Act with Purpose
Transformation becomes real when bold strategies move from planning to implementation.
In this stage, institutions are putting high-impact, evidence-based practices into action—such as advising redesign, developmental education reform, and digital learning. But this work isn’t just about launching new initiatives. It’s about fostering a culture that supports learning and improvement, managing complexity, keeping people and processes aligned with the big picture, and resolving problems that crop up.
Through cross-functional coordination, strong feedback loops, and an unwavering focus on equity, institutions begin to reshape how they serve students—and see the early signs of lasting change.
Success here sets the stage for the final phase: Sustain and Evolve
Your Institution Could Benefit from Resources in this Stage if…
- You’ve identified key priorities and goals, but it’s unclear how to translate them into changes in day-to-day practice.
- You’ve started implementing reforms, but efforts feel fragmented or inconsistent.
- Student success initiatives are underway, but lack coordination across departments or functional areas.
- You’re managing multiple initiatives and need tools to align teams, timelines, and objectives.
- You need to strengthen capacity across roles to maintain momentum and scale what’s working.
Example Milestones of Institutions that are Acting with Purpose
- Communication connects people to purpose. Leaders reinforce shared goals, celebrate early wins, and highlight how reforms support student success.
- Cross-functional teams co-own implementation. Mid-level leaders coordinate across departments, teams co-own implementation, and challenges are surfaced early. Senior leaders provide clarity and support when conflicts or barriers emerge.
- Reforms are launched and monitored in real time. Institutions implement key strategies—such as advising redesign, developmental education reform, or digital learning—and track early results to ensure alignment with broader transformation goals.
- Improvement cycles keep the work adaptive. Teams engage in regular, multi-level check-ins to reflect on progress, review data, and adjust as needed. These cycles vary in cadence, focus, and composition, but keep the work coordinated and adaptive.
- Data informs decisions at every level. Disaggregated student success metrics and frontline insights guide decisions. Institutions build a “line of sight” from local efforts to long-term goals—making it easier to track progress and reinforce equity-driven outcomes.
Most Relevant Institutional Capacities when Acting with Purpose
Catalytic Leadership
Why it Matters
As reforms move into implementation, visible and supportive leadership helps navigate ambiguity, remove roadblocks, and sustain momentum.
What it involves:
- Modeling urgency, alignment, and follow-through across all levels of leadership
- Providing clear communication, expectations, and decision-making authority
- Empowering staff and faculty to lead from where they sit—with support, trust, and shared accountability
Strategic Data Use
Why it Matters
Implementation only succeeds when institutions can see what’s working—and what’s not. Real-time, disaggregated data enables teams to adjust quickly and stay focused on equity.
What it involves:
- Collecting and disaggregating early progress metrics—often through dashboards or scorecards—to surface gaps and guide adjustments
- Expanding access to data across teams to support timely, informed decisions
- Building long-term capacity by aligning data expectations with roles (e.g., in position descriptions) and offering targeted professional development
Catalytic Leadership
Why it Matters
As reforms move into implementation, visible and supportive leadership helps navigate ambiguity, remove roadblocks, and sustain momentum.
What it involves:
- Modeling urgency, alignment, and follow-through across all levels of leadership
- Providing clear communication, expectations, and decision-making authority
- Empowering staff and faculty to lead from where they sit—with support, trust, and shared accountability
Strategic Data Use
Why it Matters
Implementation only succeeds when institutions can see what’s working—and what’s not. Real-time, disaggregated data enables teams to adjust quickly and stay focused on equity.
What it involves:
- Collecting and disaggregating early progress metrics—often through dashboards or scorecards—to surface gaps and guide adjustments
- Expanding access to data across teams to support timely, informed decisions
- Building long-term capacity by aligning data expectations with roles (e.g., in position descriptions) and offering targeted professional development
Acting with Purpose with Evidence-Based Practices
This is the stage that many initially want to jump to when they think about transformation—implementing the high-impact practices that most directly impact the student experience. But the foundation of commitment, evidence, and prioritization built in the preceding three stages allows institutions to more quickly and intentionally put research-backed reforms into action—all while staying grounded in the needs of students and sensitive to the history and context of their institution.
Institutions that have successfully navigated transformation efforts often take a deliberate approach to sequencing implementation — forming new or restructured teams early on to lead projects that build progressively, enabling meaningful change over several years. Leaders can draw upon the work of teams in earlier stages when making the case to new audiences. Teams being asked to lead implementation can trace their efforts back to the highest transformational goals. And students experiencing the changes firsthand can see their how their concerns are being prioritized in constructive ways.
What to Do:
- Build teams that balance technical expertise, operational know-how, and insight into the student perspective (including direct student engagement).
- Translate institutional goals into detailed action plans with roles, timelines, and ownership.
- Use tools like the Postsecondary Data Partnership (PDP) to surface monitor implementation’s effect on key metrics.
- Leverage networks of national partners to strengthen strategy and share learning.
- Provide professional development that builds shared understanding and skills across roles.
- Run pilots to test approaches using fewer resources and gather feedback to refine efforts before scaling.
Advising Reform
Recommended resources related to Advising in Acting with Purpose:
Developmental Education Reform
Recommended resources related to Developmental Education Reform in Acting with Purpose:
Digital Learning Reform
Recommended resources related to Digital Learning in Acting with Purpose:
Continuous Improvement considerations when Acting with Purpose
Act
Put plans into motion and stay flexible. Clarify what success means, mobilize teams, track progress, and adapt implementation as new challenges and insights arise.
The Continuous Improvement Model (PRPAM)
These phases are connected—and continuous. Each cycle builds on the last, deepening impact and embedding equity-driven change over time.
Establish a shared vision. Define the challenge, build the team, and ground your work in equity and student success from the start.
Examine disaggregated data and student experiences to understand root causes. Identify what needs to change—and why it matters.
Focus your resources on what matters most. Target high-impact strategies that advance equity, improve student experience, and align with your mission.
Implement reforms through cross-functional coordination. Test strategies, support your teams, and adapt based on feedback and student outcomes.
Track results, gather insights, and assess progress. Use data and voice to refine strategy and ensure equity stays at the center.
Cross-Functional Roles in This Stage
Senior Leaders
Reinforce the vision, model urgency, and provide ongoing support. Help remove roadblocks, allocate resources, and ensure reforms stay connected to broader institutional goals.
Mid-Level Leaders
Coordinate implementation across departments, align efforts with goals, and support teams in resolving challenges. Translate strategy into action and help maintain momentum.
Core Staff (IR, IT, Strategic Planning, Finance)
Track progress using dashboards or metrics, maintain feedback loops, and ensure teams have the tools, data, and infrastructure needed to monitor and adjust implementation in real time.
Faculty
Help translate institutional goals into meaningful changes in teaching, curriculum, and classroom practice. Ensure reforms are student-centered and sensitive to the classroom experience.
Frontline Staff
Put change into practice through day-to-day practices and direct engagement with students. Surface insights, highlight implementation gaps, and help maintain consistency across touchpoints in the student experience.
