International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR) ISSN: 2319-4421 Volume 1, No. 3, December 2012 i-Xplore International Research Journal Consortium www.irjcjournals.org 38 An Effective Change Management Model: A Case Study of RK University (Gujarat, India) Dr. Reena Patel, Assistant Professor, School of Management, RK University, Rajkot, India ABSTRACT “RK University” which is established under the “Gujarat Private University Act” by the government of Gujarat and is approved to award degrees by UGC. As the youngest state level private university in particular Gujarat region, it was very difficult for the change agent to convince each stake holders where they were also not aware about the benefit of being the part of a private university. The advantage of being a private university is to have power of decision making, making own rules and regulations, policies matched with current requirement. Many internal changes has been adopted under RKU in the areas like admission process, examination system, quick results, personal counselling, course outline, training program, new collaborations, placement, board of studies and so on... Changes has been conveyed and communicated through personal counselling, training programs, and advertisement through different media. RKU shows growth day by day in terms of number of students, number of courses and number of faculties, build up area and so many things it leads an eagerness to know how change has been effectively managed in that transformation journey from RK group of colleges to RK University. This case intended to explore the same. Key Words: RKU, Change agent, Changes, Transformation, Effective management. INTRODUCTION On 14 th October, 2011 RK group of colleges was transformed in “RK University” under the “Gujarat Private University Act” by the government of Gujarat and is approved to award degrees by UGC. Since its inception in the year of 2005, the RK group of Colleges has made a constant endeavour to provide quality education and a platform for overall development to its students. In 2005, it was started with 120 students and two courses i.e. business management and physiotherapy. Gradually, many new courses were introduced and today with 5000 students and 500 faculties it’s offering more than 30 + courses like engineering & technology, pharmacy, computer application, diploma engineering, master of pharmacy, master of engineering, M.sc. IT, M.sc. programs, BBA and BCA etc. It is the only private state university offering PhD program in saurashtra region. Initially built up area was 1, 65,300sq.ft and right now it has been expanded in 7, 50,000 sq.ft. The campus offers hostel-facilities for nearly twelve-hundred students. Situated on the out-skirts of Rajkot City, on Rajkot- Bhavnagar Highway, the RK University has a sprawling and green campus of 40 acres with State of the Art infrastructure. The RK University Campus is well connected through road with GSRTC buses and private operators’ buses from city. The fully residential campus offers students a peaceful and conducive study environment along with facilities like hostel, mess and canteen, indoor and outdoor sporting activities. The education pattern at RK University has a right blend of academia and industry with professionals, mentors, and advisors interacting with student throughout the year, offering enormous opportunities to the students for live projects, internships and placements. RK University strives to provide rich and complete study experience to its students through cutting – edge amenities, research and innovation, that will assist students in building a successful professional path. MISSION “To be a premier educational organization imparting holistic education to help students become responsible world citizens who are sensitive to the needs of the society” VISION “To develop a community of students and academicians who are a part of world class education system which is developed in a manner that supports the intellectual, professional and moral growth of students leading to advancement of human knowledge through enterprising research”. MOTIVATING CHANGE Readiness for change has been created by communicating the benefits to the students like more exposure of practical study rather than theoretical knowledge, Decision making power in exam system, continuous evaluation system to evaluate students in right manner, new course like BBA, BCA as the integrated learning approach. Faculty seminars and development programs has been arranged to explain and motivate faculties to understand changes as opportunity. Any changes cannot be easily accepted, as people who are habituated to do work with traditional method they will