Projects Change Culture | 053 | Student Success
Do the work. The culture will follow.
“The aggregate of well-coordinated projects can lead to positive culture change.” – Dr. Al Solano
Why Projects Matter
Culture change is one of the most over-discussed and under-executed ideas in higher education. Institutions:
Declare themes
Launch vision statements
Host retreats
Bring in speakers
And for a moment, it feels like progress. But then, very little actually changes because culture doesn’t shift through messaging.
Real work:
Projects with purpose
People responsible
Timelines established
Results visible
When that work accumulates, and is aligned, something powerful happens:
The culture begins to move.
What “Well-Coordinated” Really Means
Not all project activity leads to progress. In fact, many campuses are busy, but fragmented.
You’ll see:
Multiple initiatives addressing the same issue
Teams working in parallel without awareness of each other
Strategic plans sitting on shelves while new efforts emerge
Redundant meetings, duplicated work, and competing priorities
That’s not coordination.
Well-coordinated projects look different
They:
Connect to a shared set of goals
Align with the student journey
Build on each other instead of competing
Share information across teams
Reduce duplication and confusion
For example:
The student onboarding initiative knows what the dual enrollment group is doing
The advising redesign aligns with scheduling improvements
The strategic plan informs, not competes with, active projects
Coordination ensures efforts complement, not collide.
The Hidden Cost of Uncoordinated Work
When projects operate in isolation:
Energy gets diluted
Staff and faculty feel overwhelmed
Progress becomes uneven
Trust erodes (“We’ve tried this before…”)
And most importantly:
Students experience the seams.
They feel:
inconsistent messaging
disconnected services
unclear pathways
That’s not a student problem. That’s an institutional coordination problem.
Culture Change Is the Result, Not the Starting Point
Too often, colleges try to “fix culture” directly.
They:
host a retreat
run a few feel-good sessions
create a new committee
bring in a keynote speaker
Those things may have value, but they don’t change culture on their own.
Culture changes when:
Projects are clear
Work is coordinated
Teams are aligned
Progress is visible
Results are measured
Over time, these patterns create:
New norms, expectations, and behaviors
And eventually: A different culture
From Activity to Momentum
One well-run project helps. Several aligned projects? That’s significant momentum.
And momentum does something no slogan or great speech can:
It builds belief, creates trust, reinforces accountability & support, and it sustains effort.
People begin to see: “This isn’t just another initiative. This is actually working.”
A Practical Reflection
If your college is trying to strengthen culture, ask:
Where are our projects disconnected from each other?
Where are we duplicating effort?
Which projects actually move student outcomes, and which are just activity?
How are we ensuring alignment across teams?
And most importantly:
Are we coordinating the work or just adding more of it?
Improved culture is the byproduct of well-coordinated action.
If your institution needs support planning and/or implementing priorities, contact me. I’ll help you be successful.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn.
Onward…
Dr. Al Solano
Founder, Continuous Learning Institute | About
Host, Student Success Podcast
A meaningful test of success is how helpful we are in contributing to our fellow human being’s happiness.
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