Higher education now finds itself in a new era and environment in which it is confronted with an array of challenges and forces for change. This paper identifies the key forces for change in higher education, assesses these forces using an established change model (the action research model), and illustrates how change literature from management, human resource development, and economics have the potential to contribute to successful change management in higher education environments. (Contains 1 table.) [For complete proceedings, see ED491481.]