Exploring Readiness, Motivation, and Capacity for Implementing an iPad Campus Initiative: A Rural Community College Case Study

ABSTRACT

This intrinsic case study explored organizational readiness to implement a campus-wide technology initiative. Specifically, this research examined a rural community college’s implementation of an “iPad campus” initiative in which all students, faculty, and staff were required to adopt iPad technology. We apply a heuristic for organizational readiness, R = MC², as a framework to understand motivation, general organizational capacity, and innovation-specific capacities. The findings of our case study identified four key themes that provide insight into the challenges faced in the implementation of a campus-wide iPad initiative. The findings included (1) a top-down approach to implementation, (2) inconsistent communication of vision and expectations, (3) lack of aligned support, and (4) technology infrastructure challenges. Community colleges face numerous hurdles in implementing new policies, procedures, and practices. These challenges may be intensified when implementing complex technological innovations in resource-limited rural institutional settings.