• Promote and sustain institutional change: Achieving the Dream will help community colleges build a “culture of evidence” and an unwavering commitment to improving success rates for underserved students. Colleges will strengthen their capacity to assess student outcomes, set goals for improvement and track changes. They will systematically analyze data, develop effective strategies for improving student success, cultivate support for the strategies, and institutionalize new policies and practices that work.
• Develop policy: Achieving the Dream will work at three levels to foster policies that support community college student success: state, national and in regional accreditation agencies.
• Engage the public: To improve outcomes for students at Achieving the Dream colleges and beyond, the initiative must inform and mobilize many people –- including community college administrators, faculty, staff, trustees and students; state and national policy-makers and opinion leaders; local leaders in Achieving the Dream communities; funding organizations, and employers.
• Build knowledge: With its focus on data-driven decision making, Achieving the Dream will be in a unique position to build and share knowledge about student outcomes and the factors that affect student success. By evaluating the work and sharing the lessons it affords, the initiative will enhance the knowledge of community college leaders, policy-makers, higher education researchers, funding organizations and others.
• Enhance partners’capacity: In addition to prompting change in colleges, policies, public will and knowledge, Achieving the Dream expects to bring about change in its own partner organizations. Through participation in the initiative, partner organizations are expected to enhance their capacity and commitment to work individually and collectively to advance the initiative’s goals.

Source: Achieving the Dream’s ‘Integrated Action Plan’