ABSTRACT
Originally conceived as an initiative in 2004 by the Lumina Foundation and seven founding partner organizations, Achieving the Dream, Inc. is a large national nonprofit organization that leads the most comprehensive, non-governmental reform network for student success in higher education history. With more than 200 colleges, 100 coaches and advisors, and 15 state policy teams—working throughout 34 states and the District of Columbia—Achieving the Dream helps 3.8 million community college students, particularly low income students and students of color, have a better chance of realizing greater economic opportunity (Achieving the Dream, 2012a). An innovative approach of Achieving the Dream is the utilization of external coaches as an intermediary approach to motivate institutional change. The chapter offers a case study focused on the role of external coaching as a tool to promote organizational change.
