This resource book reflects the assumptions, structure, and insights of the American Council on Education's Project on Leadership and Institutional Transformation, a 6-year study that involved 26 institutions involved in comprehensive change. The first section of the primer, "Creating the Context," focuses on key issues that form the backdrop for any change initiative: institutional characteristics that influence the change process; procedural issues; and aspects of institutional culture. Section 2 focuses on the strategies and structures that facilitate action. The third section provides an organizing framework for understanding the extent to which institutions are making progress and the evidence they have of their progress. An epilogue discusses the ways in which the experiences of the institutions participating in this project show that "change changes." Their experiences also show how fluid, and often how idiosyncratic, the change process is. Whether looking for language to make a case, actions to take, or pitfalls to avoid, any institution that want to undertake change can find something of value in this primer. An annotated list of 17 resources is attached. (Contains 24 references.) (SLD)