The transition to tertiary student and then to working professional are likely to be particular instances of a range of transitions university students will face in their adult life. In the context of an Australian higher education environment of increasing accountability and competitiveness and the constantly changing work environment that graduating students will face, this paper identifies models and research in organisational change management that provide a theoretical basis for examining student transition during higher education.

This paper identifies implications for the provision of effective support for the identity transitions that tertiary students face, based on three main theoretical models from the field of organisational change management, and provides an example of the supports as they may apply in the transition from student to professional.

Keywords: transition, change management, student support