Each year, ATD honors Network colleges whose commitment to student success has driven substantive improvements for students and their communities. Achieving the Dream’s national college leadership designations will be announced in February at DREAM 2027 in Columbus, Ohio.
The designations are Leader College, Leader College of Distinction, and the Leah Meyer Austin Award. The data and the overall approach are aligned with ATD’s Community Vibrancy Framework, helping institutions see connections between their student success efforts and broader community impact. Leader College and Leader College of Distinction are three-year designations. The Leah Meyer Austin Award is ATD’s highest distinction, awarded annually to one college. The 2027 recipient will receive $100,000.
Important Dates
September 11, 2026 | Applications Open |
September 15, 2026 | Awards and Designations Webinar; View Recording link here |
| October 1, 2026 | ATD Institutional Designation In-Person Office Hour at the Data & Analytics Summit, Baltimore, MD |
October 7, 2026 | ATD Institutional Designation Office Hour #1; Register |
October 13, 2026 | ATD Institutional Designation Office Hour #2; Register |
October 16, 2026, 8:00 pm ET | Applications Close |
December 2026–January 2027 | Institutions Notified |
Resources and Requirements
Before beginning your online application form, please access the resources provided here to assist you in crafting the strongest submission possible.
Application Instructions
Step 1. Start Your Application
If you do not have a SurveyMonkey Apply account, select Register in the top right corner and create your login credentials.
If you already have a SurveyMonkey Apply account, select Log In and use your existing credentials.
Once logged in:
Select View Programs.
Find ATD Institutional Designations and select More.
Select Apply to start your application.
Step 2. Gather Your Team
Assemble a cross-functional team to complete the application. Your team may include representatives from institutional research, academic affairs, student affairs, workforce development, community partnerships, and executive leadership, as appropriate.
The person who initiates the application may add collaborators who can view and edit it. Select Add Collaborator on the left-hand side of the application and follow the instructions provided.
Step 3. Review Your Evidence and Confirm the Designation You Will Pursue
Select your institution from the dropdown menu to view the 2027 ATD designation(s) for which your college is eligible to apply. Some colleges will be eligible for one designation, while others will have multiple options.
Access your college's ATD Data Report using the link ATD sent to you by email. Follow the instructions on the report's cover page to review your college's data across the four metric categories: access, early momentum, milestone momentum, and economic mobility.
If you don't see this email or have trouble opening the link, contact network@achievingthedream.org and we can send your ATD Data Report directly.
If your Early Momentum fall-to-fall retention data are missing from your ATD Data Report, provide those data as part of your application using the Early Momentum Data Template in SurveyMonkey Apply.
Consider:
What progress and outcomes do we see in our ATD Data Report?
What institutional data or other evidence provides additional context or demonstrates more recent progress?
Which designation best reflects the strength and maturity of the transformation and results we are prepared to demonstrate?
Use the guidance below to determine which designation best matches the evidence your college is prepared to demonstrate. The suggested ATD Data Report thresholds are general reference points and do not determine eligibility or guarantee that your college will receive a designation.
Designation | This designation celebrates institutions that… |
Leader College | Have completed Foundations of Transformation and demonstrate meaningful progress through a clear institutional transformation strategy grounded in their context, with intentional implementation and early results that are improving student and community success. Leader College applications should demonstrate contextually relevant, data-informed strategies; evidence of intentional implementation; strengthening institutional capacity; and early results, with particular emphasis on Access, Early Momentum, and Milestone Momentum. Applications should also describe how the college contributes to shared learning and engagement across the ATD Network.
Leader College terms are three years long, after which institutions are eligible to apply for recertification.
Suggested ATD Data Report threshold: 45+ |
Leader College of Distinction | Build on Leader College expectations by demonstrating sustained improvements across a clear, contextual transformation strategy that produces broader and more durable student and community success outcomes. Leader College of Distinction applications should demonstrate sustained improvements across Access, Early Momentum, and Milestone Momentum; strong data-informed continuous improvement; evidence of institutionalization and evaluation of impact; and increasingly durable student and community outcomes. Applications should also describe how the college demonstrates sustained contributions to shared learning, peer engagement, and improvement across the ATD Network. Leader College of Distinction terms are three years long, after which institutions are eligible to apply for recertification.
Suggested ATD Data Report threshold: 55+ |
Leah Meyer Austin Award | Demonstrate sustained, measurable impact on post-completion outcomes and economic mobility, with practices deeply embedded in college culture and planning that produce durable outcomes for students, families, and communities. The Leah Meyer Austin award recognizes one college annually that exemplifies systemic, student-centered, contextual institutional transformation across the Community Vibrancy Framework. Applications should also describe how the college serves as an exemplar for the ATD Network by sharing practices, evidence, and lessons that can inform field-wide transformation.
Suggested ATD Data Report threshold: 65+
|
If your college is eligible for more than one designation, select the highest designation that best reflects the evidence you are prepared to demonstrate. If ATD reviewers determine that the evidence does not support the designation pursued, your application will also be considered for any other appropriate designation for which your college is eligible.
Step 4. Develop and Complete Your Narrative
Identify your institution's overarching transformation goal rooted in your community context and needs.
Complete the narrative application by demonstrating how your work across the Community Vibrancy outcome domains contributes to advancing that transformation goal and how your ICAT capacities enable your institution to implement, sustain, and continuously improve that work.
Complete all required narrative questions using your ATD Data Report, institutional data, and other evidence to support your responses. Use your narrative responses to explain your results, provide context, demonstrate progress, and connect your strategies, capacities, evidence, and results to your institution’s transformation goal.
Enter narrative responses as plain text only. Narrative fields do not support formatting, tables, charts, images, hyperlinks, or embedded visuals.
You may upload one optional Supporting Evidence document containing labeled charts, graphs, dashboards, tables, process maps, hyperlinks, or other visual materials that support your narrative responses.
Step 5. Review and Submit
Review your application with your cross-functional team and, when available, your ATD coach.
Upload the required application materials through SurveyMonkey Apply, including:
President, chancellor, or chief executive letter of support
Institutional logo
One optional Supporting Evidence document
Submit your completed application through SurveyMonkey Apply by the published deadline.
Questions? Review the FAQ, attend an Awards & Designations webinar or office hours, or email network@achievingthedream.org.
2026-27 ATD Institutional Designations
Each year, ATD honors Network colleges whose commitment to student success has driven substantive improvements for students and their communities. Achieving the Dream’s national college leadership designations will be announced in February at DREAM 2027 in Columbus, Ohio.
The designations are Leader College, Leader College of Distinction, and the Leah Meyer Austin Award. The data and the overall approach are aligned with ATD’s Community Vibrancy Framework, helping institutions see connections between their student success efforts and broader community impact. Leader College and Leader College of Distinction are three-year designations. The Leah Meyer Austin Award is ATD’s highest distinction, awarded annually to one college. The 2027 recipient will receive $100,000.
Important Dates
September 11, 2026 | Applications Open |
September 15, 2026 | Awards and Designations Webinar; View Recording link here |
| October 1, 2026 | ATD Institutional Designation In-Person Office Hour at the Data & Analytics Summit, Baltimore, MD |
October 7, 2026 | ATD Institutional Designation Office Hour #1; Register |
October 13, 2026 | ATD Institutional Designation Office Hour #2; Register |
October 16, 2026, 8:00 pm ET | Applications Close |
December 2026–January 2027 | Institutions Notified |
Resources and Requirements
Before beginning your online application form, please access the resources provided here to assist you in crafting the strongest submission possible.
Application Instructions
Step 1. Start Your Application
If you do not have a SurveyMonkey Apply account, select Register in the top right corner and create your login credentials.
If you already have a SurveyMonkey Apply account, select Log In and use your existing credentials.
Once logged in:
Select View Programs.
Find ATD Institutional Designations and select More.
Select Apply to start your application.
Step 2. Gather Your Team
Assemble a cross-functional team to complete the application. Your team may include representatives from institutional research, academic affairs, student affairs, workforce development, community partnerships, and executive leadership, as appropriate.
The person who initiates the application may add collaborators who can view and edit it. Select Add Collaborator on the left-hand side of the application and follow the instructions provided.
Step 3. Review Your Evidence and Confirm the Designation You Will Pursue
Select your institution from the dropdown menu to view the 2027 ATD designation(s) for which your college is eligible to apply. Some colleges will be eligible for one designation, while others will have multiple options.
Access your college's ATD Data Report using the link ATD sent to you by email. Follow the instructions on the report's cover page to review your college's data across the four metric categories: access, early momentum, milestone momentum, and economic mobility.
If you don't see this email or have trouble opening the link, contact network@achievingthedream.org and we can send your ATD Data Report directly.
If your Early Momentum fall-to-fall retention data are missing from your ATD Data Report, provide those data as part of your application using the Early Momentum Data Template in SurveyMonkey Apply.
Consider:
What progress and outcomes do we see in our ATD Data Report?
What institutional data or other evidence provides additional context or demonstrates more recent progress?
Which designation best reflects the strength and maturity of the transformation and results we are prepared to demonstrate?
Use the guidance below to determine which designation best matches the evidence your college is prepared to demonstrate. The suggested ATD Data Report thresholds are general reference points and do not determine eligibility or guarantee that your college will receive a designation.
Designation | This designation celebrates institutions that… |
Leader College | Have completed Foundations of Transformation and demonstrate meaningful progress through a clear institutional transformation strategy grounded in their context, with intentional implementation and early results that are improving student and community success. Leader College applications should demonstrate contextually relevant, data-informed strategies; evidence of intentional implementation; strengthening institutional capacity; and early results, with particular emphasis on Access, Early Momentum, and Milestone Momentum. Applications should also describe how the college contributes to shared learning and engagement across the ATD Network.
Leader College terms are three years long, after which institutions are eligible to apply for recertification.
Suggested ATD Data Report threshold: 45+ |
Leader College of Distinction | Build on Leader College expectations by demonstrating sustained improvements across a clear, contextual transformation strategy that produces broader and more durable student and community success outcomes. Leader College of Distinction applications should demonstrate sustained improvements across Access, Early Momentum, and Milestone Momentum; strong data-informed continuous improvement; evidence of institutionalization and evaluation of impact; and increasingly durable student and community outcomes. Applications should also describe how the college demonstrates sustained contributions to shared learning, peer engagement, and improvement across the ATD Network. Leader College of Distinction terms are three years long, after which institutions are eligible to apply for recertification.
Suggested ATD Data Report threshold: 55+ |
Leah Meyer Austin Award | Demonstrate sustained, measurable impact on post-completion outcomes and economic mobility, with practices deeply embedded in college culture and planning that produce durable outcomes for students, families, and communities. The Leah Meyer Austin award recognizes one college annually that exemplifies systemic, student-centered, contextual institutional transformation across the Community Vibrancy Framework. Applications should also describe how the college serves as an exemplar for the ATD Network by sharing practices, evidence, and lessons that can inform field-wide transformation.
Suggested ATD Data Report threshold: 65+
|
If your college is eligible for more than one designation, select the highest designation that best reflects the evidence you are prepared to demonstrate. If ATD reviewers determine that the evidence does not support the designation pursued, your application will also be considered for any other appropriate designation for which your college is eligible.
Step 4. Develop and Complete Your Narrative
Identify your institution's overarching transformation goal rooted in your community context and needs.
Complete the narrative application by demonstrating how your work across the Community Vibrancy outcome domains contributes to advancing that transformation goal and how your ICAT capacities enable your institution to implement, sustain, and continuously improve that work.
Complete all required narrative questions using your ATD Data Report, institutional data, and other evidence to support your responses. Use your narrative responses to explain your results, provide context, demonstrate progress, and connect your strategies, capacities, evidence, and results to your institution’s transformation goal.
Enter narrative responses as plain text only. Narrative fields do not support formatting, tables, charts, images, hyperlinks, or embedded visuals.
You may upload one optional Supporting Evidence document containing labeled charts, graphs, dashboards, tables, process maps, hyperlinks, or other visual materials that support your narrative responses.
Step 5. Review and Submit
Review your application with your cross-functional team and, when available, your ATD coach.
Upload the required application materials through SurveyMonkey Apply, including:
President, chancellor, or chief executive letter of support
Institutional logo
One optional Supporting Evidence document
Submit your completed application through SurveyMonkey Apply by the published deadline.
Questions? Review the FAQ, attend an Awards & Designations webinar or office hours, or email network@achievingthedream.org.