In higher education, identifying stakeholders who engage in similar initiatives or work towards shared student success goals can be a challenge, and at the institutional level.
In a 2024 survey of student success professionals Internal Advanced ED More than half (59%) of Hanover respondents said they believe their institution is very effective in making student success an institution priority.
Two administrators at Depaul University in Chicago conducted a one-day event on campus to unite practitioners and leaders who care about student success to identify common goals and challenges.
“It’s very necessary … to think about personal gatherings because it really improves what’s most important to us, and that’s the success of students is everyone’s job,” said Ashley Williams, director of the Student Success Program.
Gathered together: The first summit was held on December 3, 2024, with 350 employees, faculty and managers participating. The event features external experts, such as Monica Hall-Porter from the University of Texas at Austin, and is the keynote speaker, university president and provost involved in institutional goals for student success and closing the achievement gap.
The goals of the summit outlined by the organizers include defining student success, determining how success is measured, promoting a coordinated culture of student success, developing an awareness of technology, systems and data related to student success, as well as best practices in the institution for enhancing the roadmap for student success.
The summit is titled to chart student success, from positioning to graduation, to reflect the student’s life cycle and how each practitioner contributes to the student’s success. As a Catholic institution, DePaul also makes students successful through the mission of St. Vincent Depaul.
Michael Roberts, Dean of Student Success, said organizers are interested in choosing individuals from all areas and disciplines of the university to drive creative and diverse conversations.
DePaul DePaul Summit from all fields and disciplines on campus joins diversified professionals.
“I think people can get…the tunnel vision that tries to solve their problems, [trying] “Cultivate expertise in their immediate or closest communities,” Williams said. “We know there is a lot of knowledge and strengths in the institution and where you may not necessarily be.” [be] Think in your daily work. ”
Unlocking institutions and breaking organizational barriers can share resources, strengths, ideas and innovation through collaborative sharing.
Put it together: When creating the summit, Roberts and Williams prioritized the agency’s buying and ensuring that their work was collaborative rather than competing with the work of others who were in the student success space.
Williams said organizers interact with other leaders’ successful people, contributing to planning and guiding decisions to ensure that the activity can perform goals the way they expect.
The partnership also includes identifying internal and external groups that can contribute resources and serve as sponsors to fund and host events.
An important aspect for Roberts is not to make the summit a passionate gathering, but can be directly applicable to the work of faculty or staff. “Like, ‘This incident is important to me, and I’m going to be able to get something out of it and actually take advantage of it,” he said.
Looking forward: Roberts said the inaugural summit was aimed at 50 attendees, so reaching over 300 was a surprising surprise. Williams shared the attendees, a mix of faculty and staff, with feedback that was very positive.
Interestingly, organizers heard that having a space to discuss topics and reach out to other work happening throughout campus is valuable for attendees, just like building a community with their peers.
“People feel informed; “They walk away from the enlightened and motivated motivation, inspiring to think about their own leadership styles and how some of their jobs are more appropriate to become the standard model for student success.” ”
In the future, organizers are seeking to implement more programming so that practitioners can participate in practical activities so that they can directly work.
What is your institution doing to ensure that administrators and practitioners in various fields are aware of and use data related to student success? Tell us.
