Promote Proactive Student Support

Train faculty and staff about support available for students, including subgroups such as transfer students, adult learners and international students

• Catalog resources.
• Develop accessible tools that make it easy to understand and connect students to resources. Include training in onboarding for new hires. Follow-up after initial training to ensure information has been received and is being applied.
• Create a master campus ambassador training program that combines elements of University Staff Ambassador and Master Advisor trainings.

Develop a university-wide standard for customer service expectations

• Use the training described above to ensure that students are connected with the right resources on the first try.
• Implement a version of the training developed by the Disney Institute, which emphasizes courtesy and efficiency, empowers employees to make decisions and address needs in a timely manner, and maintains high standards.
• Establish consistent standards for tools like advising notes.
• Increase information-sharing across units by, for example, synching advising notes across different units that support students.

Communicate with students about resources that support student success and connection

• Create a central information hub students can use to get information.
• Create weekly toolkits.
• Create a student newsletter.

Use data to improve the student experience

• Implement the Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL) Student Satisfaction Inventory as described in the “Institution of Choice” section. Use this to supplement tools currently in use, such as the National Survey of Student Engagement.
• Bring student success data collected centrally and by different campus units together in a way that stimulates discussion and leads to the identification of actionable feedback.

Increase external funding for student success and retention

• Expand the capacity to identify, write and submit grants that will support student success activities.