Miles Community College (MCC) has been designated as an Opportunity College and University by the Carnegie Classifications, recognizing MCC as an institution that can serve as a model for studying how campuses can foster student success. Less than 5% of the community colleges in the U.S. earned this designation. 

The Opportunity Colleges and Universities designation is part of a newly developed Student Access and Earnings Classification published in late April by the Carnegie Foundation and the American Council on Education. 

This new classification examines the extent to which institutions foster opportunities for student success by measuring whether institutions are enrolling students reflective of the communities they serve and how the earnings of those students compare to peers in their area. 

In 2025, 479 institutions have been identified as Opportunity Colleges and Universities, which is about 16% of all U.S. colleges and universities that are in the Student Access and Earnings Classification. Of those 479, only 60 were community colleges, placing MCC in the top 4.8% of associate degree-awarding community colleges in the country. 

The methodology for the new Student Access and Earnings Classification uses multidimensional groupings of the 2025 Institutional Classification to evaluate student access and earnings between similar colleges and universities. More information about 2025 Student Earnings and Access Classifications, including the methodology, can be found here. 

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Award winners must demonstrate distinctive, measurable, and replicable innovations that have resulted in student achievement and success at the institutional or programmatic level, including innovations in advising and mentoring, alternative credentialing, experiential learning, learning communities, or other such efforts. Other winning examples may include new curricula, courses, or educational delivery models. The Beacon Award will recognize innovative approaches that have significantly contributed to measurable improvements in completion and/or graduation rates at the institution.

Award winners will receive a trophy and cash award to be used to further the institution’s efforts to implement the initiative.

Winning institutions will be recognized during the NWCCU Annual Conference, where an institutional representative will have the opportunity to speak on the topic of their award-winning endeavors that are contributing to the success of their students. The winners will also be expected to submit a short article on their initiative for publication in NWCCU’s Beacon newsletter.

For more information on the Beacon Award and to learn more about previous winners’ initiatives, please visit NWCCU’s Beacon Award webpage.

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Veronica Craker, Director of Media Relations, University of Puget Sound 

The University of Puget Sound’s prison education program is making a profound impact, transforming the lives of incarcerated students. The Freedom Education Project Puget Sound (FEPPS) was co-founded by Tanya Erzen, professor of religion, spirituality, and society, and director of crime, law, and justice. It offers higher education to incarcerated women, transgender individuals, and those who are gender-nonconforming. This program takes place at the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW), located in Gig Harbor, Washington. The program provides Associate and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Liberal Studies. FEPPS empowers students to break cycles of poverty and build brighter futures. Through rigorous academics, personalized support, and a commitment to equity, FEPPS embodies Puget Sound’s mission of inclusion and social justice. 

Since its founding in 2012, FEPPS has served over 300 students, with 72 earning an AA degree and 10 earning a BA in Liberal Studies. FEPPS students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds, have faced significant challenges, including poverty, domestic abuse, and limited access to education. Over 85% of FEPPS students report experiencing domestic abuse or sexual assault, and 75% are mothers of children under 18, making their educational achievements even more impactful for their families and communities.   

FEPPS was created to address the unique educational barriers faced by incarcerated women, whose population has more than doubled in the past 40 years, outpacing the rate of incarceration for men. Many FEPPS students enter the program with minimal educational backgrounds and face systemic challenges upon release, including debt, stigma, and limited job opportunities. Education is a proven tool for breaking this cycle, and FEPPS has demonstrated its effectiveness through tangible outcomes. Students have collectively earned over 6,000 college credits, with graduates reporting increased self-efficacy, improved post-release employment rates, and reduced recidivism.   

FEPPS champions academic success through a rigorous curriculum, small class sizes, and faculty engagement. The program’s comprehensive support systems, including tutoring and personalized advising, have significantly contributed to high retention and graduation rates.  

From 2020 to 2023, FEPPS conducted a program evaluation involving surveys, focus groups, and interviews to assess the factors influencing academic success. Key findings highlighted the importance of class discussions, faculty interaction, and tutoring, leading to targeted program enhancements. These efforts have resulted in two publications: “The Well-being Impacts Associated with College in Prison: A Comparison of Incarcerated and Non-Incarcerated Students Who Identify as Women” and “The Relationship between Liberal Arts Classroom Experiences and the Development of Agency and Well-being for Incarcerated Students,” by Erzen and Professor Emerita Sarah Y. Moore.    

In June 2024, FEPPS celebrated its first commencement ceremony honoring the 10 women who earned their bachelor’s degrees. The ceremony was held inside the walls of the WCCW. 

Prof. Erzen praised the graduates for their perseverance. 

“You have practiced care, community, and a commitment to intellectual inquiry,” she said during the ceremony. “You are remaking the world, moving out of the darkness toward the future you want.”   

FEPPS’s innovative model, which includes a student advisory council and leadership by formerly incarcerated individuals, sets a precedent for other prison education programs. The program’s structure and assessment-driven improvements provide a blueprint for delivering higher education in correctional settings, showcasing how education can drive meaningful change and reduce systemic inequities. 

By providing incarcerated individuals with access to rigorous academic programs and comprehensive support, FEPPS not only transforms lives but also challenges societal perceptions of justice and redemption. As the program continues to grow, it remains a beacon of hope and opportunity for students, their families, and their communities.   

For more information about FEPPS, visit pugetsound.edu/FEPPS.

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Nina Cortez, Nightingale College 

Built on the objective to remove unnecessary barriers and provide vital assistance to students, Nightingale College’s Wraparound Support Initiative has gone through several iterations over the years to implement resources that will better serve its student population. By showcasing the organization’s commitment to closing health equity gaps, Nightingale College has been able to prepare a relevantly skilled, readily available nursing workforce, representative of the communities they serve. Through this program, the College has been able to showcase the excellence it provides in academics while highlighting its commitment to progress. 

College History 

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Nightingale College currently offers seven education programs along the nursing continuum. As of 2023, Nightingale College serves under the Nightingale Education Group umbrella, which also encompasses the business units of Nightingale Innovations and EvolvEd. Each division focuses on facilitating learning and professional growth to build generations of competent, confident, and compassionate nurses reshaping healthcare across the United States. 

Established in 2010, Nightingale College remains dedicated to addressing the demand for nurses while implementing strategies to tackle the nursing shortage. Since its establishment, Nightingale College has had one primary objective: to graduate highly skilled and compassionate nurses into the nursing workforce. In the following years, the College recognized that educating students through distance learning in their communities would allow it to sustain a steady supply of nurses. In 2014, Nightingale College tested its program with success. After obtaining the necessary accreditation and expanding beyond Utah, it launched its RN-to-BSN program.  

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the College quickly adapted by transitioning to a fully online educational model. The pandemic allowed the College to make nursing education accessible to all. Following its NWCCU candidacy, Nightingale College introduced innovative programs, achieved enrollment milestones, and established new SOFE (supervised on-ground field experience) sites. These developments have empowered Nightingale College and its dedicated faculty and staff to prepare future nurses to enhance the quality of healthcare in the communities they serve. 

Initiative Emergence and Rationale 

Nightingale College has continually enhanced its Wraparound Support Initiative, transforming it from a smaller program into a comprehensive support system that has evolved and expanded in response to students’ growing needs. The Wraparound Support Initiative is a comprehensive, data-driven system designed to foster student success and well-being, particularly for at-risk nursing students. By integrating tool-based resources with human connections, the initiative offers targeted support that enhances matriculation rates, HESI pass rates, and overall retention rates. This comprehensive approach consists of a cohesive network of foundational support, academic and wellness coaching, and a dynamic student engagement platform. The initiative reflects the College’s commitment to creating a supportive educational environment that addresses the unique challenges nursing students face, leading to improved outcomes and successful program completion.  

By furthering its commitment to closing health equity gaps in nursing education and healthcare, Nightingale College is proud to support underrepresented populations of nursing students throughout the United States. The College has consistently worked to increase opportunities for prospective students and dedicated itself to successfully preparing and progressing students toward program completion. Through a continuous assessment, Nightingale College has intensified its efforts to meet the diverse needs of its students by devoting itself to creating a comprehensive Wraparound Support Initiative.  

Initiative Offerings and Implementations 

To ensure that all students feel valued and supported, Nightingale College launched its Wraparound Support Initiative in 2021. The initiative currently emphasizes the integration of foundational courses, tutoring, a Writing Center and Math Lab, an NCLEX reimbursement program, and a proactive platform of resources (MyNightingale) dedicated to fostering academic excellence and growth. 

When evaluating ways to expand access and facilitate success for students, College leadership conducted a detailed analysis of student performance based on the Accuplacer Entrance Exam and its correlation with students’ success in their coursework. Based on the information gathered, Nightingale College decided that it would be beneficial to offer foundational courses. These courses would enable students who fell slightly short of established benchmarks to enroll at minimal cost. Over time, the implementation of this unique foundational learning experience evolved to include an innovative platform of resources, such as a personalized, one-on-one HESI Success Coaching Program and NCLEX Success Coaching support program. These services have been essential for addressing students’ needs. Since its introduction, the College has seen increased matriculation rates, higher HESI pass rates, and overall retention rates, ensuring students can thrive in their educational pursuits.  

Nightingale College remains dedicated to connecting with its students and believes that facilitating learning by equipping students with the necessary knowledge significantly enhances care outcomes. By integrating human connection with a robust tool-based platform, the College creates an inclusive environment with a focused curriculum that adapts to student progress assessments and helps them feel supported and comfortable in a virtual setting. With master-prepared faculty catering to diverse learning styles and the integration of technology-based learning tools, high-fidelity simulations, interactive learning models, and contemporary learning management systems, faculty and staff are committed to ensuring that each student understands the material. Foundational faculty also collaborate with Student Service Strategists (instructors and mentors) to personalize academic and wellness plans and guide students through any challenges with distance education.  

The comprehensive and dynamic system of MyNightingale has created a centralized hub for various educational support services, facilitating efficient communication, resource access, and academic management. It offers the familiarity of “brick and mortar” services with the convenience and ease of virtual access. Other key components of the initiative include a Writing Center, Math Lab, Library, Technology Center, Tutoring Center, free Webinars, Tutor chat, and resources for those needing assistance with military information, mental health resources, and graduation and career readiness and opportunities. When students are enrolled in foundational courses, they are directed to utilize this platform, however, all students attend a two-week College Readiness Orientation Seminar (CROS) before the start of the first semester for training on the features and benefits of the platform. When a student has an issue that arises while they are at Nightingale College, the goal is to navigate any challenge that may potentially impact them.  

Access to academic management tools, learning resources, communication channels, and support services are assets to student success and promote holistic and inclusive learning opportunities. These attributes are important to a student’s journey at Nightingale because college can be challenging. By assisting students who may need extra help or are unsure about how to navigate their path, these resources reduce stress and offer assistance. The Wraparound Support Initiative exemplifies Nightingale College’s commitment to leveraging technology and improving educational outcomes to continue to support underrepresented and underserved communities.  

Initiative Successes 

Through extensive data and research, Nightingale College has driven continuous improvement to promote student achievement and success. Data has presented continuous user growth and demand for its MyNightingale platform, going from 7,669 users in May 2022 to 63,490 in January 2024. The positive feedback from students about MyNightingale and the properties that make up the Wraparound Support Initiative highlight the impact the College is making on the educational experience.  

With the resources available, students have praised the benefits of paper reviews, a comprehensive library, informational videos, and tutoring, stating that it makes their college experience less intimidating. They also applauded the effective communication, administrative convenience, and availability of specialists and instructors who have supported them through their academic and personal goals. Generating opportunities for its graduates allows the College to address the nursing shortage in communities and beyond.  

When conducting a study to identify at-risk students needing additional support within their courses, data revealed a correlation between low Exit HESI (Health Education Systems Incorporated) scores and course retakers. This then initiated individualized HESI Success Coaching that would be implemented into the initiative to target needed groups. Through its proactive approach that includes regular sessions, personalized mentoring, focused preparation, and success tracking, results showed that of the 82.5% identified at-risk students who volunteered for success coaching, 84.6% successfully passed the Exit HESI. Results also indicated that students who completed all coaching program components increased their HESI scores by an average of 119 points. Moreover, students who had previously failed the Exit HESI and completed the prescribed coaching program boosted their Exit HESI scores by an average of 258 points. Like the HESI program, Nightingale College also offers an NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) program, which has experienced immense success along with the additional properties of the Wraparound Support Initiative.  

Initiative Expansion and Key Takeaways  

Integrating these pillars of assistance opportunities, and as Nightingale College continues to evolve, the organization will adapt its Wraparound Support structure. Enhancing this initiative is crucial to ensuring students have the resources they need to thrive. The College is currently exploring additional resources to implement. This includes providing specialized services for students with similar backgrounds, such as those identifying as military students or first-generation students, etc. Nightingale College is also planning to offer extended student service hours to better serve its students, day or night.  

Programs like Nightingale College’s Wraparound Support Initiative are vital because they allow students to become confident and competent nurses. Allowing students to progress and gain access to essential resources before and during their nursing program is an invaluable asset that reflects the College’s mission. Often, individuals from diverse backgrounds who may not be as academically prepared or who juggle full-time jobs come through Nightingale’s doors, creating barriers not typically found in a traditional nursing school environment. With this understanding, Nightingale College recognizes that it must provide the necessary support for its students to succeed and help them realize their academic goals. By taking a comprehensive approach to supporting students from day one to graduation, it demonstrates a profound commitment to student success, academic outcomes, equity, and inclusion.  

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The Western Success Scholars (WSS) program was first piloted in 2019 with grant funding from the East Seattle Foundation. The initial intent of the program was to expand Western Washington University’s capacity to serve former foster youth and/or unaccompanied homeless youth through a coordinated care management model.  

A number of converging factors made this project particularly relevant for Western Washington University at the time of the initial grant application. A new University strategic plan had been identified with goals that included increasing access to higher education and graduation rates for all students in our region and state, as well as our impact in and service to the state of Washington. The Washington Student Achievement Council had made serving youth from foster care a priority, and the College Success Foundation was expanding the range of youth eligible for the Passport to College program with the addition of unaccompanied homeless youth. Western saw this as an opportunity to be a key partner in this important work in the state, to significantly expand the number of students we could serve, and to broaden the range of services we could provide to ensure students’ academic and personal success at Western.

The WSS program is committed to improving the educational outcomes for students who have experienced foster care or homelessness by providing wraparound services to meet their needs through transition, graduation, and post-graduate planning. As one former student in the program shared, “I think coming to Western has been the first time I’ve really felt such system support and it’s been fantastic to find that there are people here who are willing to offer me a safety net while I sew my parachute in free-fall.”  

Prior to grant funding, there was a staff member with a .25 FTE appointment to serve approximately 20 eligible students per year. This staffing was not sufficient to meet the unique and often complex needs of this group of students or the growing number of students arriving at Western. With grant funding, a full-time program manager was hired to implement the program. With this dedicated staffing, we saw a significant increase in the ability to interact with students, to offer a broader range of programing, and better coordination with a number of key campus resources, including Financial Aid, Career Services, and the Counseling and Wellness Center. In addition to funding already received from the Washington Student Achievement Council’s Passport to Career program, permanent state funding was awarded in 2023 to ensure continuity for the program and a second full-time staff member was hired to meet the growing demand for support. 

The full-time staff are certified through the Fostering Success Coaching Institute and utilize a case management approach in addressing students’ academic, personal, and social support needs. Several students have also been hired to serve as Peer Navigators/Mentors, to manage a small garden plot on campus where students grow their own food, and to serve as front desk staff in the Basic Needs Hub, where the Western Success Scholars office is co-located with Western’s Office of Off-Campus Living and the Basic Needs Resource Navigator.  

The program provides a combination of services and activities that includes (1) monthly dinners and social events to build community and sense of belonging and (2) educational workshops to increase understanding of campus resources and building life skills. Workshop topics have included financial aid completion, financial literacy, career exploration, and academic advising and course planning to name a few.  The WSS team also partners with other campus colleagues to host a full array of events for Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week in November and Foster Care Awareness Month in May of each year.   

A Career Development Internship initiative supports a handful of students each year to enroll in a career readiness course followed by paid internships. Support funds are used to support basic or unmet needs. Examples of this include grocery store packages, assistance with rent deposits, car repairs and/or medical bills, laptop purchases, winter clothing, and graduation regalia. WSS has also partnered with a local driving school to provide students with access to lessons and an eventual driver’s license.   

“Each day presents new and unique experiences for the students served by this program – experiences that constantly test their resilience. While the work is challenging, it is so heartening to see our students build community, to lean into each other during difficult times, and to celebrate their individual and collective successes”, said Jon Stubblefield, WSS program manager.  

On average, WSS currently supports 100-125 students per year and that number continues to grow each year.   

The retention range of students served by the program ranges in the upper 80th to low 90th percentile. In the past two years, a total of 40 WSS students graduated from Western. In addition, 9 out of 10 students in the program are in good academic standing, and the cumulative GPA on average is 3.0 or better. 

“This program has exceeded the ambitious goals we set when the program began in 2019 with grant funding. We are thrilled that NWCCU chose to shine a light on this work in the hopes that others can replicate this transformational program on their own campuses,” said Melynda Huskey, vice president for student affairs. 

For more information about this program, visit our website (https://wss.wwu.edu) or contact Jon Stubblefield, WSS program manager by email (stubblj@wwu.edu) or phone (360-650-3705).

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This article is adapted from the Presidents’ Day speech at the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools annual meeting, December 9, 2024. Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, and I am not giving you legal advice. I do have some hard-won experience with some of these issues. And I did consult with a First Amendment specialist about my remarks, but these views are my own. 

For college leaders 2024 was an annus horribilis. The ostensible issue was whether our campuses are still open for free speech or are suppressing some speech. There had been a steady drumbeat of accusations that universities censored conservative speakers and speech. In the wake of the violent Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the Israeli retaliation, the new charges were that campuses are antisemitic or anti-Palestinian or both. A related charge was that DEI policies and agencies had created special protected classes based on demographic characteristics and therefore treated students unequally.  

Americans, especially our young students, are unlikely to understand much about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. One study conducted by Ron Hasser at the California-Berkeley Law School showed that students chanting “From the river to the sea” could not name the river, could not name the sea, and couldn’t find Israel on a map. Some students are deeply knowledgeable about the conflict, while others are caught up in sloganeering. Why are the slogans so effective?  A young and idealistic generation reacts strongly both to the claims of genocide and of racism – regardless of which side they support in the eastern Mediterranean.  

Let’s turn now to some practical steps for administrators.  

First, start with the law.  

The First Amendment protects the rights of Americans to free speech, especially political speech. It protects the right to assemble, including in large groups. The First Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment protect the right to free association and the right to disassociate. These constitutional amendments are binding on public universities and apply to many private institutions. In some states, legislation or regulations may apply First Amendment free speech rules to private colleges and universities. A commitment to intellectual inquiry has led many private institutions to voluntarily place themselves under the First Amendment.  

According to court opinions, universities may specify the time, place, and manner for expressive activities. “Time, place, and manner” allows you to ensure that classes are not interrupted, but not to select a remote, untraveled location for your “place.” When I asked my First Amendment consultant about free speech zones, he said the free speech zone runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. You could create amplified sound zones, so that free speech could happen anywhere, but amplified sound would be restricted to minimize disrupting teaching and research.  

Do not require advanced permission for protests or demonstrations, but you may require scheduling for the use of classrooms or outdoor spaces in high demand. You may require advance notice—not permission—for large gatherings that require police protection. But students may turn out spontaneously and in large numbers in response to the latest dramatic development in the news. It would usually be a mistake to try to break up such a gathering or to punish the participants. Public response to events is part of what free speech is about. 

If your board operates under a state open meeting act, you probably cannot rule out all protests at board meetings, but you might be able to regulate the manner of the protests to allow only silent protests, such as holding signs or wearing protest t-shirts.  

While it is not codified as crisply as time-place-manner, many knowledgeable observers believe that protesters cross a line when they deprive other students of the “place” for a lengthy period of “time.” This problem arose with encampments, some of which lasted many days. Occupations of administration buildings are not protected speech; the university can preserve its property for its intended uses. Occupation of classroom buildings is subject to the same rule, and it deprives other students of the courses for which they paid tuition.  

But let’s be honest. Many protesters want their issues to gain publicity, and following the rules is unlikely to produce a live shot on the six o’clock news. An outrageous protest that flouts existing policies is more likely to gain attention, both wanted and unwanted. That brings us to the issue of policy. 

Second, rigorously review your current policies.  

Policy lets you make important choices within the borders of the law. Time, place, and manner rules must be adapted to each campus, and you have some discretion there. You probably don’t want to ban everything that you could ban; the most restrictive time, place, and manner rules are rarely the best rules. It is important to enforce the rules you do make, and to do so even handedly. But not all violations are equally serious, and not all deserve the same penalty. Tearing down a poster does not carry the same gravity as setting fire to a lab.  

In the absence of policy, you will be dangerously adrift and subject to charges that your actions are arbitrary and capricious. When you do write policies, you should distinguish between actions and speech. Violent actions are never acceptable, and that should be non-negotiable. Vandalism, property destruction, arson, and harm to individuals should be prohibited. State clearly what the sanctions might be.  

Setting forth what is unacceptable speech is more difficult because context does matter. Nevertheless, we can identify a few bright lines. Threats of harm directed against individuals are not protected speech. This prohibition could extend to threats against entire groups, especially if members of that group could be present. Expressive activity that deprives others of their rights — such as encampments, building takeovers, or the hecklers’ veto of invited speakers – can also be prohibited.  

If your policies need to be changed, do so through your usual practices, including consultation with stakeholders and committee reviews. Shortchanging these measures creates suspicion of the administration and its motives. If your governor or legislature is at all inclined to meddle, some activists will declare that policy changes were actually engineered by politicians unless you stick to your normal procedures as much as possible. 

Review your policies carefully for ambiguities or inconsistencies. Watch out for vague language that might be interpreted to restrict protected speech even though that was not your intention. Courts can review your policies for what they say and not only for how you implement them. Look for gaps that would let protesters do something harmful that you meant to prohibit, but you didn’t quite say it. Search for old policies that might be lying around somewhere, possibly unused and unreviewed for years. Repeal them or review them carefully for consistency with your new policies. Check whether your central administrative policy is contradicted by a college or department level policy, or by a policy at your remote locations. Schools have encountered big problems when they clearly prohibited something in one policy, but another policy somewhere else appeared to create an unintended exception.    

Avoid changing your policies on the fly or when classes are not in session. No matter what interpretation you put on the changes, campus dissidents will create additional issues of administrative unaccountability and lack of transparency. A change enacted in the bright light of a July day will still be described as having been done “in the dark of night.”  

Proactively explain the policies, especially new ones but also the ones already on the books. Publish the policies and any changes to them on easily found websites. Invite the student newspaper and the local press to interview you about the policies. Be sure that vice presidents, deans, and department chairs know the policies; send copies to the Faculty Senate and the major standing committees. Explain your policies in orientations to new students – not just first-year students and transfer students, but also (maybe especially) graduate students. Above all, ensure that your campus police or security guards know the policies. If your campus has a mutual assistance agreement with local law enforcement, be sure that they know your policies.  

Third, create a crisis team.  

Even if you never have a demonstration on campus, creating a crisis team is helpful. Role-play certain fact situations with them. For example, are there ever any circumstances under which you would cancel a planned lecture?  If the circumstances are fears for the safety of a speaker, livestreaming the talk might be a viable alternative. If the circumstances involve the content of the talk, you are on thin ice. One right-wing campus speaker of whom I am aware went around public university campuses giving deliberately provocative speeches. He knew that a large group of counter-protesters would be waiting for him. He counted on the university canceling his speech – because then he would sue the university. He always won these cases, whether in court or in an out-of-court settlement, and he used the proceeds to fund his organization.  

Your enforcement mechanisms are likely to include actions by the dean of students, the student judiciary, or other on-campus entities. They should be represented on your crisis team so that they understand the policies and penalties for violation.  

Part of your crisis team will be your police or security guards. It is worthwhile to train your student affairs workers and your police in de-escalation tactics. Today there are vigorous protesters on both sides and a hypersensitivity to feeling “safe” when hot words are being exchanged. Where possible your safety personnel should spatially separate the groups. The hot words and insults will cause hurt feelings and perhaps fear—but the effect on the listeners is by itself not enough to stop the speech. When the insults turn to threats or to prohibited actions, it is time to intervene.  

If a demonstration gets so far out of hand that local law enforcement is called in, you will lose your institutional control over the penalties that can be levied. Consider with the team what to do if there is a civil or criminal penalty – do you pile on with campus discipline?  Or if the district attorney or judge dismisses the cases or the perpetrators are acquitted, do you persist with campus discipline?  Be aware that you will be accused of creating double jeopardy if you levy any sanctions in this case. It won’t be double jeopardy in the eyes of the law, but it will look like double jeopardy in the eyes of your students.  

There is one area where your discretion about discipline is limited, and that is with international student protesters. They run the risk of visa revocation and/or deportation—something that many international students do not understand or believe.  

Fourth, do not deviate from enforcing your policies.  

Someone will immediately test the boundaries. Smart students look for loopholes and odd policy interpretations. They will argue the ethical primacy of their cause as against the business-as-usual tone of your rules. At least some faculty and maybe some community members will support them. 

There will be video footage of whatever happens. Whether you enforce or fail to enforce your policies, the critics will have the video. All things considered, it is better to stick to your policies.  

Consider if there are any circumstances under which you would offer amnesty to protesters after enforcing your own policies. One principle of civil disobedience has always been willingness to accept the consequences of one’s actions, but you should expect that you will always be asked for amnesty. In fact, that will be one of the demands at the very next protest.  

Fifth, keep your board in the loop.  

Your board needs to know what you are dealing with, not least because they are also subject to pressures and sometimes threats because of their board membership. Your board should not learn about a protest by watching television or reading the newspaper. Board members should understand school policies and the line between legitimate free speech and assembly and illegitimate protest or unlawful assembly.  

Some other things to discuss with your board include investments, because divestment is likely to be a demand. Your board needs to consider in advance its approach to such a demand. Your board may do its own investing, which will result in more pressure on them to divest. Other boards use outside entities to manage their investments, but these entities will follow principles that the university sets down. Changing those principles is another potential demand.  

These demands might be stronger at schools that divested from South Africa during the anti-apartheid campaign. If your school divested then –probably long before you came into office – then you need to consider if that action constituted a precedent for today’s demands. Your board members are unlikely to recall such decisions. You should share with the board any institutional history of divestment or socially responsible investment.  

Sixth, consider when or if you or the institution will make statements.  

You are also a citizen with First Amendment rights. And students on every side of a controversy will want you to take their side in a decisive statement. Consider when or if you should craft a statement. Expressing sympathy for students whose families have been affected by calamities seems acceptable, so long as it is even-handed. Statements of general principles for civil behavior on the campus and avoiding violence are acceptable. 

Another case occurs when your own scholarship makes you an expert in an area of controversy. I recall one case at UT-Austin when a Holocaust denier was scheduled to speak. The University did not shut down the talk, but then-President Robert Berdahl, an expert in modern German history, issued a statement describing the weight of scholarship showing that the Holocaust happened. He even included a reading list for students who wanted to know more. This was a more effective approach than the protesters alone could have achieved, and it avoided the charge of cancel culture.  

A different case occurred with President Berdahl’s successor, President Larry Faulkner, who delivered a personal statement not based on his expertise, and openly criticized a faculty member. When the 9/11 attacks occurred, a Texas faculty member whom I will call Professor Z said publicly that America had done equally bad things. The fax machines blew up with demands that Professor Z be fired.  

Faulkner, in a letter to the editor of the Houston Chronicle, said that everyone on campus knew that Professor Z was a ‘fount of undiluted nonsense’, and Z’s statement carried no weight. Faulkner defended Z’s right to free speech but also noted that he, too, had the right of free speech and was exercising it in the letter. Some faculty later claimed that Faulkner had silenced Professor Z – but what he had really done was to save Z’s job, because the public uproar immediately ceased. Faulkner had silenced the critics instead.  

If you are speaking only in your individual capacity, be certain to say so. Quite different is a statement that is intended to be official and to describe the position of the institution. 

During the Vietnam War era, the University of Chicago formally adopted a statement of institutional neutrality following a report by First Amendment scholar and law professor Harry Kalven. This statement says that it is not the university’s business to comment as an institution on controversial matters. Note that this policy does not affect the faculty or administrators in speaking in their personal capacity.  

Many commentators believe that even with a policy of institutional neutrality, the university can make statements that deal directly with university or community issues. An example would be a local effort to impose a tax on the institution in lieu of property tax. In practice I believe a distinction between external controversial matters and internal matters will be hard to maintain. Suppose some of your students are Dreamers and affected by new immigration policies. Suppose there is proposed legislation that would limit the ability of your faculty to research climate change. Suppose that elected officials demand that you close down your Department of Asian languages, or they demand that your economists no longer teach about tariffs. Suppose the new FAFSA can be shown to disadvantage your applicants from low-income families. 

The Chicago statement presumes that external controversies can be easily identified and separated from university business. It does not contemplate that the university itself can become the object of controversy. That is the frontier we now face, and a policy of institutional neutrality may end up handicapping you from addressing central issues of curriculum, academic freedom, admissions policies, and faculty tenure. 

If you do not adopt an institutional neutrality policy, you need a policy concerning who is empowered to speak on behalf of the institution. The worst situation is for all your vice presidents and deans to feel empowered to speak out whenever they wish, allowing their speech to be construed as an official position. An obvious problem with the multiple-speaker scenario is that statements may contradict one another. The critics will be looking to exploit any daylight between the statement of Dean A and the statement of Dean B on a given matter.    

Your faculty also needs to know that although they may speak as subject-matter experts or as citizens with free speech rights, they do not speak for the university. Outspoken faculty members may say inflammatory things, sometimes posturing as if they represent a large segment of the university community, the faculty, or their department. The problem then quickly becomes that the university’s adversaries assume that all faculty not only believe this inflammatory thing, but they are teaching it to their students.  

Conclusion.  

Lest this all seem too dreary, let me remind you that universities have great staying power. The very success of universities as institutions that has spurred on some of the current political attacks. Universities are an important platform, and that is why demonstrators want to be there. Were we not so successful, we would not be targets.  

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On January 8, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education recognized Salish Kootenai College (SKC) as a winner of the first-ever Postsecondary Success Recognition Program.  

The program was launched in April 2024 by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. It honors colleges and universities that excel in serving underserved student populations, facilitating successful student transfers and completions, and preparing graduates for successful careers.   

The college was one of seven to be recognized out of 200 that were invited to apply. 

The Postsecondary Success Recognition Program highlights the vital role that institutions like SKC play in advancing educational attainment and economic mobility for all Americans, with a particular focus on underserved communities.  

SKC is a public, primarily associate degree granting institution chartered by the Tribal Council of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation in Western Montana. SKC serves over 600 students with nearly 80% underserved students of color and over 65% of students receiving Pell Grants. At SKC, 68% of students transfer or graduate within eight years, and students earn more than high school graduates in the state on average after college.  

SKC views their commitment to student success as critical to economic development, community sustainability, and tribal sovereignty for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and the more than 60 tribes represented among their student population. SKC practices a holistic network approach to student support providing academic, basic needs, and career services through a coordinated CARE team.  

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Betheny Gross, PhD, Director of Research, WGU Labs 

“Humans may be the only species that can imagine an unknown future,” writes Adam Grant. “But that doesn’t mean we’re any good at it. For those who feel certain about the next four years, a reminder: Nobody actually knows.” 

Introduction: The Transformative Potential of AI in Education 

The educational landscape is undergoing a profound shift, with artificial intelligence (AI) poised to reshape how we learn, teach, and connect. We, the co-authors of this article, have dedicated our careers to understanding the psychological underpinnings of human motivation and belonging. We view this moment as both an extraordinary opportunity and a critical challenge.  

One of us (Omid) has focused on how adaptive mindsets and supportive environments can empower individuals to thrive, particularly in education, a perspective deeply rooted in my own story. 

Growing up, I (Omid) struggled to find my footing in school. I bounced from one classroom to the next, feeling invisible and unmoored, moving through a system that seemed indifferent to my potential. That changed when I entered Mrs. Murphy’s high school physics class. She saw something in me I hadn’t yet seen in myself. She trusted me, challenged me, and gave me a sense that I mattered. For the first time, I felt a connection not just to the material but to the process of learning itself. That moment of being seen—of feeling valued—sparked a transformation that carried me forward and ultimately shaped my life’s work. 

Betheny’s story shares a similar thread but with a different twist. She didn’t move from classroom to classroom but instead persisted quietly for years, thinking she was just a below-average student destined to flow through school unnoticed. That belief shifted when she encountered a math teacher who was seemingly unbothered by her anxious self, unprejudiced by her past mediocrity, and genuinely excited by what she had to offer. For Betheny, too, it was that sense of being seen and valued that became the spark—a moment that transformed how she viewed herself and her abilities. 

It is this fundamental human dimension of learning that AI must strive to enhance, not overshadow. While the headlines are often dominated by AI’s promise to automate tasks, personalize content, and revolutionize education, we believe the real power of these tools lies in their potential to create environments where students feel seen, supported, and empowered. AI can help us scale certain aspects of education, but it cannot replicate the transformative experience of feeling trusted and valued by a teacher.  

This article explores the critical interplay between AI and the human side of learning. Drawing on insights from the College Innovation Network (CIN) at WGU Labs, it highlights the experiences of thousands of students, faculty, and administrators across diverse institutions. These findings reveal both the promise and challenges of AI: its potential to democratize education and personalize learning, as well as the need to prioritize human connection and psychological well-being. Together, we’ll examine how AI can revolutionize education while preserving—and enhancing—the core drivers of effective learning: motivation, self-efficacy, and belonging. 

The Promise of AI in Enhancing Learning 

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the landscape of education by introducing capabilities that were once unimaginable. From adaptive learning platforms to intelligent tutoring systems, AI tools are being designed to personalize the learning experience in ways that promise to make education more efficient, accessible, and engaging. For students, this means the potential of receiving content tailored to their individual needs, progressing at their own pace, and accessing support that adapts dynamically to their struggles. For educators, AI has the potential to streamline administrative tasks, provide detailed analytics on student performance, and offer insights that allow for more targeted and effective interventions (Luckin et al., 2016). 

AI also holds the promise of democratizing education by expanding access. Generative AI technologies, such as automated content creation, adaptive learning systems, personalized feedback, authentic assessment, and real-time language translation, can dramatically enhance the learning experience while also breaking down barriers for students who might otherwise be excluded—whether due to geographic isolation, financial constraints, or language differences. As Farmer (2024) highlights, exploratory pilots conducted by WGU Labs demonstrate how AI can accelerate the adoption of these methods, making them more accessible to institutions and learners. For instance, a pilot integrating generative AI into an introductory programming course found that students used AI tools as references, teachers, and coaches to overcome learning challenges, save time, and gain new insights. Students reported increased confidence and moments of conceptual clarity—“light bulb moments”—when engaging with AI tools. Such findings underscore the potential for AI to act not only as a technological enhancement but as a facilitator of meaningful, goal-directed learning experiences. However, these pilots also reveal the importance of designing AI systems with intentionality to address faculty concerns, enhance adoption, and ensure that AI complements rather than shortcuts genuine learning (Farmer, 2024). 

Consequently, AI-powered systems can make education more flexible, personalized, and accessible, allowing working adults, caregivers, and other non-traditional students to engage in meaningful learning on their own schedules (Means et al., 2014). 

Our EdTech Survey Series from the College Innovation Network (CIN) at WGU Labs has explored these dynamics extensively. Through surveys conducted over four years with thousands of students, faculty, and administrators across diverse institutions, we’ve gained a comprehensive view of the benefits and challenges of tech-enabled learning. Students in our surveys consistently express optimism about the role of technology, including AI, in making education more flexible and personalized. For example, in our most recent survey, 75% of students indicated positive attitudes toward the expansion of online and hybrid learning modalities, with first-generation students reporting even greater enthusiasm. Interestingly, students accustomed to using those technologies also tend to exhibit the greatest optimism. This optimism underscores the potential of tech-enabled learning to address long-standing inequities and open doors for underserved populations (WGU Labs, 2024a). 

However, the CIN findings also highlight critical challenges. While students value the personalization and accessibility AI offers, they emphasize the importance of human connection in learning. Interactions with peers and instructors emerged as some of the strongest predictors of course satisfaction and perceived effectiveness, across all modalities. These results suggest that AI cannot simply replace traditional elements of teaching; instead, it must complement and enhance them . These findings align with broader evidence showing that human interaction and relational support are essential for sustained engagement and learning outcomes, particularly in online environments (Garrison et al., 2000; Afroogh, 2024). 

The Human Experience in Learning 

At its core, learning is not just about acquiring knowledge; it’s about growth, connection, and meaning. Motivation, self-efficacy, and belonging—the psychological pillars of effective learning—are what drive students to persist through challenges, develop their potential, and ultimately succeed. Decades of research in social psychology have shown that students who feel connected to their learning environment are more engaged and perform better academically (Walton & Cohen, 2011; Yeager & Dweck, 2012). While AI offers tools to enhance efficiency and personalize content delivery, it cannot inherently replicate the deep emotional and relational aspects that define the human experience of learning. 

Students thrive when they believe their efforts matter and when they feel part of a community that values them. Our CIN research findings reinforce this insight: interactions with peers and instructors are consistently among the strongest predictors of students’ perceptions of course effectiveness, regardless of whether they are learning online, in person, or through hybrid formats (WGU Labs, 2024b). These interactions are not merely academic—they provide students with a sense of trust, connection, and shared purpose, which is vital for fostering intrinsic motivation and long-term commitment to learning (Deci & Ryan, 1985). 

However, these essential elements of the learning experience are often at risk in technology-driven environments. CIN findings show that online learners report significantly lower levels of peer and faculty interaction compared to their in-person counterparts. Only 17% of online students surveyed reported frequent interactions with peers, compared to 44% in hybrid courses and 71% in in-person settings . This lack of interaction could have tangible consequences. As Vincent Tinto’s Theory of Student Integration suggests, students are more likely to remain enrolled in school if they are integrated into the academic and social life of the institution (Tinto, 1993). This lines up with our own CIN research, which finds that students in courses with less interaction are more likely to perceive the learning experience as less effective and less engaging.  

Personalization – a sense that an experience is shaped by and responsive to your individual experiences, interests, talents, needs, and unique qualities – is another area where the human element plays a crucial role. We found that students who report having a supportive instructor also report a greater sense of personalization regardless of the modality – online, hybrid, or in person – they were learning in. This finding aligns with earlier research from Garrison et al and Rovali who also found a supportive instructor fuels a student’s sense of personalization (Garrison et al., 2000; Rovai, 2002). 

Beyond the classroom, technology fatigue presents another challenge to the human experience of learning. While online learners in our CIN studies report lower levels of technology fatigue compared to in-person learners, it remains a persistent issue. For example, 34% of students across all modalities reported feeling mentally tired from using educational technology, and 26% said they occasionally avoided technology altogether due to overwhelm . Research in cognitive psychology supports these findings, indicating that excessive reliance on technology can lead to cognitive overload and diminished engagement (Dergaa et al, 2024; Small et al, 2020). 

For educators, the stress is often even greater. Faculty in CIN surveys frequently cite increased workload and diminished autonomy as significant sources of burnout. Many report feeling “always on” due to the constant demands of technology, with 79% indicating they experience this pressure regularly. Additionally, 41% report feeling emotionally exhausted by their work, and 39% describe themselves as burned out (WGU Labs, 2024c). These findings align with other studies indicating that the introduction of new technologies, particularly without adequate training and support, can exacerbate feelings of overload and reduce job satisfaction (Spector & Jex, 1998; Maslach & Leiter, 2016). 

Despite these challenges, AI also offers opportunities to alleviate some of the pressures it creates. When implemented thoughtfully, AI can free faculty from repetitive administrative tasks, allowing them to focus more on the relational aspects of teaching that enhance student motivation and engagement. For students, AI can provide timely support, such as chatbots that answer questions outside of class hours or adaptive tools that adjust difficulty based on real-time performance. However, the design and deployment of these tools must prioritize well-being, ensuring that they reduce stress rather than amplify it. 

The human learning experience is a delicate balance of challenge, support, and connection. While AI holds great promise, it must be implemented in ways that prioritize these psychological drivers. The question we must continually ask is not just what AI can do, but how it can help us do what matters most: empowering learners to feel seen, supported, and capable of reaching their potential. 

Future Research and Recommendations 

The integration of AI into education represents both an opportunity and a challenge, with critical questions still unanswered about its long-term impact on learning and well-being. While AI has the potential to personalize education and increase accessibility, its success ultimately depends on how thoughtfully it is designed and implemented. To maximize the potential of AI while minimizing its risks, future research must address questions about how these tools influence psychological factors such as motivation and belonging, how to mitigate technology fatigue, and how to ensure equitable access for all learners. 

At the same time, institutions must adopt evidence-based strategies to guide AI integration in ways that enhance learning while safeguarding the well-being of both students and educators. 

Recommendations for Institutions 

1. Invest in Faculty Development 
   Institutions should provide robust training programs to equip faculty with the skills and confidence to integrate AI effectively. This includes workshops on using AI tools, as well as resources to help faculty manage workload and avoid burnout. When faculty feel supported, they are more likely to embrace new technologies and use them creatively (Afroogh, 2024). 
2. Foster Inclusive AI Design 
   AI systems should be designed with inclusivity in mind, ensuring they are accessible to students from diverse backgrounds. Institutions must prioritize equity by offering affordable tools and providing targeted support for first-generation and underrepresented students. Partnerships with EdTech companies can help ensure that new tools align with these goals (Means et al., 2014; Luckin et al., 2016). 
3. Establish Ethical Guidelines 
   Institutions must develop clear policies on data use, algorithmic transparency, and ethical AI implementation. Regular audits and stakeholder engagement are critical to maintaining trust and ensuring that AI tools are used responsibly (Binns, 2020; Holmes et al., 2019). 
4. Adopt a Data-Informed Approach 
   Decision-making about AI tools should be guided by rigorous evidence. Institutions should conduct pilot programs, gather feedback from students and faculty, and use analytics to assess the impact of AI on learning outcomes. Continuous evaluation will help refine practices and ensure that technologies are serving their intended purposes (Garrison et al., 2000). 
5. Promote Collaborative Dialogue 
   Bridging the faculty-student divide requires ongoing communication. Institutions should create spaces for students and faculty to share their perspectives on AI integration and collaborate on solutions. Open dialogue fosters trust, reduces resistance to change, and ensures that AI tools meet the needs of all stakeholders (Afroogh et al, 2024; Sharma, 2020). 

Conclusion 

The rise of AI in education marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of learning. It offers the potential to transform how we teach and learn, making education more accessible, personalized, and efficient. Yet, as this technology reshapes classrooms and campuses, its success will not be determined by its technical sophistication alone. Instead, the future of AI in education hinges on its ability to complement and enhance the deeply human aspects of learning—motivation, belonging, and connection. 

Our research with the College Innovation Network (CIN) at WGU Labs underscores the complexity of integrating AI into education. Students are optimistic about AI’s potential to personalize learning and expand access, but they also value interactions with faculty and peers as essential to their success. Faculty, while recognizing the possibilities of AI, remain cautious about its impact on workload, autonomy, and the quality of teaching. Bridging these perspectives requires intentional design and thoughtful implementation. 

As institutions move forward, they must prioritize solutions that harness AI’s technical capabilities, while building with a focus on the emotional and relational needs of learners. This means designing systems that not only adapt to students’ cognitive needs but also create space for meaningful human interactions. It means equipping faculty with the tools and training to use AI effectively while ensuring that these tools empower rather than overwhelm. And it means fostering an equitable and ethical approach to AI, one that bridges the digital divide and builds trust among all stakeholders. 

The true promise of AI in education lies not in replacing human connection, but in amplifying it. By embracing this vision, we can build educational systems that are not only more innovative but also more inclusive and resilient. AI has the potential to revolutionize education, but only if it serves the deeper purpose of learning: to inspire, connect, and empower. 

AI Use Disclosure 

This article was crafted with the assistance of AI tools, which were employed to support grammar refinement, brainstorming of ideas, and organizational structuring. However, the thoughts, arguments, and conclusions presented are entirely our own. We, as the authors, take full accountability for the content, its accuracy, and its alignment with the article’s purpose and intent. 

Report Contributions 

The authors thank Drs. Stephanie Reeves, Anudhi Munasinghe, and Audrieanna Burgin at WGU Labs for their driving the research design, implementation, and analysis of the CIN EdTEch Survey Series and primary research reports. We also appreciate Holly Wallace and Natalie Berkey for their valuable guidance and editing during the ideation and writing processes. 

About WGU Labs 

WGU Labs is the nonprofit EdTech consulting, incubation, research, and design arm of Western Governors University (WGU), where our mission is to identify and support scalable solutions that address the biggest challenges in education today.

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Several NWCCU member institutions were recognized by Secretary Miguel Cardona under the United Stated Department of Education’s

The 100 predominantly bachelor’s degree granting institutions includes these NWCCU Members:  

Linfield University, Oregon Institute of Technology, University of Puget Sound, Willamette University, Portland State University, Central Washington University, Pacific Lutheran University, St. Martin’s University. 

The 100 predominantly associate’s or certificate granting institutions includes these NWCCU Members:  

Bates Technical College, Bellingham Technical College, Renton Technical College, Dawson Community College, Lake Washington Institute of Technology, North Seattle College, Walla Walla Community College, Yakima Valley College, Columbia Gorge Community College, Columbia Basin College, Ilisagvik College, Oregon Coast Community College, Pierce College District, Salish Kootenai College, Weber State University. 

The Department identified these institutions using publicly available data to measure performance on key indicators related to equitable access, success, and post-college outcomes at public and non-profit institutions across the country. These metrics consider the extent to which institutions:  

• Enroll low-income students and students of color in their state;  
• Help those students graduate or transfer successfully; and   
• Prepare them to enter the career of their choice and enjoy upward mobility, including recouping their costs and earning a premium over high school graduates in their state.   

NWCCU congratulates these institutions and thanks them for their efforts in support of students. 

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Earlier this fall, Weber State University was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for our work on improving student success and closing achievement gaps. We were one of 30 Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities schools honored with the Raise the Bar Postsecondary Success Recognition Program. 

While being singled out in this manner is truly flattering, it also offers an opportunity to pause and consider how we’ve reached this point, and to contemplate additional work we can do to expand our practices to help even more students. 

Access has been and continues to be one of our institution’s core commitments dating back to its beginnings in 1889. When I first reflected on this honor, I was reminded of the faces and names of students, past and present, who personify what it means to make the most of their access to an open-enrollment university like Weber State, and then persevere and earn a college education. 

I was reminded of Naheed Davis, whose family immigrated to the U.S. from Guatemala when she was in elementary school, and who initially stopped out of college because of a degenerative eye condition that stole her vision. Naheed never lost her lifelong love of numbers, and eventually, with some of the support measures put in place at Weber State, she returned to college and earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting and master’s in taxation all at WSU. 

This honor celebrates the success of Camille Lopez, a student who was discouraged and became disenfranchised with education while in high school, but discovered a new love of learning and self-confidence through our Wildcat Scholar program. As a Wildcat Scholar, she learned time-management skills and gained the confidence to earn a degree in special education while raising three young children, including one on the autism spectrum. 

I also see Jessica Stratton’s success reflected in this honor. Fleeing a turbulent homelife, Jessica found herself living out of her car and working graveyard shifts to make ends meet, but she never lost sight of her goal of pursuing an education. Today she is an award-winning student who will earn her degree in computer science next spring. 

These are just three examples of the thousands of success stories at Weber State that make me so proud of our institution. I’m sure many of you can point to similar inspirational stories at your schools. 

Weber State provides opportunities for students like Naheed, Camille, and Jessica to have a second chance at a college education, opportunities that they might not have at selective enrollment institutions, based on their previous educational struggles. 

Yet for every success story like these, I worry about the number of students whose names and stories I do not know. Students who also enrolled at Weber State, but did not find success. Students whose enrollment record is only reflected in anonymous data and charts that show the work we still have to do to further close opportunity and achievement gaps. 

As the Department of Education recognition shows, we are making progress on closing those gaps. Our efforts to do so reflect a nearly decade-long process of intentional and systemic changes, informed by data and institutionalized strategically. 

This focus didn’t occur overnight. Instead, it’s helpful to view it over several years, and some of the key decisions and metrics that contributed to our improved outcomes. 

Early Efforts 

In the summer of 2016, Weber State University created a Student Success Steering Committee (SSSC) comprised of leadership and representation from the Academic Affairs and Student Affairs divisions. Two similar committees existed in Academic Affairs and Student Affairs, focusing on access and success of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged and underrepresented communities, and the decision was made to combine these efforts at the institutional level. The idea was to gather individuals who could think critically about these high-level student success issues, help educate faculty, staff, and students about the concept, and guide a process that would ultimately communicate and implement best practices for student success across the university. 

The SSSC also led to the creation of Tuesday Tips, a dedicated email sent out every other Tuesday during the semester to faculty and staff with tips and items designed to help students be successful. Some topics included where to go for advising, how to apply for financial aid and scholarships, and other resources on campus to help them achieve their educational goals and well-being. Since 2019, the number of subscribers to this newsletter has more than doubled (2019: 293, 2024: 628), although we would like to see more faculty subscribe. 

The university also invested in the Starfish retention tool, which allows faculty to flag students who are not coming to class, turning in assignments late, or struggling with content. Over time, progress surveys and individual outreach have gained momentum as tools that prompt early alert outreach to students. This is one more indication of our efforts to support our students by attempting to understand how they are doing and to proactively help when they are struggling.

In the early stages, the SSSC would meet to discuss various issues related to student outcomes, including identifying successful approaches in some of our academic colleges. Some of our communications during that time frame were aimed at celebrating individuals who were having success, and featuring them on web pages and employee newsletters, including Tuesday Tips, to model the importance of helping students persevere and succeed. 

A great example of this occurred during my first year as president. In August 2019, at our annual Back-to-School Breakfast, we asked faculty and staff to respond to a survey where they shared how they individually contributed to student success. Along with some of the responses you might expect from dedicated faculty and staff who work directly with students, employees in landscaping and accounting services also shared how their work supports our students. We highlighted some of the answers in employee communications throughout that school year as a way to further reinforce the campus wide commitment.  

Being Intentional 

The arrival of a new provost in early 2020, combined with the university undertaking its first strategic planning process in a decade, set the stage for the next step in our evolution. The new university-level strategic plan, Weber State Amplified: A Five-year Plan for Growth, was developed in consultation with key internal and external stakeholders and garnered approval     from the WSU Board of Trustees in March 2021.

The comprehensive strategic plan identified five overarching goals and an extensive list of desired outcomes (in hindsight, too many!). A handful of key original goals[1] focused on expanding access and improving achievement gaps, including: 

• By Fall 2025, WSU will become an Emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution by growing our percent of students who identify as Hispanic or Latino descent to 15%. 
• At the end of their first year, 80% of students, faculty and staff from traditionally underserved populations will report a sense of belonging at the university.  
• By the end of AY2025-26, close 8-year completion gaps between the overall student population and specific student populations or interest, including:
  • Low-income (Pell-eligible) students: Reduce current 6% gap to 4% 
  • Students placed in developmental math and English: reduce 28% gap to 20% gap 
  • First-generation students: reduce 7% gap to 4% gap 
  • Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC)/minority students: reduce 12% gap to an 8% gap. 

Putting the Plan into Action: Are We the Problem?

As we launched the strategic plan in the Fall 2021, we invited notable student success champion Dr. Tim Renick, National Institute of Student Success (NISS) at Georgia State University, for our back-to-school meetings. We continued to work with NISS for that first half year to develop the Weber State Student Success playbook. The playbook emphasized that we focus on four strategies:

1. improving data and the use of our data,
2. adding more and better aligning advising,
3. developing more proactive financial aid strategies, and
4. differentiating how we treat students based on their completion goals.

But most importantly, Dr. Renick encouraged us to look at our structures, our processes, and what we put in place for students, and then to ask, “Are we the problem?”

Noting a decline in critical enrollment metrics post-COVID, we established an enrollment-based task force to look at barriers to enrollment and identify areas of need. The task force, which dubbed itself the “Loonatics,” based on Safi Bahcall’s book Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries, included a variety of faculty and staff from departments across the university willing to undertake the work needed to imagine, create, and deploy tailored student success efforts. They reviewed data during open-enrollment periods to make informed decisions and proactively reach out to students in need, ideally personally connecting with our at-risk students before they stopped out.

Over time, recognizing trends faster has allowed the Loonatics enrollment task force to be even more nimble in responding. Working in this manner has led to a 6% increase in budget-related full-time equivalent over the last three years in our fall-to-fall retention rates, and a 12% jump in 6-year graduation rates over the last five years.

These gains are attributed to a number of key practices, including: 

• admitted student and new student orientation initiatives 
• semester-to-semester transition outreach 
• student melt outreach 
• performance- and behavior-based outreach 
• returning student campaigns 
• student belonging and student well-checks 

Changing to Better Support Students

In 2023, we restructured our university to refine our focus on student success, by combining the Division of Student Affairs and the Enrollment Services team into a new Division of Student Access and Success. This division was charged with streamlining services and support for students. The reorganization also involved centralizing academic support areas and programs and services focused on high-impact educational experiences.

That same year, we were selected as a member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Student Success Equity Intensive Cohort. With this initiative, we created a team of faculty, staff, administrators, and a student representative to work with other institutions across the nation in designing and refining our goals to eliminate gaps with the intention of capturing the student voice in the data and information we were collecting and analyzing.

We’ve continued to encourage faculty and staff to identify where we as an institution are the problem and where unnecessary barriers for students exist that can be removed. Along those lines, we recently revised our admissions and advising models and restructured our high school dual enrollment programs to ensure we’re focusing on access and success for our students.

Data-Informed Outcomes

Over the last five years, our institution has made significant gains in our student success strategy. In part, we’ve relied on point-in-time and live dashboards to monitor enrollment and outreach strategies actively, and to measure our strategic plan progress and progress on our accreditation metrics.

In the fall of 2019, our first-year, first-time student retention rate was 56%. While our rate has fluctuated a bit over the last couple of years, as of fall 2024 it was 58.2%, representing incremental growth.

We have also made progress toward becoming an emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution, with our Hispanic and Latino student population growing from 11.7% to 13.2% of our overall student body by fall 2024.

Utilizing fall 2019 data, we articulated goals to close eight-year completion gaps as determined by IPEDS outcome measure data for first-generation students from a 7% to a 4% completion gap. As of fall 2023, we met this goal.

We aimed to close our low-income, Pell-eligible, completion gap from 6% to 4%, and our Pell-eligible students now graduate at a rate 0.2% higher than their peers. For students placed in developmental math and English, our goal was to close our completion gap from 28% to 22%.  As of fall 2023, this gap is now 22.7%.

For students who identify being from an underrepresented race/ethnicity, our goal is to close the gap from 12% to 8%. This goal has seen less progress than the other identified cohorts of interest but still has positive progress as we have closed to a 10.7% completion gap as of fall 2023.

Keys to Success

We attribute much of this success to a handful of initiatives implemented over the last five years, including Advising, Wildcat Scholars, Intentional Communication Plan, Orientation, and Emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution Efforts.

Advising 

In spring 2022, our advising ratio was approximately 620:1, compared to the nationally recommended ratio of 300:1. Additionally, students seeking to change their major, those who completed an associate’s degree but had not declared a bachelor’s program of study, and those who had not been admitted to a selective program did not experience specialized outreach or assistance. To remedy this situation, in the fall of 2022 we hired our first group of first-year exploratory advisors and changed our admission process. Instead of students having to select a program of study if they were uncertain, they could choose one of 12 areas of interest. Overall, we hired 22 new advisors, expanded the number of college advisors, added transition advisors, and increased the capacity for advising in high school dual enrollment programs. As a result, we shrunk our student-to-advisor ratio from over 600:1 to 350:1, which has improved student advising significantly.

Wildcat Scholars

This program is designed to support our most vulnerable students, those who are placed in developmental mathematics and developmental English. A disproportionately higher percentage of low-income (59%) students are identified as Dev-Dev than those who enroll (41%) at the university. The Wildcat Scholars program uses a cohort-based, learning community, corequisite model. Participants, like Camille Lopez, have seen higher first-year retention rates than their counterparts of similar demographics who did not participate. Using this model, we are building out additional first-year learning communities. 

Intentional Communication Plan

In 2021, we developed an outreach plan promoting messages aimed at improving student retention. A key component of this is the Mainstay texting and chatbot platform, which we branded as Ask Waldo. Messages promote everything from registration to awareness of student support and financial aid resources, along with intentional text and email interventions such as alerts for low test scores or nonattendance in classes.

Orientation

In spring 2022, we implemented mandatory orientation, which was defined as completing multiple online modules that included information designed to help students succeed in college. In 2024, with the hire of 22 more advisors and the reallocation of other personnel, we added mandatory advising for first-year students. Surprisingly, even with these two new mandatory requirements, we welcomed our largest-ever first-year class in 2024.

Emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution Efforts

Since hiring our Executive Director for Hispanic-Serving Institution Initiatives in 2022 thanks to a gift from Ally Bank, we have evaluated our programs and offerings. In 2024, we received a grant from the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity to create our Building Puentes,  Spanish-speaking and bilingual degree program for undergraduate students. Our headcount for Hispanic and Latino students has grown from 3,540 to 4,103, and our high school dual enrollment offerings have grown from 9% of students enrolled as Hispanic in 2022, to 11.2% in 2024.

Looking Ahead

We are thrilled with how the steps outlined here have helped improve our retention and completion numbers. These strategic and intentional steps have helped the university as a whole embrace our goal of student success.

Naheed, Camille, and Jessica are a few shining examples of what success looks like at Weber State.

But the data and charts show that while we are making progress, more needs to be done. As we embark on our next strategic planning process at WSU, we must never lose sight of the many anonymous individuals who, despite our improved outreach efforts, continue to slip through the cracks and for whom a college education remains elusive. 

[1] The first two of these goals were changed in November 2024 as part of the Amplified 2.0 Strategic Plan, as follows:  

• We are committed to become an Emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution. Through Fall 2025 we will make positive growth towards having 15% of our student population include those who identify as Hispanic or Latino. 
• By the end of their first year, 70% of students will report a sense of belonging at the university, matching the level reported by all students. We will review data disaggregated by different characteristics in an effort to remove barriers to belonging. 

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