The article presents a system-wide change initiated in the faculty of education at a major teachers' college aimed at developing students' reading, and written and oral communication proficiencies, while focusing on clarity and coherence, and the use of rich, correct and precise language for purposes of studying, teaching and research. The "philosophy" section introduces the theoretical basis of the process, defines the essence and the nature of the academic change and explains its context and timing. The "process" section reports on the survey, which addresses students' perspectives on the subject of academic writing, describes how the agenda was implemented and how the commitment among the faculty members was developed. The "outcome" section presents the characteristics of the agenda as were designed by the steering committee and the analysis of the discourse that took place during the faculty seminar sessions. The advantages of a participatory action research approach when implementing a broad academic-pedagogical change are discussed.