Lay the Groundwork
Lasting transformation starts with a strong foundation anchored in urgency, shared purpose, and readiness to rethink what’s possible. Deep change reshapes structures, culture, and the student experience—so it requires more than enthusiasm. It demands careful, intentional preparation for long-term transformation.
And while transformation can happen under any condition, research suggests it’s more successful and sustainable when key elements are in place. These include a strong motivation for change, leadership committed to equity, and a clear awareness of institutional capacity and constraints.
Laying the groundwork for transformation doesn’t mean having all the answers. It means recognizing that current systems aren’t working for all students and committing to do something about it. Whether prompted by new leadership, policy shifts, changing student demographics, or internal reflection, this stage is about building the resolve, conditions, and alignment needed to pursue bold change.
Success in this stage prepares an institution to Start the Process
Your Institution Could Benefit from Resources in this Stage if…
- A leadership change, new policy, or demographic shift has created urgency for change, but the path forward feels unclear or overwhelming.
- Stakeholders are hesitant to engage due to limited resources or past initiative fatigue.
- There’s awareness that current systems aren’t working—but little clarity on what’s broken or how to fix it.
- Institutional data shows persistent equity gaps but actions remain scattered or stalled.
Example Milestones of Institutions that are Laying the Groundwork
- Senior leaders begin assessing institutional readiness and capacity for transformation, initiating early conversations about what’s possible, what’s needed, and what may stand in the way.
-
A catalyst—internal or external—sparks the decision to pursue transformation. This might include:
- A leadership or policy change that renews focus on student success.
- Institutional data highlighting persistent equity gaps.
- Cross-functional conversations about the need to work differently.
- A shared commitment begins to take hold as leaders, faculty, staff, and stakeholders align around the case for change and identify compelling reasons to act.
Most Relevant Institutional Capacities when Laying the Groundwork
Catalytic Leadership
Why it Matters
Bold, equity-driven leadership turns awareness into momentum. Senior leaders play a critical role in naming the need for change, setting direction, and cultivating urgency across the institution.
What it involves:
- Articulating a compelling vision for equitable student success
- Establishing the highest-level, longest-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
Strategic Finance
Why it Matters
Financial readiness helps institutions move from intention to action. The ability to invest early, build trust, and align resources signals serious commitment.
What it involves:
- Assessing and understanding the institution’s current financial position
- Aligning resources with strategic goals for transformation
- Investing in foundational institutional capacities (e.g., IT, staffing, IR)
- Addressing financial barriers to progress
- Creating transparency in budgeting and resource decisions
Catalytic Leadership
Why it Matters
Bold, equity-driven leadership turns awareness into momentum. Senior leaders play a critical role in naming the need for change, setting direction, and cultivating urgency across the institution.
What it involves:
- Articulating a compelling vision for equitable student success
- Establishing the highest-level, longest-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
Strategic Finance
Why it Matters
Financial readiness helps institutions move from intention to action. The ability to invest early, build trust, and align resources signals serious commitment.
What it involves:
- Assessing and understanding the institution’s current financial position
- Aligning resources with strategic goals for transformation
- Investing in foundational institutional capacities (e.g., IT, staffing, IR)
- Addressing financial barriers to progress
- Creating transparency in budgeting and resource decisions
Lay the Groundwork with Evidence-Based Practices
At this early stage, it’s important not to commit to specific reforms just yet. Instead, focus on building curiosity and shared purpose by:
- Centering the student experience and its value in guiding institutional transformation.
- Reflecting on prior student success efforts across campus to understand their historical context, identify past lessons, and emphasize iterative progress over time.
- Building buy-in for a structured process of analysis, planning, and action; exploring different transformation frameworks can be useful for testing what ways of thinking about institutional transformation resonate the most if adopted.
- Actively avoiding the tendency to try to fix things right away (which some call "solutionitis") and staying oriented toward the long-term; this is not easy!
Continuous Improvement considerations when Laying the Groundwork
Readiness for Transformation
Before launching change efforts, explore foundational questions whose answers are critical for catalyzing change. Use institutional data, stakeholder insights, and emerging research to ground your answers—and tailor them to your context.
- What do we mean by transformation, and why does it matter here?
- Why now? What’s at stake if we don’t act?
- What conditions need to be in place to succeed?
- What foundational frameworks should help us organize our thinking and approach to transformation?
Cross-Functional Roles at This Stage
Senior Leaders
Set the tone, identify catalysts, and articulate “the why.” Shape the initial case for change and begin aligning goals, people, and resources.
Core Staff (IR)
Highlight equity gaps and trends that reveal where current approaches are falling short. Provide data to ground reflection and early framing.
Mid-Level Leaders
Offer context around past reform efforts and institutional capacity. Help assess what’s possible and where more case making is needed.
Faculty
Provide key perspectives on academic barriers and the value of improving the student experience. Early involvement raises the credibility and scope of institution-wide efforts and integrates the role of academics within broader, systemic challenges.
Core and Frontline Staff
Those with deep institutional history or close student contact build readiness for transformation by boosting communication and transparency, demonstrating trust in cross-functional collaboration, and elevating overlooked barriers.
