One University: An Interdepartmental Collaboration Model to Enhance Online Student Engagement

As higher education institutions see the increased enrollment of online students, the services they provide must adapt to meet their needs. This chapter presents an in-depth case study of the steps that one private American university took, following Kezar’s model (2005), to improve online student engagement. The first phase involved buy-in from leadership and creating a valid justification for the collaboration efforts. The second phase involved taking the first steps to create a culture of collaboration across the institution. The third phase involved the development of programs that continued collaboration efforts through various campuses and departments to create tangible products promoting student success. The institution focused more on the process of collaboration than the results in an effort to create a foundation that could outlast staff changes and restructuring of departments. Early results indicate a potential for other universities to examine their processes used for collaboration between colleges and departments.