Leveraging the Power of Systemness to Improve the Success of Students and Society

In Short Public college and university systems are a major component of the nation’s higher education ecosystem. They are the predominant form of organization used by the states (44 out of 50) to govern, manage, coordinate, and resource the provision of higher education in the states. Of the nation’s public 4-year college and university students, 75 percent are enrolled in a system institution. These systems use “systemness,” collective impact, and the leverage of innovation at scale to add value to students and states greater than the sum of their parts. The National Association of System Heads has led an inclusive process to develop a transformation agenda for the nation’s systems. This article summarizes our recently published report, Power of Systems: Advancing Prosperity for the Nation. This compelling agenda includes goals, metrics, and strategies that will be pursued at system, state, and national levels to increase credential attainment, expand social and economic mobility, and reduce the burden of student debt.