Transformation of Palm Beach Community College to Palm Beach State College: a case study

The purpose of this single-site case study was to examine the organization and leadership change process of Palm Beach State College, a publicly funded institution in Florida, as it embarked on offering bachelor’s degree programs. The study examined the organizational change process and the extent to which Palm Beach State College’s organization transformation aligned with the eight stages of John Kotter’s (1996, 2012) Change Management Model. This qualitative research was conducted using triangulation of data collection and analysis methods via interviews, observations, and document review. This study found that the organizational transformation was a success, and that while expanding its offerings, the college remained true to its core mission. Kotter’s model was found to be appropriate to examine the change process, and the college was well aligned in all but the final stage of the model. This research contributes to the body of knowledge in the field of higher education, primarily for two-year colleges embarking on the endeavor of organizational change process to confer baccalaureates.