Collegiate Project Services
Higher education isn’t our business…it’s our passion.
Latest posts by Collegiate Project Services (see all)
Yesterday we hosted the webinar “A Holistic Approach to Student Success” featuring Joe LeCluyse. We had tremendous turnout from institutions across the country, of all types – public, private, 4-year, 2-year, and even a few board members. So what do all of these people have in common? They have some burning questions around how they can improve student success at their institutions.
Webinar participants were introduced to:
- What’s been missing in student success efforts across the country
- A Vision for Holistic Student Success
- The 4 Dimensions of Holistic Student Success
- 4 questions every institution needs to be asking
- Practical steps to develop a Student Success Roadmap
Sound intriguing? It was! And it is. You’ll have to wait until the next webinar broadcast to get all the details…
Join our mailing list to stay informed about the next scheduled webinar!
…but in the meantime we can share with you three of the more enlightening questions that came out of the Q&A period, and how Joe LeCluyse responded:Question #1:
Do you have any strategies to help guide faculty and staff toward an understanding of what it means to really engage students? How can Student Services and other leaders help faculty and staff understand the difference between what they are doing and what they could be doing for better engagement?
Joe LeCluyse answers: This is a challenge nearly every institution faces. Particularly when faculty and staff are trying to engage students, but their efforts sometimes fall flat. These are some specific strategies we recommend:
- Staff development workshops helping staff to understand how they do engage and impact students, whether they are aware of it or not. I often use the “put yourself in their shoes” analogy to help understand the “experience.” These workshops can also be used to discuss engagement techniques that faculty and staff have found helpful and beneficial to students.
- Survey students or conduct student focus groups as to what “engagement” means to them and what would be meaningful engagement.
- Explore staff or peer mentoring programs for faculty and staff.
- Structure programs or training to help staff demonstrate to students that they (the student) have responsibility, but we (staff) are here to help you navigate that responsibility.
Question #2:
How can we engage leadership to help set the tone and strategic direction for student success at our institution?
Joe LeCluyse answers: The reality is, student success is an institutional imperative, and needs sufficient and quality time devoted to it. To be effective in getting the attention of leadership at your institution, you not only need to raise the issues, but be prepared with proposed solutions and examples of how leadership can support those solutions. For instance, you can present current state data and metrics for your institution, and discuss ways in which the institution can achieve positive changes in those metrics. If the culture and institutional environment are part of the problem and/or solution, leadership must be aligned to support an institutional ‘examination’ of the factors contributing to student success.
Question #3:
What is the timeframe for an institution to develop and implement a strategic plan for student success?
Joe LeCluyse answers: Plan on at least six months to one year to complete a student success environmental assessment, develop a blueprint (or strategic plan), and begin to implement that plan. This of course will vary by the type of institution, but it’s a good benchmark.
What questions do you have related to holistic student success? Join our mailing list below to stay informed about future student success webinars, or contact us directly.
Like this post? Join our mailing list for updates to the blog.
