Putting Student Success Into Practice in Higher Ed
Today, we’re releasing a new guide for college and university leaders that shows how four leading institutions are using data to improve outcomes among low-income and underrepresented minority (URM) students. Titled Using Data to Improve Student Outcomes, the guide includes practices and lessons learned from Florida State University, San Diego State University, University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, and Georgia State University — all of which showed gains in graduation rates among URM students in the last decade. While there is no single method that worked for every college, each of the universities transformed the use of data from primarily an exercise of compliance to a platform for action. The guide outlines seven common strategies:
- Launching campus-wide improvement initiatives;
- Modeling desired behavior at the top;
- Devoting resources to engaging the community as problem-solvers;
- Assuring accessible, accurate, and effective data delivery;
- Proactively analyzing student pathways;
- Segmenting and customizing student services; and
- Evolving a culture of inquiry and improvement.
See the guide for full details!
Photo credit: Meg Buscema, Georgia State University
