FYE's Mission
The First-Year Experience Program (FYE) is committed to supporting first-year-in-college-students through peer mentorship as they transition into university life. FYE Peer Mentors meet with students one-on-one to provide academic, social, and personal support in order to enhance student success.

FYE's Goals
Connecting incoming first-year students with student leaders who can provide guidance from experience to make their first year a positive experience.

Equipping first-year-in-college students with knowledge and access to resources.

Facilitating first-year student exploration in their academic studies.

Fostering a sense of campus community and belonging for first-year students.

FYE's Values
Teamwork - supporting one another professionally and personally and student leaders in their growth

Collaboration - working with individuals and other campus programs to enhance the student experience

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: Student Development, Leadership, Belonging, and Academic Support Programs

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Demetrius Johnson at demetrius.johnson@utsa.edu or 2104583072

Our mission is to be a convener and a catalyst actively supporting Hispanic Serving Institution students and alumni who strive to launch their careers and achieve a greater impact on the world. To do this, the HSI Career Collaborative informs and connects three critical audiences: talent, HSIs, and employers. The goal of the HSI Career Collaborative is to raise the recruiting profile of HSIs to companies across the country.In raising the recruitment profile, we also increase relationship capacity with companies that may offer internship and other experiential learning opportunities.

DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format.

PROGRAM SCALE: Medium-scale (reaches between 10 and 25 percent of its target population)

APPROXIMATE PARTICIPANTS SERVED IN 2021-22: 2680 students across all participating HSIs in 2021-22

HOW TO ENROLL: Participants must apply to enroll in this program

WEBSITE TO APPLY: https://hsicareer.org

EVALUATION STATUS: Data related to program outcomes have been internally and externally collected in the past

DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: University of Texas at San Antonio, Career-Engaged Learning

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Mario Vela at mario.vela@utsa.edu or 210.458.6846

The Racial Justice Habit Building 21-Day challenge is intended to engage faculty and staff in learning about racial injustice and advocating for anti-racism related to a different culture each termination. Throughout the challenge, participants will build in-depth knowledge and awareness about the experiences within a broader cultural or ethnic community. The 21-Day challenge involves a five-week curriculum of short daily assignments and virtual group discussions. The 2021 challenge centered on African-American experiences, and the 2022 challenge focused on Latinx/Latine experiences.

DELIVERY FORMAT: The program is online only.

PROGRAM SCALE: Small-scale (reaches fewer than 10 percent of its target population)

APPROXIMATE PARTICIPANTS SERVED IN 2021-22: 60

HOW TO ENROLL: Participants must apply to enroll in this program

WEBSITE TO APPLY: https://www.utsa.edu/students/multicultural/trainings/21DayChallenge.html

EVALUATION STATUS: Data related to program outcomes are currently being internally collected

DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Multicultural Student Center for Equity and Justice and the Office of Inclusive Excellence

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Dr. Brandi Scott at brandi.scott@utsa.edu or 210-458-4770

The UTSA Bold Promise (free tuition) program provides the resources and support for students to attend and be successful at UTSA, tuition-free. The program reduces financial barriers for low to mid-income high-achieving students to enable persistence, success, and by connecting them to campus resources and support programs such as financial literacy, tutoring, and advising/coaching. The program is for students who have a family income of $70,000 or less, who are in the top 25% of their high school class, and who apply for aid by Jan 15th.

DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format.

PROGRAM SCALE: Medium-scale (reaches between 10 and 25 percent of its target population)

APPROXIMATE PARTICIPANTS SERVED IN 2021-22: 787

HOW TO ENROLL: Participants are automatically enrolled in this program if they meet eligibility requirements

EVALUATION STATUS: Data related to program outcomes are currently being internally collected

DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Strategic Enrollment

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Lynn Barnes, Jr. at lynn.barnes@utsa.edu or 210-458-4041

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) aspires to be a model Hispanic thriving institution where students from all backgrounds can excel. The purpose of the UTSA Thrive program is to enhance support and advocacy for underserved populations (first-generation, economically disadvantaged, and students of color) by developing a thriving student framework and strengthening the integration of support services across multiple student success units on campus.

Higher education institutions commonly use persistence, retention, and graduation rates to measure student success which does not provide a complete picture of student thriving. The UTSA Thrive program builds on lessons learned in identifying rapid responses to unpredictable pandemic changes and leverages an established support ecosystem to implement a holistic campus approach to support student thriving and reimagine how we define, support, and measure student success.

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: University of Texas at San Antonio Division of Student Success

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Tammy Wyatt at tammy.wyatt@utsa.edu or 210-458-5717

In 2016, UTSA began to intentionally support our large population of first-generation college students. The First to Go & Graduate (F2G&G) program, housed in UTSA's First-Gen & Transfer Center, seeks to develop and support an institution-wide culture that actively recognizes, encourages, and supports first-generation students. Innovative features include the first-generation faculty to first-generation student coaching program, first-generation peer mentors, and an F2G&G Council comprised of students, staff, and faculty. First-gen groups form 'familias' that foster a sense of belonging and encourage retention and academic excellence. Since inception, the center has served over 1,700 students, of which nearly 60% are Hispanic. The most current first- and second-year retention rates for participants exceed UTSA’s overall rates: 88% vs 78% (fall 2020) and 73% vs 66% (fall 2019) respectively. Moreover, 40% of freshmen who participated in F2G&G [fall 2017] graduated in four years, 8% higher than non-participants. Excelencia in Education named the F2G&G Program as an Examples of Excelencia Program to Watch in 2019.

DELIVERY FORMAT: The program has a hybrid format.

PROGRAM SCALE: Small-scale (reaches fewer than 10 percent of its target population)

APPROXIMATE PARTICIPANTS SERVED IN 2021-22: 319

HOW TO ENROLL: eligible and interested participants complete intake form to be assigned a mentor and officially participate in all aspects of the program

EVALUATION STATUS: Data related to program outcomes are currently being internally and externally collected

DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Division of Student Success

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Tammy Wyatt at tammy.wyatt@utsa.edu or 210-458-5717

Undergraduate students encounter barriers to timely graduation, and some of these barriers are inadvertently put before students by institutional or administrative structures, routines, practices and procedures. Such barriers include issues with course scheduling, availability and access, and administrative paperwork and deadlines. While academic advisors are often the most knowledgeable resources about specific degree requirements, they are not always positioned or empowered to recommend changes to ingrained institutional policies and procedures that present roadblocks, nor do they necessarily have the authority to elevate students’ concerns beyond their office or department. The Graduation Help Desk (GHD) addresses these issues by creating a virtual, one-stop resource, with top-level support from institutional leadership, for students who need help resolving roadblocks to timely graduation.

UTSA's Graduation Help Desk is available to all undergraduate students, with a particular focus on students who are closer to completing their degrees (seniors and juniors). As a virtual, one-stop resource, the GHD is able to assist vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations (e.g. online students, transfer students, first-generation students, nontraditional students, etc.). UTSA's Graduation Help Desk is an integral and unique component of the university's student success infrastructure. It serves as resource for students as well as a channel for staff to direct concerns about university policies, procedures, and systems.

DELIVERY FORMAT: The program is online only.

PROGRAM SCALE: Medium-scale (reaches between 10 and 25 percent of its target population)

APPROXIMATE PARTICIPANTS SERVED IN 2021-22: 1120

HOW TO ENROLL: All stakeholders have access to this program. As such, there is no enrollment process

EVALUATION STATUS: Data related to program outcomes have been internally collected in the past

DEPARTMENT(S) OVERSEEING PROGRAM: Division of Student Success

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Tammy Wyatt at tammy.wyatt@utsa.edu or 210-458-5717