Rising to the Challenge of Transforming Higher Education: Designing Universities for Learning and Teaching

Creating a successful and distinctive approach to learning and teaching at scale is a challenge facing all universities. This brief presents the Self-Organizing University (SOU), a transformational whole-of-organization solution for the design, delivery, and evaluation of learning and teaching in all its forms. It describes the elements of the SOU approach along with the implementation process and expected outcomes. It also explains the rationale and research base for each element of the model and how they are connected to create a university-wide model of learning and teaching. It includes guidance for anyone responsible for institutional improvement in the learning and teaching space.