Understanding the Student Experience Through the Loss/Momentum Framework
Clearing the Path to Completion
Authors: The RP Group, Community College Research Center
Publication Date: 2013
Format: Guide (PDF)
Start the ProcessSharpen the Focus
Other Holistic Supports
Student-Centered Mission
Senior LeadersMid-Level Leaders
This step-by-step guide introduces a structured approach to understanding students’ experiences at community colleges by identifying the institutional factors that accelerate or hinder their progress. In the first half, the authors define the student experience and explain how reframing institutional conversations around it can shift mindsets and priorities. The guide then introduces the Loss/Momentum Framework as a tool for analyzing how students move through four key phases, connection, entry, progress, and completion, and pinpointing the institutional policies and practices that impact those phases. The second half of the guide offers a practical five-step process for using the framework to explore student experiences, uncover areas for further inquiry, and begin shaping strategies for transformational change. Designed to help colleges remove barriers and strengthen momentum, this resource lays the foundation for redesigning systems that support student success.
Connections to the Transformation Journey
and How Institutions Transform
Stages of Transformation
Start the ProcessSharpen the Focus
- Start the Process: The first half of this resource (through page 22) introduces foundational concepts that can help institutions begin their transformation journey. It defines the student experience, explains why centering it is critical to institutional change, and offers a compelling framework for understanding how student outcomes are shaped by institutional systems. These insights are especially valuable for leadership teams seeking to frame the purpose and potential impact of transformation before diving into specific reforms.
- Sharpen the Focus: Steps 2 through 5 (pages 22–28) provide practical guidance for institutions that are ready to assess their current state and define specific opportunities for improvement. Using the Preventing Loss, Creating Momentum Framework, this section helps teams analyze the student experience across key phases of the journey (connection, entry, progress, and completion) and examine which policies, practices, and momentum strategies influence student success at each point.
Learn more about the Transformation Journey and How Institutions Transform.
Evidence-Based Practices
Other Holistic Supports
- Other Holistic Supports: While not formally categorized as an Evidence-Based Practice, this report introduces foundational concepts that underpin the Pathways Model, an integrated, institution-wide approach to student success grounded in intentionally designed, coherent, and structured educational experiences. Emerging in the mid-2000s, the Pathways Model represents one of the earliest efforts to move beyond isolated reforms toward comprehensive institutional transformation. The momentum strategies introduced in this guide (see page 15) often overlap with, or directly contribute to, the Evidence-Based Practices featured throughout this site. In many ways, the Pathways Model, and this report, laid the groundwork for the broader transformation approach reflected across the Postsecondary Changemakers Hub.
Learn more about the Transformation Journey and How Institutions Transform.
Core Institutional Capacities
Student-Centered Mission
- Student-Centered Mission: This report is a seminal resource that formalizes the concept of centering the student experience as the foundation for institutional transformation. It introduces the Loss/Momentum Framework as a tool to help institutions analyze students’ experiences, identify areas for improvement, and design strategies to support equitable progression. By clearly defining the student experience and articulating why it matters in change efforts, the report helps institutions align structures, policies, and practices with what students need to succeed, making it one of the most valuable resources for strengthening a Student-Centered Mission.
Learn more about the Transformation Journey and How Institutions Transform.
Continuous Improvement
This resource is most relevant to the following cross-functional roles:
- Senior Leaders: This guide supports leaders in building shared buy-in by framing transformation around the student experience, both its current state and an ideal vision, and using that framing to guide decision-making and strategy.
- Mid-Level Leaders: This resource offers actionable language and frameworks for organizing planning efforts around the student experience. The Additional Resources section also includes guides and tools that can support mid-level leaders tasked with leading cross-functional work.
This resource connects to the following phase(s) of the PRPAM framework:
- Prepare: The first half of the resource (through page 22) is ideal for institutions at the start of a continuous improvement process, offering foundational framing for why the student experience matters and how it connects to improved outcomes.
- Reflect: Steps 2–4 (pages 22–27) support institutions in examining their current practices using the Loss/Momentum Framework and identifying intersections with key momentum strategies.
- Prioritize: Step 5 (page 28) provides guidance for institutions ready to move from analysis to action by helping them identify and prioritize strategies to improve the student experience.
Learn more about the Transformation Journey and How Institutions Transform.
Other Considerations
- Although originally developed through the Completion by Design initiative with two-year colleges, this resource is relevant for institutions of all types. It introduces momentum strategies (see page 15) that often contribute to—or fully overlap with—the evidence-based practices highlighted across this site.
- Published over a decade ago, the resource remains foundational but reflects the context of its time. Since its release, the field has advanced in several areas, including:
- More explicit integration of racial and socioeconomic equity in understanding and improving the student experience;
- Greater emphasis on direct student engagement in identifying challenges and shaping solutions;
- Expanded evidence on the efficacy of the Pathways Model and its relevance for four-year institutions.
Learn more about the Transformation Journey and How Institutions Transform.
Stages of Transformation
Start the ProcessSharpen the Focus
- Start the Process: The first half of this resource (through page 22) introduces foundational concepts that can help institutions begin their transformation journey. It defines the student experience, explains why centering it is critical to institutional change, and offers a compelling framework for understanding how student outcomes are shaped by institutional systems. These insights are especially valuable for leadership teams seeking to frame the purpose and potential impact of transformation before diving into specific reforms.
- Sharpen the Focus: Steps 2 through 5 (pages 22–28) provide practical guidance for institutions that are ready to assess their current state and define specific opportunities for improvement. Using the Preventing Loss, Creating Momentum Framework, this section helps teams analyze the student experience across key phases of the journey (connection, entry, progress, and completion) and examine which policies, practices, and momentum strategies influence student success at each point.
Learn more about the Transformation Journey and How Institutions Transform.
Evidence-Based Practices
Other Holistic Supports
- Other Holistic Supports: While not formally categorized as an Evidence-Based Practice, this report introduces foundational concepts that underpin the Pathways Model, an integrated, institution-wide approach to student success grounded in intentionally designed, coherent, and structured educational experiences. Emerging in the mid-2000s, the Pathways Model represents one of the earliest efforts to move beyond isolated reforms toward comprehensive institutional transformation. The momentum strategies introduced in this guide (see page 15) often overlap with, or directly contribute to, the Evidence-Based Practices featured throughout this site. In many ways, the Pathways Model, and this report, laid the groundwork for the broader transformation approach reflected across the Postsecondary Changemakers Hub.
Learn more about the Transformation Journey and How Institutions Transform.
Core Institutional Capacities
Student-Centered Mission
- Student-Centered Mission: This report is a seminal resource that formalizes the concept of centering the student experience as the foundation for institutional transformation. It introduces the Loss/Momentum Framework as a tool to help institutions analyze students’ experiences, identify areas for improvement, and design strategies to support equitable progression. By clearly defining the student experience and articulating why it matters in change efforts, the report helps institutions align structures, policies, and practices with what students need to succeed, making it one of the most valuable resources for strengthening a Student-Centered Mission.
Learn more about the Transformation Journey and How Institutions Transform.
Continuous Improvement
This resource is most relevant to the following cross-functional roles:
- Senior Leaders: This guide supports leaders in building shared buy-in by framing transformation around the student experience, both its current state and an ideal vision, and using that framing to guide decision-making and strategy.
- Mid-Level Leaders: This resource offers actionable language and frameworks for organizing planning efforts around the student experience. The Additional Resources section also includes guides and tools that can support mid-level leaders tasked with leading cross-functional work.
This resource connects to the following phase(s) of the PRPAM framework:
- Prepare: The first half of the resource (through page 22) is ideal for institutions at the start of a continuous improvement process, offering foundational framing for why the student experience matters and how it connects to improved outcomes.
- Reflect: Steps 2–4 (pages 22–27) support institutions in examining their current practices using the Loss/Momentum Framework and identifying intersections with key momentum strategies.
- Prioritize: Step 5 (page 28) provides guidance for institutions ready to move from analysis to action by helping them identify and prioritize strategies to improve the student experience.
Learn more about the Transformation Journey and How Institutions Transform.
Other
Considerations
- Although originally developed through the Completion by Design initiative with two-year colleges, this resource is relevant for institutions of all types. It introduces momentum strategies (see page 15) that often contribute to—or fully overlap with—the evidence-based practices highlighted across this site.
- Published over a decade ago, the resource remains foundational but reflects the context of its time. Since its release, the field has advanced in several areas, including:
- More explicit integration of racial and socioeconomic equity in understanding and improving the student experience;
- Greater emphasis on direct student engagement in identifying challenges and shaping solutions;
- Expanded evidence on the efficacy of the Pathways Model and its relevance for four-year institutions.
Learn more about the Transformation Journey and How Institutions Transform.
Recommended Citation: Rassen, E., Chaplot, P., Jenkins, D., & Johnstone, R. (2013). Understanding the student experience through the loss/momentum framework: Clearing the path to completion. Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University and The Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges.
