Sharpen the Focus
With a high-level transformation process underway, this is the moment for institutions to pause, reflect on their data, elevate internal experts, and prioritize specific transformation efforts with intention.
In this stage, transformation shifts from urgency to clarity. Institutions examine student experiences, assess current practices, and disaggregate data to find equity gaps. They define the ideal student experience and set meaningful, measurable goals that align people, strategies, and resources.
Rather than spreading efforts thin, institutions prioritize what matters most—deciding where to invest, who to engage, and how to organize for impact.
Success in this stage equips institutions to Act with Purpose
Your Institution Could Benefit from Resources in this Stage if…
- You have multiple initiatives underway but lack a clear sense of what’s working—or why.
- You’ve collected a lot of data, but it hasn’t been consistently used to inform priorities or decisions.
- Equity gaps are acknowledged but not clearly defined or targeted.
- You need a clearer picture of the student experience to shape the next steps.
- Campus leaders are ready and willing to make investments but want data to guide decision making.
Example Milestones of Institutions that are Sharpening the Focus
- Cross-functional teams review and discuss disaggregated student data. Institutions examine outcomes by race, income, and other factors to identify gaps and target areas for improvement.
- A balance of quantitative and qualitative data is used to understand both what is happening and why. This grounds decisions in both metrics and lived experience.
- Cross-functional teams also explore what the ideal student experience should look like. This enables them to assess current systems, practices, and processes for alignment and gaps.
- A focused set of institutional priorities is established and communicated. Clear, equity-centered goals are selected to guide reforms and promote coherence across departments and teams.
Most Relevant Institutional Capacities when Sharpening the Focus
Strategic Data Use
Why it Matters
At this stage, data must become a shared tool for decision-making. Disaggregated insights help institutions move beyond assumptions and define where and how to act.
What it involves:
- Using student outcomes data to identify and target equity gaps
- Evaluating the effectiveness of current programs and policies
- Leveraging tools like the Institutional Transformation Assessment (ITA) and Postsecondary Data Partnership (PDP)
- Engaging cross-functional teams in interpreting data to guide goal-setting and priorities
Student-Centered Mission
Why it Matters
A clear and consistent focus on the student experience ensures that decisions and strategies remain grounded in student needs.
What it involves:
- Reflecting on how current policies serve—or fail to serve—today’s students
- Using frameworks like Guided Pathways and the Loss/Momentum Framework to map the ideal experience
- Aligning reforms around a shared vision of student success
- Empowering diverse voices to co-own institutional goals
Strategic Data Use
Why it Matters
At this stage, data must become a shared tool for decision-making. Disaggregated insights help institutions move beyond assumptions and define where and how to act.
What it involves:
- Using student outcomes data to identify and target equity gaps
- Evaluating the effectiveness of current programs and policies
- Leveraging tools like the Institutional Transformation Assessment (ITA) and Postsecondary Data Partnership (PDP)
- Engaging cross-functional teams in interpreting data to guide goal-setting and priorities
Student-Centered Mission
Why it Matters
A clear and consistent focus on the student experience ensures that decisions and strategies remain grounded in student needs.
What it involves:
- Reflecting on how current policies serve—or fail to serve—today’s students
- Using frameworks like Guided Pathways and the Loss/Momentum Framework to map the ideal experience
- Aligning reforms around a shared vision of student success
- Empowering diverse voices to co-own institutional goals
Sharpen the Focus with Evidence-Based Practices
At this stage, evidence-based practices become a lens for honest reflection and targeted planning. Rather than jump too quickly into specific reforms, institutions have seen more robust long-term transformation if they first pause to understand where gaps exist, what change efforts have been made in the past and how they’re performing, and what changes might most meaningfully improve the student experience.
Drawing upon those reflections to set clear priorities, reinforced by evidence from within the institution, helps clarify for all where and when to begin making transformative changes.
What to Do:
- Use data tools to examine student outcomes in key areas such as advising, developmental education, and digital learning. Disaggregate data to surface equity gaps.
- Evaluate the current state of student-facing practices using tools like process mapping or the Institutional Transformation Assessment (ITA) to identify strengths, pain points, and areas of misalignment.
- Engage national partners and technical experts to explore best practices and build shared understanding of them across internal teams.
- Define the ideal student experience across key touchpoints, and identify where current policies, systems, or supports fall short.
- Prioritize goals based on insights gathered and develop a focused, high-level action plan with milestones and metrics for success.
Advising Reform
Recommended resources related to Advising Reform in Sharpening the Focus:
Developmental Education Reform
Recommended resources related to Developmental Education Reform in Sharpening the Focus:
Digital Learning Reform
Recommended resources related to Digital Learning in Sharpening the Focus:
Continuous Improvement considerations when Sharpening the Focus
Reflect
Gather people and data to assess current practices, identify what’s working, and uncover persistent gaps.
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.
Prioritize & Plan
Use evidence and stakeholder input to select focused goals and map out a coordinated plan of action.
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 This Stage
Senior Leaders
Set and communicate institutional priorities, allocate resources, and create the space for honest reflection. Clear commitments to transformation reinforce the importance of alignment and focus.
Mid-Level Leaders
Facilitate cross-unit collaboration, guide data interpretation, and help translate reflection into shared plans and concrete goals.
Core Staff (IR, IT, Strategic Planning)
Provide disaggregated data, surface institution-wide patterns, and support evidence-informed decision making through tools, analysis, and facilitation.
Faculty
Bring critical insight into how policies, practices, and systems show up in the classroom. Help define the ideal student experience and ensure priorities reflect what students encounter in the classroom.
Frontline Staff
Offer direct insight into students’ lived experiences and pain points. Help assess how institutional systems are working—or not—at the ground level, their alignment to broader transformation goals, and what’s needed to support change on the ground.
