Is Your Team Strategically Equipped to Make The Most of Your Software?

Effectively implementing new software at your institution isn’t a one-time project, and it takes more than an email or a training video to get it right. Real impact comes when teams use the technology as an essential part of their day-to-day work to achieve institutional goals.

Too often, new tools are introduced without a clear connection to strategic priorities, and their value quickly gets lost. That’s why leaders must ensure every investment is aligned with institutional objectives and supported across all levels.

When vendors provide strategic, outcome-focused enablement—not just technical training—teams are far more equipped to use the platform to its full potential. This approach empowers institutions to uncover hidden gaps and drive outcomes like improving retention, scaling advising, and strengthening cross-campus collaboration.

Are You Enabling for Impact—or Just Implementing Tools?

Introducing new technology involves more than point-and-click training. It’s critical to align it with your departmental and institutional goals from the start. In higher education, successful implementation often means rethinking long-standing processes, habits, and team dynamics. 

Start by asking these three essential questions to ensure your investment drives real results:

How will this software help more students succeed?

One of the biggest elements to successful change is having a clear vision from the start. Even the best ideas can lose momentum without defined goals. Begin by asking:

• How can this tool help us support more students?
  
• Will this software move us closer to our institutional goals?
  
• What features will help us be more proactive, scale support, and still create a student-centered environment?

At the core of every institution is one goal: student success. That mission should shape every decision, especially around technology. But too often, campus politics or complexity creates silos that block collaboration and coordinated support.

That’s why training should go beyond basic functionality. Users need to understand not just how to use a tool, but why it matters—so they can apply it in ways that truly move the needle on student outcomes.

Are you set up to integrate software into daily workflows?

Once teams are aligned on the vision and how the platform supports their work, professional development can’t be a one-and-done event. It needs to be ongoing and embedded into daily workflows.

Training with the intent of solving real problems, not just checking a box, makes all the difference. When teams understand how to apply new tools to their day-to-day responsibilities and how it will improve the impact of their work, usage becomes consistent, meaningful, and tied to outcomes.

Some institutions address this head-on by designating team members to lead onboarding, drive adoption, and ensure stakeholders are engaged in shaping how the platform supports their goals. It’s a phased approach, not an overnight switch, proving to be both practical and effective.

Here are two examples from our partner community:

• Building Buy-In Through Cross-Campus Collaboration with Austin Community College

Serving more than 70,000 students, Austin Community College needed a better way to reach students who weren’t actively asking for help. To address this, ACC partnered with Civitas Learning and took a collaborative approach, engaging faculty, advisors, and student success staff from the beginning.

A major driver of success has been the robust training program led by Hilda Gartke, Coordinator of Student Affairs Training. Through regular group sessions and 1:1 coaching, Hilda ensures that everyone, from newly hired advisors to longtime faculty, feels confident using the platform. That investment is delivering real results:

• Student success teams use the platform daily to personalize outreach, for example, reaching students who haven’t met with an advisor and show low persistence indicators.
  
• Faculty, traditionally cautious about new systems, now use the tools to flag concerns, track student progress, and send targeted messages, like internship opportunities matched to a student’s major.

This intentional, campus-wide enablement has led to a 4.1 percentage point increase in Fall-to-Spring persistence over three years. By embedding strategic support into everyday workflows, ACC has built a scalable, data-informed system that delivers timely support and continues to evolve with student needs.

• Empowering Advisors Through Training with Del Mar College

At Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas, advising is seen as a professional practice, not just a transactional task. Under the leadership of Leticia Wilson, Director of Advising Initiatives, the college launched an online advising certification course to build consistency, confidence, and shared standards across the advising team.

The course equips advisors to navigate ongoing changes in federal and state policy, curriculum, and technology. To support adoption, Del Mar created step-by-step training videos that help advisors know how the software will help them do their best work.

Each module includes a knowledge check and a mock advising session, evaluated with a rubric emphasizing trust-building, goal setting, and understanding students’ outside commitments. The result is a thoughtful, high-impact approach to advising that empowers staff and strengthens the student experience.

How will we provide ongoing strategic enablement after we launch?

Getting the most from your software investment requires more than just initial setup—it takes a long-term partnership. One of the most effective ways to strategically enable users is by working with a vendor that goes beyond troubleshooting and actively helps you align the platform with evolving goals over time.

This level of support is especially critical for institutions without dedicated in-house training teams. In today’s rapidly shifting higher ed environment—driven by policy changes, enrollment fluctuations, and rising student expectations—your vendor should help connect big-picture changes to day-to-day action.

That kind of support includes:

• Strategic Enablement Webinars — Virtual sessions where institutions share best practices, collaborate, and explore trends and innovations in student success to inspire others and ask questions.  Learn more
  
• Leadership Workshops — Events that bring together higher ed leaders for research-based discussions and peer learning. For example, Civitas Learning’s 2024 Winter Leadership  Workshop convened leaders from 10 institutions to share strategies for sustainable impact.
  
• Dedicated Customer Success Partner — A single point of contact who helps you integrate the platform into daily workflows, offers hands-on support, and facilitates connections to peer institutions.

True enablement goes beyond feature training. It’s about helping your team build strategies, adapt to change, and continuously improve. 

Ready to Turn Adoption into Impact?

Implementing new technology is more than a rollout or a one-size-fits-all training guide. It’s a commitment to evolving how your institution supports student success. Real results come when tools are aligned with your strategy, integrated into daily work, and supported with ongoing, outcome-driven enablement.

When teams understand not just how to use a platform, but why and when to use it, they make better decisions, collaborate more effectively, and drive sustainable outcomes.

Ask yourself: Are you strategically enabled to get the most out of your software?

Here, you can learn more about how Civitas Learning strategically enables our partners to impact the student outcomes that matter most.