The Ada Center partners with higher education institutions, state systems, foundations, and national organizations working to strengthen student success through effective and equitable use of technology.

We help leaders navigate complex decisions about technology, AI, organizational readiness, and change management in ways that support stronger student outcomes and pathways to economic mobility.

Drawing on work with more than 700 access-focused institutions, we bring both field-wide perspective and practical insight into how institutions translate technology investments into meaningful institutional change.

How We Support the Field

We support institutional leaders as they navigate technology-enabled change efforts tied to student success, advising, data use, and operational transformation.

Our work often focuses on helping institutions:

  • align technology decisions with institutional priorities

  • assess organizational readiness and capacity for new technology initiatives

  • improve the effectiveness of existing student success technologies

  • identify opportunities for more integrated, student-centered systems and practices

  • strengthen coordination across academic, student support, and IT functions

Regardless of the project, our goal is to help institutions more effectively align their technology efforts with their student success strategy.

If you are a practitioner interested in partnering with The Ada Center, we recommend reviewing our Resources page to see if our approach resonates with your goals.

The rapid emergence of AI is creating both opportunity and uncertainty across higher education. The Ada Center works with institutions and organizations to develop thoughtful, mission-aligned approaches to AI strategy and adoption.

We help leaders explore questions related to:

  • institutional readiness for AI-enabled transformation

  • implications for student support, teaching, and operations

  • governance and decision-making structures

  • operational and workforce implications

  • equity and access considerations

  • emerging technology trends shaping student success infrastructure

Our approach emphasizes practical strategy development grounded in the realities of institutional operations and student needs.

In addition to direct consultative work, The Ada Center serves as a connector and learning partner across the higher education ecosystem.

We partner with foundations, associations, state systems, and national initiatives to synthesize lessons emerging across the field and support shared learning around technology-enabled student success efforts.

Our work includes:

  • strategy development for philanthropic and intermediary organizations

  • applied research and student insight gathering

  • workshop and convening design

  • cohort-based learning experiences

  • development of practical tools and open-access resources

  • facilitation of peer learning among institutional leaders

Some of our current projects include supporting the Gates Foundation with their Digital Holistic Student Support strategy development and partnering with AIHEC to help strengthen technology capacity at Tribal Colleges.