Our Story
Here you can learn about the strategy that brought this work to life—offering the full picture of how equity-centered transformation has evolved, deepened, and scaled over time. It introduces the Institutional Transformation Framework (ITF) as the Gates Foundation’s theory of change for postsecondary education and illustrates how a decade of field-based learning has shaped a cohesive approach to realigning institutional structures, culture, and the student experience.
You’ll find the key principles that underpin transformation—student experience, equity, and continuous improvement—alongside a timeline tracing how tools like the Institutional Transformation Assessment (ITA), Intermediaries for Scale (IFS), and this Guide for Postsecondary Changemakers emerged from collaborative work with institutions across the country. This is the foundation behind the Hub’s tools, strategies, and insights—and a roadmap for what sustainable change looks like in action.
The overview below explains the foundation of the tools, strategies, and insights hosted on the Hub. The key principles that underpin transformation – student experience, equity, and continuous improvement – as well as efforts such as the ITF, ITA, and Changemakers Hub emerged from collaborative work with institutions across the country.
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
Institutional Transformation Framework (ITF): Organizing for Equitable, Student-Centered Change
Sustainable, equity-centered transformation requires more than isolated reforms—it demands a comprehensive, intentional approach that organizes strategy and aligns people and practice around what students need to thrive. The Institutional Transformation Framework (ITF) is an approach to establishing that structure.
As the Gates Foundation’s Postsecondary Success strategy theory of change, the ITF reflects more than a model—it represents a tested framework for how institutions can advance equity and value at scale. Built from field-based research and institutional experience, it integrates the most critical components of institutional transformation into a cohesive structure that institutions can adapt to their unique contexts.
Rather than prescribing a one-size-fits-all model, the ITF offers a flexible approach institutions can tailor to their unique mission, context, and priorities. It integrates the essential components of transformation into a cohesive whole—anchored in equity and sustained through continuous improvement.
Equitable Student Success at the Center
Institutional commitment to equity is reflected in the mission, made actionable through strategic plans, and measured using disaggregated student data to ensure parity in outcomes.
Perspective on the Student Experience
Institutions intentionally map the student experience from entry to completion—identifying barriers and building coherent pathways that foster momentum toward meaningful credentials.
Evidence-Based Practices
Reforms such as advising redesign, developmental education transformation, and digital learning are deployed to improve the student experience and accelerate progress.
Core Institutional Capacities
Internal functions—such as leadership alignment, data use, information technology, and strategic finance—are strengthened to support and sustain implementation of evidenced-based practices.
Continuous Improvement
A culture of learning and iteration is built through structured routines for reflection, planning, action, and monitoring, ensuring that transformation remains adaptive and grounded in real-time evidence.
Together, these five components shape the foundation of the ITF. By centering students—and aligning strategies across institutional roles and functions—the framework enables institutions to navigate complexity, sustain momentum, and create real, lasting impact.
Postsecondary Success Strategy Timeline
For more than a decade, the Gates Foundation’s Postsecondary Success strategy has helped institutions move from insight to action. Grounded in real campus work and shaped by collaboration, this timeline traces how the strategy evolved—informing the tools, insights, and resources now available across the Changemakers site. Each initiative reflects a deeper understanding of what it takes to redesign systems, center equity, and drive sustainable student success.
2011
Centering the Student Experience
INITIATIVE:
Completion by Design
The strategy began with a network of community colleges ready to rethink how their systems shaped student outcomes. Completion by Design surfaced structural barriers students face and piloted a new approach to institutional redesign—one that put the student experience at the center. This early work laid the foundation for the Guided Pathways movement and demonstrated the power of integrated, equity-focused change.
2013
Bringing Reform to Life
INITIATIVE:
Solution Networks or Innovation Networks
To build on early momentum, the strategy started investing in Innovation Networks that focused on advancing evidence-based solutions in digital learning, developmental education, and holistic advising. These networks gave institutions space to test reforms in real time, collaborate across contexts, and share insights across the field. National partners—including the Advising Success Network, Every Learner Everywhere, and Strong Start to Finish—played critical roles in shaping strategies and scaling what works.
2014
Framing Transformation
INITIATIVE:
Institutional Transformation Framework (ITF)
The Institutional Transformation Framework (ITF) was developed to provide a research-based foundation for equity-centered change, helping institutions align student pathways, solution areas, and operating capacities. Informed by research from the field, the ITF offers a flexible, equity-centered structure to guide planning, reflection, and implementation—supporting continuous improvement and helping shape tools like the ITA and Changemakers resources.
2015
Learning from Institutional Experience
INITIATIVE:
The Frontier Set (FS) or Institutional Networks
The Frontier Set launched as a national learning network of colleges, universities, systems, and intermediaries committed to long-term, equity-centered transformation. It focused on understanding what it truly takes to realign institutional structures, culture, and business models to create a student experience that drives dramatic—and equitable—improvements in outcomes and value.
2016
Making Reflection Actionable
INITIATIVE:
Institutional Transformation Assessment (ITA)
The Institutional Transformation Assessment (ITA) helps institutions reflect on their progress and priorities by assessing readiness across pathways, solution areas, and operating capacities. Grounded in the ITF, this perception-based tool created a shared starting point for cross-functional dialogue, planning, and action— making transformation more collaborative, strategic, and sustainable.
2017
Equipping Institutions with Equity Data
INITIATIVE:
Postsecondary Data Partnership (PDP)
Launched through the National Student Clearinghouse, PDP gave institutions access to timely, disaggregated data to support decision-making. By embedding equity-focused metrics into planning and performance, institutions were better equipped to identify gaps, measure progress, and guide transformation with insight and transparency.
2019
Building the Backbone for Transformation at Scale
INITIATIVE:
Intermediaries for Scale (IFS)
To strengthen the infrastructure for broad-based transformation, the Intermediaries for Scale initiative equipped national partners to deliver technical assistance, build capacity, and turn field insights into scalable supports that could meet diverse institutional needs.
Supporting Implementation with Services
INITIATIVE:
Solution Design and Delivery (SD&D)
With a growing understanding of what works, the strategy expanded into direct service. Solution Design and Delivery helped institutions implement reforms in advising, developmental education, and digital learning—bringing strategy to life through expert support and cross-functional collaboration.
Making Tools and Insights Public
INITIATIVE:
Guide for Postsecondary Changemakers Website
To share tools and lessons more widely, the Changemakers website launched as a public platform for research-based frameworks, field-tested strategies, and institutional insights. Built to support leaders at every stage of transformation, the site reflects the diversity of institutional journeys—and turns learning into action.
2022
Empowering the Leaders in the Middle
INITIATIVE:
Mid-Level Leader Toolkit
Recognizing the vital role of mid-level leaders in managing complexity and driving day-to-day change, the Mid-Level Leader Toolkit was developed to support those translating strategy into practice. The toolkit includes actionable resources for building alignment, strengthening collaboration, and sustaining progress from the middle out.
2023
Scaling What Works
INITIATIVE:
Higher Endeavor Network
The Higher Endeavor Network launched to unify what had been learned and built across the field. It brought together Innovation Networks, Intermediaries for Scale, and Solution Design & Delivery into an integrated ecosystem—offering institutions a coherent, service-backed pathway to equitable transformation.
2025
Bringing it All Together
INITIATIVE:
Postsecondary Changemakers Hub Redesign
The Postsecondary Changemakers site was reimagined to better serve institutions by translating over a decade of field learning into a cohesive, action-oriented experience. The redesigned hub deepens alignment with the Institutional Transformation Framework, integrates the full transformation journey, and expands access to proven tools, evidence-based practices, and cross-cutting insights. With enhanced structure and navigation, the site enables institutional leaders and teams to move more effectively from learning to implementation, transforming strategy into sustained, equity-centered change.
See How Others Have Transformed
Discover how institutions like yours have navigated their transformation journeys. Browse real-world case studies and gain insights you can apply today.
