HOW INSTITUTIONS TRANSFORM
Core Institutional Capacities
What are Core Institutional Capacities?
Evidence-based practices change the student experience. Core institutional capacities determine whether those changes take root, scale, and become embedded in how the institution operates.
Research and field experience identify a set of core institutional capacities that create the organizational conditions needed to implement, align, and sustain evidence-based practices over time. These capacities influence how priorities are set, how decisions are made, how resources are deployed, and how people work together to support student success and equity.
Without these capacities, even well-designed reforms struggle to move beyond isolated implementation.
Leadership, Culture, and Communication
Leadership, culture, and communication shape how institutions set direction, align people, and carry out change. Together, these capacities influence how priorities are established, how decisions are made, and how work is coordinated across roles and units in service of student success.
While distinct, these capacities are closely connected in practice. Strong leadership and culture provide clarity of purpose and expectations, while effective communication and engagement ensure that goals, progress, and learning are shared across the institution. When developed together, they help evidence-based practices take root, stay aligned, and adapt as conditions change.
Leadership & Culture
Core Institutional Capacities focus on enabling institutions to carry change forward.
Leadership and culture influence how institutions prioritize student success, mobilize people, and make decisions over time. This learning reflects the norms, expectations, and leadership behaviors that help institutions maintain coherence, make informed tradeoffs, and reinforce shared priorities as strategies, structures, and leadership evolve.
Two elements consistently strengthen this capacity:
- Student-Centered Mission
- Catalytic Leadership
Learning from the Field
Institutions that achieved the strongest gains treated leadership and culture as enabling conditions, using them to coordinate efforts across evidence-based practices and reinforce shared expectations during periods of change. This approach helped institutions avoid initiative overload, align decision-making across units, and maintain focus on student success and equity even as leadership and priorities shifted.
Student-Centered Mission
A clear, shared definition of student success aligned strategy, policy, and operations across the institution. This clarity supported decision-making, surfaced equity barriers, and helped leaders prioritize long-term outcomes over disconnected initiatives.
Catalytic Leadership
Catalytic leaders translated mission into action by setting priorities, removing organizational barriers, and protecting cross-functional work. Rather than managing reforms individually, they focused on enabling teams to work together, learn from data, and make deliberate choices about where to focus effort.
Communications & Engagement
Core Institutional Capacities focus on enabling institutions to carry change forward.
Communications and engagement support how institutions build shared understanding and coordinate work across roles and teams. This learning reflects how priorities and progress are communicated and how stakeholders are meaningfully engaged in reflection, learning, and improvement.
Three elements consistently strengthen this capacity:
- Clear and consistent communication
- Cross-functional engagement
- Feedback and learning loops
Learning from the Field
Effective institutions embedded communication and engagement into daily routines rather than treating them as episodic activities. This approach helped reduce fragmentation, support coordination across units, and ensure learning informed decisions as implementation progressed.
Clear and Consistent Communication
Clear, role-specific communication translated strategy and data into accessible messages across the institution. This helped teams understand expectations, track progress, and coordinate implementation across units.
Cross-Functional Engagement
Intentional engagement across departments helped break down silos and align efforts around shared student success goals. Regular collaboration strengthened shared ownership and reduced duplication across evidence-based practices.
Feedback and Learning Loops
Structured feedback mechanisms surfaced challenges early and supported ongoing reflection. Continuous learning conversations helped institutions adjust practices and reinforce improvement as a routine way of working.
People & Talent Development
People and talent development shape an institution’s ability to carry out change with consistency and quality. This capacity reflects whether institutions have the roles, skills, and supports needed to implement evidence-based practices effectively without relying solely on individual champions.
Strong talent capacity ensures strategy translates into practice. By aligning roles, staffing, and professional learning with transformation priorities, institutions build the human capabilities and infrastructure needed to execute reforms, scale effective practices, and maintain continuity as people and initiatives change.
Talent
Core Institutional Capacities focus on enabling institutions to carry change forward.
Talent capacity reflects how institutions recruit, develop, and support the people responsible for implementing change. It signals whether roles are clear, staffing aligns with priorities, and staff receive ongoing support to deliver high-quality, student-centered practices.
Three elements consistently strengthen this capacity:
- Intentional role design and clarity
- Strategic hiring and staffing alignment
- Ongoing professional development and support
Learning from the Field
Institutions with strong talent capacity invested in people as core infrastructure, ensuring roles were clear, skills aligned to priorities, and support sustained over time. This approach reduced reliance on individual champions and helped institutions carry out evidence-based practices consistently as work scaled or staff changed.
Intentional Role Design and Clarity
Clear responsibilities reduced confusion, improved coordination, and strengthened accountability across teams. Well-defined roles helped prevent handoff failures and supported consistent student experiences.
Strategic Hiring and Staffing Alignment
Aligning hiring and staffing decisions with transformation priorities ensured the right expertise was in place to support high-impact practices. Strategic staffing helped institutions adapt capacity during redesign and scale.
Ongoing Professional Development and Support
Continuous learning and coaching strengthened implementation quality and shared understanding across roles. Ongoing support helped reduce burnout and reinforced consistent practice across units.
Data, Finance, & Technology Infastructure
Data, finance, and technology infrastructure shape how institutions make decisions, allocate resources, and support coordinated action at scale. Together, these capacities determine whether institutions can move from insight to action, prioritize what matters most, and embed evidence-based practices into daily operations.
While distinct, these capacities are closely connected in practice. Strategic data use informs priorities and improvement, strategic finance aligns resources with student success goals, and institutional technology enables integration and execution across systems. When developed together, they help institutions reduce fragmentation, improve accountability, and support sustained progress.
Strategic Data Use
Core Institutional Capacities focus on enabling institutions to carry change forward.
Strategic data use supports how institutions make sense of information, guide decisions, and learn from implementation. This capacity reflects whether data are accessible, disaggregated, and routinely used to prioritize action, monitor progress, and inform continuous improvement.
Within this capacity, three elements consistently strengthen effectiveness:
- Integrated, accessible data systems
- Equity-focused metrics
- Routine data use and shared learning
Learning from the Field
Institutions with strong data use capacity treated data as a tool for learning and decision-making rather than compliance or reporting. This approach helped leaders and teams identify priorities, surface equity gaps, and adjust practices based on evidence.
Integrated, Accessible Data Systems
Integrated systems made student progress visible across advising, instruction, and support. This reduced data silos and enabled timely, cross-functional decision-making.
Equity-Focused Metrics
Disaggregated metrics illuminated disparities by race, income, and enrollment status. This helped institutions identify where interventions were needed and track whether changes improved outcomes equitably.
Routine Data Use and Shared Learning
Regular data review and reflection supported continuous improvement. Shared learning routines helped teams move from analysis to action and stay aligned around common goals.
Strategic Finance
Core Institutional Capacities focus on enabling institutions to carry change forward.
Strategic finance supports how institutions align resources with priorities and make tradeoffs that advance student success. This capacity reflects whether budgets, funding models, and incentives reinforce evidence-based practices rather than constrain them.
Within this capacity, three elements consistently strengthen effectiveness:
- Aligning budgets with student success priorities
- Cost and ROI analysis for decision-making
- Incentives that reinforce student momentum
Learning from the Field
Institutions with strong finance capacity used financial decisions to reinforce strategy rather than maintain the status quo. This helped leaders protect high-impact practices, make transparent tradeoffs, and sustain reforms through budget cycles and leadership transitions.
Aligning Budgets with Student Success Priorities
Budgets were intentionally aligned to advising, gateway courses, and student supports. This helped institutions protect critical investments and avoid under-resourcing key practices.
Cost and ROI Analysis for Decision-Making
Cost and return analyses informed where to scale, redesign, or stop initiatives. This enabled institutions to allocate resources more effectively and make evidence-informed financial decisions.
Incentives that Reinforce Student Momentum
Funding models and incentives encouraged practices that supported progression and completion. This alignment helped reduce barriers and reinforce behaviors that improved student outcomes.
Information Technology
Core Institutional Capacities focus on enabling institutions to carry change forward.
Information technology supports how institutions integrate systems, streamline workflows, and deliver student-centered experiences. This capacity reflects whether technology is designed to enable coordination, reduce friction, and support implementation at scale.
Within this capacity, three elements consistently strengthen effectiveness:
- Student-facing technologies that improve navigation
- Integrated systems that support advising and instruction
- IT as a strategic design partner
Learning from the Field
Institutions with strong technology capacity treated IT as an enabler of strategy rather than a standalone function. This helped teams integrate tools, simplify processes, and support consistent execution across evidence-based practices.
Student-Facing Technologies that Improve Navigation
Planning tools, alerts, and digital platforms helped students understand requirements and stay on track. This reduced confusion and supported timely progress.
Integrated Systems that Support Advising and Instruction
Integrated systems connected data across learning management, advising, and student information platforms. This improved efficiency and enabled coordinated support across teams.
IT as a Strategic Design Partner
IT teams partnered with academic and student affairs to design solutions aligned with institutional priorities. This collaboration helped scale effective practices and adapt systems as needs evolved.
Partnership & Policy Alignment
Partnerships and policy alignment shape how institutions extend their capacity beyond campus boundaries and remove structural barriers to student success. Together, these capacities determine how institutions can coordinate with external systems, leverage shared resources, and align rules and incentives with student-centered goals.
While distinct, these capacities are closely connected in practice. Strategic partnerships expand access, relevance, and support, while aligned policies enable institutions to implement and sustain change. When intentionally cultivated, they each help institutions reduce friction at key transitions, scale effective practices, and accelerate momentum.
Strategic Partnerships
Core Institutional Capacities focus on enabling institutions to carry change forward.
Strategic partnerships support how institutions coordinate with external organizations to strengthen pathways, relevance, and student outcomes. This capacity reflects whether partnerships are intentionally designed to advance student success rather than operate as disconnected initiatives.
Within this capacity, four elements consistently strengthen effectiveness:
- K–12 and early college partnerships
- Transfer partnerships
- Workforce and employer partnerships
- Networked learning and intermediary partnerships
Learning from the Field
Institutions with strong partnership capacity treated partnerships as extensions of their student success strategy. This approach helped align pathways, reduce transition barriers, and accelerate implementation through shared learning and infrastructure.
K–12 and Early College Partnerships
Partnerships with school districts strengthened academic readiness and streamlined transitions into college. Alignment around placement, advising, and onboarding reduced confusion and supported early momentum.
Transfer Partnerships
Clear, structured transfer pathways improved completion and mobility. Guaranteed pathways, aligned curricula, and shared advising helped students move efficiently across institutions without credit loss.
Workforce and Employer Partnerships
Employer partnerships increased relevance and purpose by connecting learning to careers. Co-designed credentials, work-based learning, and employer-informed curricula strengthened employment outcomes and student motivation.
Networked Learning and Intermediary Partnerships
Participation in networks and intermediary-led efforts accelerated learning and implementation. Shared tools, coaching, data use, and peer learning helped institutions build internal capacity and scale evidence-based practices more effectively.
Policy
Core Institutional Capacities focus on enabling institutions to carry change forward.
Policy capacity supports how institutions align rules, requirements, and incentives with student success goals. This capacity reflects whether policies enable progress and equity or reinforce barriers and fragmentation.
Within this capacity, three elements consistently strengthen effectiveness:
- External policy alignment
- Internal policy redesign
- Enabling flexibility and momentum
Learning from the Field
Institutions with strong policy capacity treated policy as a lever for change rather than a fixed constraint. This helped remove barriers, support innovation, and sustain reforms across leadership and funding cycles.
External Policy Alignment
Alignment with state and system policies supported change at scale. Institutions leveraged mandates, funding models, and articulation frameworks to advance placement reform, transfer outcomes, and credit mobility.
Internal Policy Redesign
Reviewing and revising institutional policies reduced inequitable barriers. Changes to withdrawal, repeat, remediation, and progression policies helped improve persistence and completion.
Enabling Flexibility and Momentum
Flexible policies supported students with diverse needs. Expanded scheduling, alternative terms, and modality options helped students maintain momentum while balancing work, family, and learning.
Related Components of How Institutions Transform
HOW INSTITUTIONS TRANSFORM
Evidence-Based Practices
Student success starts with what students experience every day. This section introduces the student-facing reforms that make transformation visible—and shows how institutions focus their efforts where it matters most.
HOW INSTITUTIONS TRANSFORM
Continuous Improvement Process
Lasting change doesn’t happen all at once. It’s built through cycles of reflection, action, and learning—powered by people across the institution. This section explores how colleges use structured routines like PRPAM and student-centered frameworks to empower teams, embed improvement into daily work, and align strategy with long-term goals.
