How a Connected College Approach Helps Break Down Silos and Improve Student Success: Changing Hig...

July 15, 2025 ·


Episode 268






Building a Connected College by Aligning Strategy and Services








37 Min
·
By The Change Leader, Inc.

















Build a Connected College that improves student outcomes by aligning strategy, services, and systems without adding complexity or cost.
























 



Most colleges rely on more than 20 disconnected systems to support students. Studies from Tyton Partners (https://tytonpartners.com/tyton-partn...) and the Lumina Foundation (https://www.luminafoundation.org/news...) show that these fragmented systems contribute to student confusion, reduced engagement, and lower graduation rates. In this episode of Changing Higher Ed (https://changinghighered.com/changing...) , student experience strategist Elliot Felix joins Dr. Drumm McNaughton to explain how building a connected college—where strategy, services, and systems work together—can improve student outcomes without increasing institutional complexity or cost.



Elliot Felix is the founder of brightspot Strategy (acquired by Buro Happold in 2020) and the author of The Connected College: Leadership Strategies for Student Success. He has worked with more than 100 institutions including MIT, NYU, and the University of Virginia. His approach centers on aligning strategy, services, space, and technology using principles from design thinking and organizational systems.



Why Colleges Must Rethink Student Success to Build a Connected College



Many institutions respond to new challenges by layering on additional services, departments, or platforms. While well-intentioned, this additive approach creates operational sprawl, burdens students with complexity, and increases costs. According to Felix, the core issue is not how much support is offered but how well it’s aligned.



Real student success requires systemic coordination. Leaders must shift from growing programs in isolation to designing integrated systems. When departments and platforms operate in silos, students are left to navigate the gaps alone.



Using Design Thinking to Create a Connected College Framework



Felix uses design thinking as a strategic tool for institutional transformation. With a background in architecture and systems design, he emphasizes empathy, prototyping, and cross-functional collaboration. This enables institutions to test changes at a small scale, refine them with real feedback, and scale only what works.



Design thinking reframes student success from a collection of services to an interconnected experience. For leaders, it becomes a method for aligning operational decisions with institutional priorities. Rather than launching top-down initiatives, this approach fosters participation, testing, and shared ownership of results.



How to Break Down Silos Without Major Reorganizations



Reorganizations (https://changinghighered.com/higher-e...) are often politically sensitive and disruptive. Instead, Felix offers practical ways to improve coordination without structural overhauls. One approach is building a shared understanding of students through institutional data. When departments operate from the same facts, alignment becomes easier.



Felix highlights Purdue University’s Communicators Council as an example of how decentralized teams can align through regular collaboration, shared templates, and consistent messaging. Dr. McNaughton adds valuable insight about successful implementation of cross-departmental coordination through “Student One Stop” (SOS) models, where institutions centralize student-facing services while maintaining specialization. In these models, frontline staff are cross-trained to handle 80% of common questions across enrollment, registration, financial aid, and student accounts, with specialists available for complex cases. This approach keeps students with the same point of contact throughout their process, eliminating the frustrating experience of being pushed between departments.



Governance That Enables Faster, Smarter Decisions



Both experts emphasize that shared governance (https://changinghighered.com/higher-e...) works only when roles and responsibilities are clear. Felix stresses that more input does not automatically lead to better decisions. Institutions often fall into the trap of expanding committees and meetings while slowing down implementation.



Dr. McNaughton advocates for the RACI model (https://changinghighered.com/higher-e....