This endorsement identifies 22 direct student support programs that are part of the MDRC Texas’s Student Success Acceleration Programs: Implementation Findings report. MDRC led an implementation study in Texas of student support programs and how they were funded, how they were implemented, what they cost, which outcomes they targeted, and how many students they reached. These programs’ components, detailed in the final report, were compared to the evidence base.
The programs receiving this endorsement participated in a Student Success Acceleration Implementation Grant and were determined to be direct student support programs by MDRC. MDRC has published a report sharing key findings from that project, including findings about this program, available at https://www.mdrc.org/publication/texas-s-student-success-acceleration-programs. While a rigorous evaluation of the impacts of the SSAP grants is beyond the scope of that project, past research can be used to identify promising program practices, as MDRC and other researchers across the country have previously conducted randomized controlled trials that have demonstrated program models and components which have yielded positive impacts for students in higher education. These positive impacts include improving students’ retention, credit accumulation, and graduation rates. The report presents preliminary observations based on an analysis of 22 direct student support program grantees, summarizes findings from past research on components with positive impacts for students, and discusses the extent to which the 22 programs used models with components similar to those found in the evidence base.
Texarkana College's (TC) I AM FIRST Project goal is to better support …
Texarkana College's (TC) I AM FIRST Project goal is to better support first-generation students on three levels: socially, emotionally, and academically. Our objectives are to serve all our first-generation students with the strategies that foster their sense of social belonging in our college community, support their self-efficacy and mental well-being, and develop their skills to succeed in the classroom and, ultimately, in their careers. TC's student body is approximately 75% first-generation. Success coaches will engage with students through group meetings, one-on-one appointments, and personalized text messaging. We also strive to get first-generation students involved in campus activities outside of the classroom. The Student Success Coach will have the tools to make referrals or contacts on the student's behalf and provide highly individualized coaching tailored to each student's needs. The assigned success coach will remain an advocate for the student from the student's first semester at TC until graduation, giving students the resources, skill-building opportunities, and confidence, they need to succeed.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format or has both online and in-person components.
PROGRAM SCALE: Medium-scale (reaches between 10 and 25 percent of its target population)
DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Student Success and Retention
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Lee Williams III at lee.williams@texarkanacollege.edu or 903.823.3016
College of the Mainland's (COM) SSAP grant is a dedicated initiative aimed …
College of the Mainland's (COM) SSAP grant is a dedicated initiative aimed at recognizing and meeting the basic needs of students while equipping faculty and staff with the necessary skills to identify and support those in need. This grant focuses on enhancing the overall well-being and academic success of students, particularly those facing financial hardships or personal challenges that may hinder their learning experience.
Through the grant, COM can implement programs and services that address essential needs such as food, housing, healthcare, and mental health support. It also provides specialized training to faculty and staff to develop a better understanding of the signs and indicators of students in distress. With this training, educators can intervene early and provide appropriate assistance, ensuring student receive the necessary help and resources to overcome obstacles and achieve their educational goals.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format or has both online and in-person components.
PROGRAM SCALE: Medium-scale (reaches between 10 and 25 percent of its target population)
DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Dean of Students Office
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Dr. Kris Kimbark at kkimbark@com.edu or 4099381211
The aims of this project are to implement a Customer Relationship Management …
The aims of this project are to implement a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that will provide the School of Health Professions (SHP) at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center with the capacity to reach underserved populations statewide. Currently, the school relies on a “boots on the ground” approach with one recruiter and limited technology. Advising for underserved students is currently too lightly resourced on both the sides of the enrollment funnel, which is an obstacle that the technical solution of a CRM can help to overcome. Streamlining efficient communications and recruiting processes will enhance the school’s ability to reach underserved populations and help to prepare these students for entry into high-demand and high-paying jobs in the health care industry. The CRM implementation will be heavily focused on establishing communications and recruitment strategies that enable the student success division of the SHP to target recruiting to Early College High School (ECHS) campuses in Houston and Greater Houston and establishing seamless articulations with community colleges across Houston and Greater Houston to include Harris, Fort Bend, Brazoria counties.
PROGRAM SCALE: Medium-scale (reaches between 10 and 25 percent of its target population)
DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: School of Health Professions
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Kimberly Hoggatt Krumwiede, PhD, at kahoggatt@mdanderson.org or (713) 745-8168
Professional development provided with additional funds from this grant will focus on …
Professional development provided with additional funds from this grant will focus on advising and academic coaching. Training for faculty representatives from Schreiner University's seven academic divisions, staff representatives from administrative divisions, and coaches from the athletics division (Schreiner Student Success Champions) will: (a) focus on student learning and academic success through more intentional advising, (b) foster cultural competencies to assist students in developing positive ethnic and social identities, and (c) support students' critical consciousness and encourage constructive responses to societal inequalities.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program is in-person only.
PROGRAM SCALE: Large-scale (reaches more than 25 percent of its intended target population)
DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Office of the Dean of Faculty
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: William Michael Davis at wdavis@schreiner.edu or 830-792-7415
Victoria College (VC) wants to improve equitable access to academic, financial, and …
Victoria College (VC) wants to improve equitable access to academic, financial, and support services for VC students. To accomplish this, VC will use the majority of requested funds to procure a new comprehensive student engagement system or customer relationship management software, often abbreviated to CRM. The remainder of the request will supplement our digital outreach efforts to link more underserved students into the new system.
The target group for improved engagement is our underserved student populations. Empowering underserved students to succeed will require (a) sharing relevant information about VCs services with targeted groups who need it most and (b) understanding how students use services so we can continually increase awareness and support for groups who need it most.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format or has both online and in-person components.
PROGRAM SCALE: Large-scale (reaches more than 25 percent of its intended target population)
DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Victoria College
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Elizabeth Garza at Elizabeth.Garza@VictoriaCollege.edu or (361) 485-6813
To meet the challenge expressed by demographic and enrollment changes, Texas A&M …
To meet the challenge expressed by demographic and enrollment changes, Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi has created the intensive transfer pathway program (IPP) focusing on both Del Mar College and Coastal Bend College to actively market and host services to community college students in academic pathway programs. This program provides on-campus outreach and advising sessions each semester as well as immersive visit programs at TAMUCC to facilitate enrollment, advising, and transition from the two-year to the four-year institution. This program is facilitated through activities planned and executed by the Office of Recruitment and Admissions under the guidance of the Division of Enrollment Management.
Students selected in the cohort (up to 80 each year) will receive $ 1,000 each fall and spring to help support their transitional activities and ease the their cost burden as new transfer students. The students in each cohort will be required to participate in the engagement activities and meet satisfactory academic and enrollment requirements. Student success will be measured relative to their persistence from the initial year of transfer to the second.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program is in-person only.
PROGRAM SCALE: Medium-scale (reaches between 10 and 25 percent of its target population)
DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Division of Enrollment Management, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Dr. Andy Benoit at andy.benoit@tamucc.edu or 361-825-5951
Javelina Summer Bridge was a 9-day program aimed at helping students admitted …
Javelina Summer Bridge was a 9-day program aimed at helping students admitted by committee, or who had not passed the TSI in their adjustment to college. We also included First Generation college students. We provided reading/writing, math, and student success strategies, and enhanced their sense of belonging with student engagement activities.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program is in-person only.
DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Center for Student Success
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Dr. Shannon Baker at shannon.baker@tamuk.edu or 3615932557
The focus of the project at Lamar State College Orange (LSCO) is …
The focus of the project at Lamar State College Orange (LSCO) is to plan for the creation and expansion of support for students outside of the classroom. Our campus is working to remove barriers for our students and allow them to focus on their course work. Areas of focus include creation of on campus solutions for health care and mental health, academic support programs, peer tutoring and supplemental instruction programming models, expansion of career services and related services, student academic and behavioral alert system, creation of the on-campus food pantry, providing programs to assist first generation student population, and TSI (Texas Success Initiative) prep courses for current and prospective students within in local independent school districts.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format.
PROGRAM SCALE: Medium-scale (reaches between 10 and 25 percent of its target population)
Finances can be overwhelming and stressful. When your money starts to work …
Finances can be overwhelming and stressful. When your money starts to work for you instead of you working for your money, you begin to see the impact on your financial wellness. Managing money can be challenging, but we're committed to helping you reach your financial goals by providing you with the tools and knowledge to succeed during your time at Angelo State and into your future. Students have access to iGrad, a financial wellness platform that provides students with courses, tools, webinars and articles on personal finance topics.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format or has both online and in-person components.
PROGRAM SCALE: Small-scale (reaches fewer than 10 percent of its target population)
DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Norris-Vincent College of Business
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Christabel Romine at christabel.romine@angelo.edu or 325-486-6599
The L.E.A.D. program focuses on expanding peer-to-peer and faculty mentor relationships and …
The L.E.A.D. program focuses on expanding peer-to-peer and faculty mentor relationships and implementing intervention strategies for at-risk first-year students based on the self-exploration of the LASSI (Learning and Study Strategies Inventory) assessment results and LASSI learning modules. Goals of the program include: increased retention of at-risk first-year students by 20%, implementation of LASSI assessment and intervention strategies in the first-year experience (FYE) course and increased participation (80%) of at-risk first-year students in the mentoring program. Peer mentors work with the FYE faculty and professional advisers who advise students during their first year of college to build a relationship social capital network. Professional advisers and FYE faculty will also work with the first-year students to construct interventions as prescribed by the LASSI assessment and learning module. These interventions will assist students in their transition from high school to university life.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program is in-person only.
PROGRAM SCALE: Small-scale (reaches fewer than 10 percent of its target population)
DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Rattler Success Center
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Graciela Lopez-Fuentes at glopez@stmarytx.edu or (210) 436-3736
SFA has identified student wellness and well-being as a critical basic need. …
SFA has identified student wellness and well-being as a critical basic need. To champion this, SFA established the Lumberjack Wellness Network. Founded upon the principles of the Seven Dimensions of Wellness, the Lumberjack Wellness Network was developed to educate the SFA community on student well-being. We empower faculty and staff to have meaningful and helpful conversations with students in need. We equip the community with tools, resources, and appropriate recommendations and referrals, connecting students to the help they need.
We will take the Network and the dimensions of wellness to the next level, with cutting-edge technology, ensuring our staff our current on all best practices and trends within mental health, and rethinking our current physical space to better meet our students' needs. This revision includes the upgrade of our current food pantry operations to include a refrigerator and freezer to allow us to begin offering fresh produce and frozen meats. It also includes breathing life to a currently unutilized green space to offer our campus community a space to relax, refocus, and re-center. It also focuses on the needs of our student-athletes to help them retain, progress, and graduate. This application includes collaboration from across campus, including the Dean of Students Office, Athletics, the Health and Wellness Hub, and Campus Recreation.
These initiatives will help to solidify and advance the Lumberjack Wellness Network. These initiatives will help us meet the needs of our students and help us continue to transition to a place or prevention and pre-intervention rather than reaction.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format or has both online and in-person components.
PROGRAM SCALE: Small-scale (reaches fewer than 10 percent of its target population)
DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Dean of Students Office
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Dr. Andrew Dies at andrew.dies@sfasu.edu or 936.468.7249
The mental Health Awareness Training CErT program is based on the UHCL …
The mental Health Awareness Training CErT program is based on the UHCL Counseling and Mental Health Center's mission, “Connect, Empower, Thrive”. The "Connect, Empower, refer, and Thrive (CErT)", training is a research-based program for UHCL students, faculty, and staff on recognizing signs of mental health issues, connecting to resources, preventing poor mental health outcomes, and ensuring student retention and success. The 2-3-hour training contains modules separately targeting faculty/staff; general students and student leaders; veterans; and students seeking teacher certification. The main learning objectives for this training are for participants to learn to identify emerging signs and symptoms of mental health concerns, be able to distinguish skillful ways to intervene with individuals who are experiencing mental health concerns and make referrals to appropriate services, and be able to identify at least two ways to engage in self-care.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format or has both online and in-person components.
PROGRAM SCALE: Unknown
DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: UHCL Counseling and Mental Health Center
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Cynthia Cook at cert@uhcl.edu or 2812832580
The Mental Health and Financial Support for the Underserved Students in South …
The Mental Health and Financial Support for the Underserved Students in South Texas program supports students' sense of belonging by providing behavioral health support, career/goal-setting counseling, and financial support to address the primary threats to students' persistence, and/or hesitancy to return for their degree.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format or has both online and in-person components.
PROGRAM SCALE: Small-scale (reaches fewer than 10 percent of its target population)
DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Student Conduct and Community Engagement
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Mayra Hernandez at mghernandez@tamiu.edu or 956-326-2288
This initiative aims to harness the effectiveness of evidence-informed interventions to target …
This initiative aims to harness the effectiveness of evidence-informed interventions to target mood-related concerns. The goal is to provide campus-wide, multi-modal instruction and engagement in mindfulness, stress reduction, emotional intelligence, and Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training. This initiative consists of interactive video-based instruction, live workshops, curated on-demand campus reflection/relaxation spaces, self-help resources (individual and utilization in academic classes), campus focused MHFA, and an invited expert speaker or panel event. The expanded dissemination of prevention-focused skills training will serve as a buffer against more severe psychological distress and behavioral concerns, allow students to more fully engage in their academic pursuits/interpersonal relationships, as well as assist the participants in better identifying options to assist those experiencing psychological or emotional distress. These interventions are targeted for both the general student population and numerous smaller student populations that benefit from additional support/attention.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format or has both online and in-person components.
PROGRAM SCALE: Medium-scale (reaches between 10 and 25 percent of its target population)
DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Counseling Center/ Texas State University
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Richard A. Martinez at ram309@txstate.edu or 512-245-2208
NLC Connect seeks to mitigate enrollment barriers, promoting the retention and graduation …
NLC Connect seeks to mitigate enrollment barriers, promoting the retention and graduation of the College's part-time students. Monthly phone outreach, supplemented by emails/mailings, provides information on campus resources and connects students with wraparound services to address social, emotional, and educational barriers. Additionally, NLC Connect provides basic needs grants to address immediate welfare needs, reducing transportation, housing, and childcare barriers that stall academic persistence.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format or has both online and in-person components.
PROGRAM SCALE: Large-scale (reaches more than 25 percent of its intended target population)
DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Northeast Lakeview College
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Cristela Garcia at cgarcia1411@alamo.edu or 2104865179
Baylor University seeks to build upon its success in mathematics curriculum redesign …
Baylor University seeks to build upon its success in mathematics curriculum redesign and mathematics supplemental instruction (SI) to benefit students from underserved populations in calculus. With the help of institutional funds and support from a THECB planning grant, Baylor has already redesigned its Calculus I curriculum (MTH 1321) and scaled up SI for most sections of these courses to good effect. The redesign of MTH 1321 included a 4-hour credit section of the course that includes just-in-time student assistance. Student data drawn from our Navigate student success portal was utilized to invite students from target populations (first-generation and URM) to enroll in these courses. This application seeks support for the continuation of this work and expansion to include MTH 1309: Business Calculus. Baylor seeks funding to support faculty work in the curriculum redesign effort for this additional course as well as funding to provide full SI coverage for all sections.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format or has both online and in-person components.
PROGRAM SCALE: Large-scale (reaches more than 25 percent of its intended target population)
DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Center for Academic Success and Engagement
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: De'Janae Tookes at dejanae_tookes@baylor.edu or 2547108709
The Rise as One for UT Tyler Students’ Success Project will: 1) …
The Rise as One for UT Tyler Students’ Success Project will: 1) implement a multilayered series of professional development opportunities for faculty and advisors, specifically targeting faculty teaching courses serving incoming first-time in college (FTIC) and transfer students, thereby promoting a growth mindset, increasing students’ sense of belonging, elevating engagement in academic courses, and supporting underprepared learners; and 2) implement new engaging virtual orientation experiences and onboarding opportunities for undergraduate students.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format or has both online and in-person components.
PROGRAM SCALE: Medium-scale (reaches between 10 and 25 percent of its target population)
DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Student Success for Orientation, Academic Success for Professional Development
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Colleen Swain at cswain@uttyler.edu or 903.565.5898
SOAR support first-time students to CTC in fall 2022, spring of 2023 …
SOAR support first-time students to CTC in fall 2022, spring of 2023 and fall of 2023. Additionally, workshops and sponsored programming for faculty, staff and students will be continued from the Planning Grant, but the focus will be on relationship-building with students using an equity and success mindset. Specific components of SOAR include: • Success mentoring to include direct aid for CTC students • Success and equity programming and support for CTC students • Campus Dialogues on equity, success and mentoring targeting students, faculty and staff • Directed and intentional student communication and assessment regarding the CTC experience
SOAR builds on CTC’s Planning Grant whereby a workshop series on success, equity and engagement for faculty and staff was held in order to collect valuable feedback about initiatives being pursued and those that should be pursued. SOAR also builds on the work of the Student Success Advisory Team (SSAT) who studied first time at CTC cohorts in fall of 2019, 2020 and 2021 and determined that CTC loses the first-time population in the fall or immediately following the fall and that over half of the cohort are part-time, do not access a Pell, and do not complete the classes that they initially enroll in. Intentional support for these students and the issues that they face and continued training to the faculty and staff who serve them are required.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format or has both online and in-person components.
PROGRAM SCALE: Medium-scale (reaches between 10 and 25 percent of its target population)
DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Academic Success Center/ Student Success and Persistence
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Julie Starkey at jstarkey@ctcd.edu or 254-526-1450
UTRGV has developed a model for student success partnerships that brings together …
UTRGV has developed a model for student success partnerships that brings together faculty alongside staff from our Center for Teaching Excellence, Center for Online Learning & Teaching with Technology, Learning Center, and Writing Center, with the goals of 1) analyzing student success data in key gatekeeper courses and 2) co-designing strategies and initiatives that will positively impact student persistence and completion. Faculty and Student Success staff work together to better understand students' unique needs and to determine how to best address them. Specific strategies implemented include integrated academic supports such as embedded peer collaborative learning, targeted professional development for faculty teaching gatekeeper courses, opportunities for trained student assistants to provide feedback to faculty on their course materials and pedagogical strategies, and "second chance" opportunities for students who haven't mastered course material to extend their semester by a few weeks in an effort to avoid having to re-enroll in the course the next semester.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format or has both online and in-person components.
PROGRAM SCALE: Medium-scale (reaches between 10 and 25 percent of its target population)
PROGRAM OUTCOMES: Preliminary grade data from Spring 2023 is trending in a positive direction year over year, with notable decreases in DFW rates in ENGL 1301 and MATH 1314. Preliminary data from student surveys has yielded positive feedback, as well, noting that students are experiencing a greater sense of understanding of course content and greater confidence to interact with peers and university resources. These early indicators are usually markers for persistence and retention.
DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Office of Student Success
CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Dr. Jonikka Charlton, Associate Provost of Student Success at jonikka.charlton@utrgv.edu or 956-665-7919
Seahawks SOAR (Strategic, Opportunity, Academic, Retention) is an in-depth leadership and retention …
Seahawks SOAR (Strategic, Opportunity, Academic, Retention) is an in-depth leadership and retention program delivered for incoming freshmen and sophomores to accelerate student success and increase retention rates. SOAR Guides—trained from the pedagogical approach of empathic and care-driven leadership—will focus on the social, emotional, and academic development of first-year and at-risk students to create a sense of belonging, commitment, and purpose to both Lamar State College Port Arthur and the community. SOAR will expand opportunity through quality mentoring and experiential learning to achieve and surpass the goals and strategies of the Lamar State College 2019-2029 strategic plan to provide access for potential students and ensure the success of students once they arrive on campus.
DELIVERY FORMAT: The program is in-person only.
PROGRAM SCALE: Medium-scale (reaches between 10 and 25 percent of its target population)
No restrictions on your remixing, redistributing, or making derivative works. Give credit to the author, as required.
Your remixing, redistributing, or making derivatives works comes with some restrictions, including how it is shared.
Your redistributing comes with some restrictions. Do not remix or make derivative works.
Most restrictive license type. Prohibits most uses, sharing, and any changes.
Copyrighted materials, available under Fair Use and the TEACH Act for US-based educators, or other custom arrangements. Go to the resource provider to see their individual restrictions.
