Leveraging Performance Improvement Practices to Advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Higher Education: The Case of Student Success and Mental Wellness

Performance improvement frameworks have long been applied in organizational contexts to identify and close performance gaps. In recent years, scholars have called for broader application of these methods to address issues of social injustice, particularly in support of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts. This study responds to that call by examining how performance improvement practices can be leveraged within higher education to advance DEI-related outcomes—specifically, to support Black students’ mental health and wellness. Using a qualitative case study grounded in Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR), we assess the gap between the current and desired level of mental health support services at a Midwestern university during the COVID-19 pandemic and concurrent racial justice crisis. Benchmarking best practices, surveying departmental offerings, and centering student voices through focus groups, we identified critical structural gaps in culturally responsive care, preventive programming, and identity-aligned services. While the data were collected at a time of heightened DEI engagement, the sociopolitical climate in higher education has since shifted. Across the U.S., DEI initiatives are being scaled back or eliminated entirely due to legislative and political pressures. In this context, our findings offer a timely and pragmatic model for institutions seeking to support marginalized student populations while navigating shifting political terrain. We argue that performance improvement practices—rooted in data, systems thinking, and stakeholder inclusion—can serve as resilient, adaptive tools that complement and reinforce DEI frameworks, sustaining equity-focused work even amid contested political environments.