Lay the Groundwork
Lay the Groundwork begins when an institution recognizes that current systems are not producing equitable outcomes and makes a deliberate commitment to sustained change. This stage focuses on building shared direction, clarifying what is not working for students, and establishing the conditions needed to move forward together.
Success in this stage prepares an institution to Start the Process
Your Institution Could Benefit from Resources in this Stage if…
- Student outcomes show persistent equity gaps, but action feels scattered.
- There is urgency for change, but no shared direction yet.
- Past initiatives created fatigue or skepticism.
- Leaders want to move forward, but constraints are unclear or unspoken.
Example Milestones of Institutions that are Laying the Groundwork
- Senior leaders name equity-centered transformation as a long-term institutional priority.
- Disaggregated outcome data is reviewed across roles to clarify where inequities persist.
- Cross-functional conversations surface where students lose momentum across key touchpoints.
- Financial and system constraints are discussed openly.
- Shared language and commitment begin to emerge across faculty, staff, and leadership.
Most Relevant Institutional Capacities when Laying the Groundwork
Catalytic Leadership
Why it Matters
Leadership determines whether urgency becomes direction. Leaders shape the case for change, define priorities, and signal that equity-centered transformation is not optional.
What it involves:
- Articulating a compelling vision for equitable student success
- Establishing the highest-level, long-term goals and priorities, and embedding those into critical structures for organizing change efforts like strategic plans
- Empowering others to take ownership of the work by defining roles across the institution
- Launching visible initiatives that reflect a new direction
- Communicating with consistency, transparency, and purpose
You may need to strengthen this capacity if urgency exists, but alignment is inconsistent or direction shifts with leadership changes.
Strategic Data Use
Why it Matters
A shared understanding of equity gaps grounds early alignment in evidence. Without clear, disaggregated data, urgency remains anecdotal and priorities remain unclear.
What it involves:
- Surfacing disaggregated trends in access, progression, credit accumulation, gateway completion, and credential attainment.
- Identifying where student momentum breaks down across key transition points.
- Establishing shared definitions of equity gaps and key student success measures.
- Creating structured routines for cross-functional data review and interpretation.
- Increasing transparency so data builds trust rather than skepticism.
You may need to strengthen this capacity if units use conflicting metrics, if equity gaps are discussed without shared evidence, or if available data is not shaping institutional dialogue.
Communications & Engagement
Why it Matters
Even strong leadership cannot build alignment alone. Transformation at this stage depends on shared understanding across roles, units, and levels. Clear communication reduces confusion, builds trust, and prevents initiative fatigue.
What it involves:
- Communicating the case for change consistently across audiences
- Engaging faculty, staff, and students in shaping early direction
- Creating structured cross-functional conversations
- Building feedback loops that surface concerns and ideas
- Reinforcing shared language around equity and student success
You may need to strengthen this capacity if people support improvement in theory but feel unclear about what it means for their work.
Strategic Finance
Why it Matters
Alignment is not only rhetorical. It must be visible in how resources are allocated. Strategic finance signals seriousness of commitment and prevents transformation from becoming a side project.
What it involves:
- Assessing and understanding the institution’s current financial position
- Aligning resources with strategic goals for transformation
- Investing in foundational institutional capacities like staffing and IR
- Addressing financial barriers to progress
- Creating transparency in budgeting and resource decisions
You may need to strengthen this capacity if student success is named as a priority but budgets do not reflect it.
Catalytic Leadership
Why it Matters
Leadership determines whether urgency becomes direction. Leaders shape the case for change, define priorities, and signal that equity-centered transformation is not optional.
What it involves:
- Articulating a compelling vision for equitable student success
- Establishing the highest-level, long-term goals and priorities, and embedding those into critical structures for organizing change efforts like strategic plans
- Empowering others to take ownership of the work by defining roles across the institution
- Launching visible initiatives that reflect a new direction
- Communicating with consistency, transparency, and purpose
You may need to strengthen this capacity if urgency exists, but alignment is inconsistent or direction shifts with leadership changes.
Strategic Data Use
Why it Matters
A shared understanding of equity gaps grounds early alignment in evidence. Without clear, disaggregated data, urgency remains anecdotal and priorities remain unclear.
What it involves:
- Surfacing disaggregated trends in access, progression, credit accumulation, gateway completion, and credential attainment.
- Identifying where student momentum breaks down across key transition points.
- Establishing shared definitions of equity gaps and key student success measures.
- Creating structured routines for cross-functional data review and interpretation.
- Increasing transparency so data builds trust rather than skepticism.
You may need to strengthen this capacity if units use conflicting metrics, if equity gaps are discussed without shared evidence, or if available data is not shaping institutional dialogue.
Communications & Engagement
Why it Matters
Even strong leadership cannot build alignment alone. Transformation at this stage depends on shared understanding across roles, units, and levels. Clear communication reduces confusion, builds trust, and prevents initiative fatigue.
What it involves:
- Communicating the case for change consistently across audiences
- Engaging faculty, staff, and students in shaping early direction
- Creating structured cross-functional conversations
- Building feedback loops that surface concerns and ideas
- Reinforcing shared language around equity and student success
You may need to strengthen this capacity if people support improvement in theory but feel unclear about what it means for their work.
Strategic Finance
Why it Matters
Alignment is not only rhetorical. It must be visible in how resources are allocated. Strategic finance signals seriousness of commitment and prevents transformation from becoming a side project.
What it involves:
- Assessing and understanding the institution’s current financial position
- Aligning resources with strategic goals for transformation
- Investing in foundational institutional capacities like staffing and IR
- Addressing financial barriers to progress
- Creating transparency in budgeting and resource decisions
You may need to strengthen this capacity if student success is named as a priority but budgets do not reflect it.
Lay the Groundwork with Evidence-Based Practices
At this stage, evidence-based practices serve as an organizing lens. Instead of selecting reforms, examine where the student experience is breaking down across advising, learning environments, support systems, financial aid processes, and early career exploration.
The focus is clarity about where change will be needed, not selecting reforms yet.
Continuous Improvement considerations when Laying the Groundwork
At this stage, improvement begins with structured inquiry:
- Clarify what transformation means in your context.
- Review disaggregated data to understand where equity gaps persist and where student momentum breaks down.
- Align on what success should look like and how it will be measured across roles.
- Surface internal and external constraints openly, including finance, technology infrastructure, staffing, and policy alignment.
- Define ownership for continuing structured reflection before implementation begins.
These early routines prepare the institution for disciplined action in the next stage.
Cross-Functional Roles at This Stage
Senior Leaders set direction and visibly align goals, people, and resources around an equity centered case for change.
Institutional Research and Data Teams surface disaggregated trends to clarify where students are getting stuck and what inequities persist.
Mid-Level Leaders translate shared priorities into operational reality by identifying constraints, handoffs, and what will be feasible to execute.
Faculty name academic barriers and shape early principles for change so reforms have credibility and shared ownership.
Frontline Staff bring real time insight from student interactions to surface process friction and practical barriers that must be addressed.
