Phase Two Advisory

What Phase Two Advisory does

Phase Two Advisory is a private higher education consulting firm headquartered in Melville, United States, with a team of 1–10 employees. The firm supports postsecondary institutions, particularly community and broad-access colleges, in designing and implementing equity-forward institutional transformation aimed at improving outcomes for students who have been historically marginalized. Its work is organized around four service lines: supporting colleges, leading practitioner networks, guiding foundations, and conducting applied research, with particular attention to the role of middle leaders in driving adaptive change.

The firm's core "technology" is its practitioner-grounded applied research and methodology, codified into branded products such as the Student Success Teams (SST) Implementation Guide, the SSIPP Framework (strategic, sustained, integrated, proactive, personalized support), the Placement Innovation Series, and a First-Generation Student Research program developed with NASPA. These are delivered alongside a free online Research Library of reports, action tools, and practitioner resources, virtual consultancy methodologies for networks, and foundation-facing services including research synthesis, logic modeling, and impact assessment. The firm operates a sales-led go-to-market via direct consulting engagements with colleges, foundations, and practitioner networks.

Phase Two generates revenue through professional services engagements, primarily custom consulting contracts with foundations and educational intermediaries, rather than standardized pricing tiers. Notable engagements include work for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Postsecondary Success team, the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program's Frontier Set network, and the California Community Colleges Holistic Student Support (HSS) Implementation Network funded by College Futures Foundation and facilitated with The Ada Center. Distribution is direct and relationship-driven, supplemented by content marketing through the research library, email, conferences, and podcast appearances by founder Melinda Karp.

Name

Phase Two Advisory

Website

https://phasetwoadvisory.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Phase Two Advisory is a boutique higher education consultancy that helps colleges, foundations, and practitioner networks design and implement equity-forward institutional transformation, with a focus on middle-leader development and applied research products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Restructuring & Turnaround Advisory (BPAHAOAC)

Keywords

• Higher education consulting
• Student success research
• Institutional transformation
• Practitioner network facilitation
• Philanthropy advisory services

Headquarters

HQ city

Melville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting and Advisory Services: Phase Two Advisory provides consulting services to colleges, foundations, and networks, including research synthesis, strategy design, facilitation, coaching, and contract research. Their revenue appears to come from engagements with educational institutions and funders seeking guidance on institutional transformation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Phase Two Advisory provides consulting, applied research, and facilitated practitioner-network services that help U.S. postsecondary institutions and the foundations that fund them design and implement equity-forward student-success reforms. The firm delivers custom engagements (research synthesis, strategy design, facilitation, coaching) to colleges, foundations, and networks, and publishes practitioner-focused research products such as action tools and frameworks (including the SST Implementation Guide and the SSIPP Framework).

Product overview

Phase Two Advisory offers a suite of practitioner-focused research products and consulting services for postsecondary institutional transformation. The core offerings consist of three types of research products: traditional Research Papers and Reports (summarizing study findings), Action Tools (helping practitioners apply research), and Practitioner Resources (translating findings into actionable practice). Key branded products include the Student Success Teams (SST) Implementation Guide, the SSIPP Framework (strategic, sustained, integrated, proactive, personalized support), and the Placement Innovation Series. Additional services include practitioner network facilitation and foundation strategy services. The company is primarily a research and consulting organization rather than a software product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• College Support and Reform Strategy Consulting Custom consulting engagements with postsecondary institutions — particularly community and broad-access colleges — to design and implement equity-forward, student-success reforms. Engagements are tailored to each institution's objectives, constraints, and organizational context, and may include coaching, facilitation, and applied research components.
• Practitioner Network Facilitation Coordination and facilitation of practitioner networks in virtual, in-person, and hybrid formats, including communities of practice, workshops, and virtual consultancy methodologies that enable collective problem-solving, peer consultation, and adaptive leadership development across cohorts of institutions.
• Foundation Strategy and Portfolio Research Services Services for education-focused foundations and funders that integrate evidence and practitioner experience into strategy and investment decisions, including research synthesis, logic modeling, impact assessment, evidence standards and metrics definitions, and ongoing contract research updates.
• Applied Research on Institutional Transformation Applied and contract research engagements that build the field's knowledge on how to implement institutional transformation in postsecondary education, often commissioned by foundations and conducted via qualitative methods such as interviews, surveys, and focus groups.
• Student Success Teams (SST) Implementation Guide Practitioner-tested implementation guide summarizing actionable insights from nine institutions on designing and implementing holistic Student Success Teams, including different types of SSTs and phases of development.
• SSIPP Framework Research-based design principles for holistic student support arguing for Strategic, Sustained, Integrated, Proactive, and Personalized support, accompanied by resources to help campuses assess their student-support systems.
• Placement Innovation Series Research series exploring how placement practices can drive transformative change at broad-access institutions, including placement-as-transformation approaches and equity-forward design.
• First-Generation Student Research National exploration of institutional support practices for first-generation students at community and technical colleges, based on interviews with institution leaders, national surveys across 38 two-year institutions in 22 states, and focus groups with 23 first-generation students.

Quantifiable outcome

• Improved student outcomes through placement reform and holistic student support approaches
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Aspen Institute College Excellence Program (CEP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhase Two developed a virtual consultancy methodology for CEP's Frontier Set network of nine high-performing community colleges. The methodology applies traditional consultancy protocols to virtual environments, providing campuses opportunities to share challenges with colleagues and receive collegial feedback. Deployed monthly for two semesters with highly-rated usefulness.
• Bill and Melinda Gates FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhase Two developed a process to systematically assess growth and efficacy of strategies in the Foundation's Postsecondary Success portfolio. This included developing evidence standards, metrics definitions, and methods for aggregating findings. Provides regular research updates and visually-intuitive summaries to guide investment decisions and strategy refreshes.
• The Ada CentersupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Phase Two Advisory to facilitate the Holistic Student Support (HSS) Implementation Network, providing support for mid-level leaders from California community colleges engaged in HSS redesign.
• Center for First-generation Student Success (NASPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Phase Two Advisory to conduct national study on first-generation student support at community and technical colleges. Included interviews with institution leaders and data from national surveys across 38 two-year institutions in 22 states and focus groups with 23 first-generation students.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• MDRC: A nonprofit social research organization that designs and evaluates programs targeting low-income populations, including community college and postsecondary success interventions. Comparable to Phase Two in applied research on student success for historically marginalized populations.
• Complete College America: A nonprofit advocacy and research organization focused on increasing postsecondary completion through structural reforms at state and institutional levels. Comparable to Phase Two in equity-forward postsecondary transformation work and shares principal Melinda Karp's podcast network.
• Ithaka S+R: A research and advisory service for higher education and cultural heritage organizations, producing applied research, surveys, and strategic advice. Comparable to Phase Two in research-driven advisory work targeting colleges and funders in the postsecondary space.
• HCM Strategists: A policy and strategy consulting firm focused on postsecondary education, working with foundations, states, and institutions to translate evidence into policy and practice. Comparable to Phase Two in its foundation-side strategy work and higher-ed equity mission.
• Community College Research Center (CCRC): A research center at Columbia focused on community college practice and policy, producing studies on developmental education, student support, and guided pathways. Highly comparable to Phase Two's research and practitioner-resources model focused on the same broad-access student population.
• Entangled Solutions: A higher education consulting firm that works with colleges, systems, and funders on student success, equity, and institutional transformation. Highly comparable to Phase Two in client base (broad-access institutions and foundations), service mix (research synthesis, strategy, facilitation), and niche focus.

Broad incumbents

• Huron Consulting Group: A major professional services firm with a higher education practice advising colleges and systems on strategy, transformation, and operational improvement. Comparable in the transformation-advisory category but offers a broader service portfolio and far greater scale than Phase Two.
• EAB (Education Advisory Board): A larger, established research and advisory firm serving higher education institutions with consulting, benchmarking, and best-practice research. Overlaps with Phase Two in serving colleges on student success strategy but operates at much greater scale across multiple higher-ed functions.
• The Bridgespan Group: A nonprofit advisory firm providing strategy consulting to foundations, nonprofits, and social-sector organizations, including in education. Comparable to Phase Two's foundation strategy services work but operates across the broader social sector with deeper consulting resources.
• Aspen Institute College Excellence Program: A higher-ed focused program of the Aspen Institute working with community colleges on student success and equity. Functions both as a Phase Two client/partner (Frontier Set network) and a peer organization pursuing similar institutional transformation outcomes with broader institutional reach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Phase2Advisory
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/phase-two-advisory

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Phase Two Advisory