“How Did You Get the Change to Stick?”—exploring a Change Process in a UK University Via Co-evolution

This conceptual paper considers change processes in universities via a reflexive account of a case of the transformation of welcome, induction and transition (WIT) provision at a large UK university to support student orientation, undertaken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper presents a narrative from the perspective of co-evolution, an approach developed in natural science but applicable to large, complex institutional settings, characterized by hierarchies and local cultures. Co-evolution examines how adaptation within a system and interaction between its parts mean that some changes occur and stick, whereas others do not occur or are not sustained. This framing emphasizes the importance of systems thinking and reciprocal learning at multiple levels, adding to the menu of theories available to support change in higher education. Drawing on our case that involved innovation, some of which led to new ways of working, the paper argues that co-evolution offers specific insights valuable to those making change and those understanding it.