RP Conference 2026 

Change is constant in the California Community Colleges system, but meaningful transformation requires more than compliance—it requires intentional, equity-minded planning. This track explores the tools, frameworks, and strategies that IRPE professionals can use to center student voices, dismantle inequitable structures, and connect institutional effectiveness work directly to outcomes that matter.

Sessions will provide practical strategies for aligning local research and planning with systemwide initiatives, such as Vision 2030, Guided Pathways, and equitable hiring practices. Presenters will share approaches to integrating universal design principles, addressing office climate, and using planning as a lever for equity-driven institutional change.

This track invites participants to engage with frameworks that bridge planning and research, explore systemic solutions, and leave with actionable tools to move their institutions forward.

Research alone doesn’t create change—how we apply it does. This track focuses on the real-world application of IRPE research to improve student outcomes and advance equity. Case studies, experiments, and process stories will highlight how colleges are using data to drive transformation in classrooms, student services, and campus culture.

Sessions in this track will embrace the value of “works in progress,” showcasing not just polished results but also the pivots, setbacks, and lessons learned along the way. Presenters are encouraged to share experiments in using new methodologies, incorporating student researchers into projects, leveraging emerging tools like AI, or aligning local research with statewide priorities.

By focusing on the process of research in action, this track creates space for learning through experimentation, reflection, and iteration—reminding us that progress is often nonlinear but always valuable.

The work of equity and change is messy—and sometimes uncomfortable. This track provides open, facilitated discussions in which IRPE professionals can honestly explore the challenges that come with leading institutional change.

Topics may include navigating governance and politics, addressing resistance from colleagues or leadership, reflecting on positionality and bias, or grappling with failure and conflict. Rather than avoiding hard conversations, this track emphasizes their importance in building authentic relationships, developing trust, and creating conditions for transformation.

“Real Talk” sessions are not about perfect answers—they’re about naming the tensions we face as individuals and as a profession, and learning from each other in brave, constructive dialogue.