results of the Capstone Symposium Delphi Survey

As higher education leaders, symposium participants are involved in creating the university of the future. Therefore, they were encouraged to participate in a two-round Delphi survey conducted during the symposium. The purpose of the survey was to assess what this group of leaders perceive to be the most important change that has to occur to enable higher education institutions to create the twenty-first century lifelong university.

Round 1

During Round 1 of the Delphi study, respondents were asked to indicate a single most important change that has to occur to enable higher education institutions to create the twenty-first century lifelong university. One hundred eighty-eight people (approximately seventy-three percent of those attending when the Delphi survey was administered) responded to this question. Answers varied from a short statement to several paragraphs. The majority of the respondents (thirty-eight percent) indicated that change in faculty culture was most needed for the lifelong university. Figure 1 illustrates the findings. Responses clustered into the following list.
  • Increase program flexibility
  • Increase consumer orientation
  • Develop strong leadership
  • Increase funding
  • Increase faculty development
  • Increase the delivery of resources to the users when, where, and how they need them
  • Increase the use of technology to fulfill the educational outreach mission
  • Change faculty culture
  • Increase external political support
  • Remove barriers among academic disciplines

Figure 1.

Round 2

Based on the responses from Round 1, participants were asked to rank their three most important changes which must occur to enable higher education institutions to create the twenty-first century lifelong university. Clearly the most important change which respondents indicated was to develop strong leadership (thirty-eight percent). Twenty-three percent of the respondents said that changing faculty culture was the most important. Figure 2 details the respondents' number one choice. Interestingly, in Round 1, respondents indicated that changing faculty culture was more important than developing leadership.


Figure 2.

Table 1 provides the complete rankings by the respondents. As shown, respondents indicated that developing strong leadership was most important, followed by changing faculty culture. Of the respondents who indicated that developing strong leadership was the number one change, fifty percent indicated that changing faculty culture was the second most important change needed.


Table 1. Round Two Delphi Survey Results
 First ChoiceSecond ChoiceThird Choice
Increase program flexibility5%11%9%
Increase consumer orientation11%12%8%
Develop strong leadership38%14%13%
Increase funding2%1%10%
Increase faculty development5%12%13%
Increase the delivery of resources6%4%19%
Increase use of technology4%6%10%
Change faculty culture22%27%10%
Increase external political support2%3%2%
Remove barriers between academic disciplines4%10%8%

When respondents were asked, "To what extent do you believe your institution is willing to make these changes," thirty percent indicated that their institution was already acting on the need to change. Only six percent of the respondents indicated that their institution was not willing or would not think change is necessary.

Leadership for What?

These findings, particularly the agreement around major needed changes, lead to further speculation. Who or what group within a university was implied as targets for leadership development? And, development of strong leadership for what purpose? Is there a relationship between developing strong leadership and changing faculty culture? Given these are responses from members of senior administrative teams, how might a sample of faculty members have responded? How might a sample outside academia have responded?