How can student success coaches help your students succeed?

Last Updated on December 16, 2024 by iSchoolConnect

Teaser: Almost one-third of first-year students do not return for their second year, and nearly half of the students who begin a college degree do not complete it. As pupils and their caregivers encounter issues relating to health and safety, loss of money, and continued racial violence and oppression, how can institutions help young people and their families build the physical, emotional, and social foundations required for effective learning?

Introduction

Over the past two decades, the role of academic success coaches has emerged as a unique and valuable asset in higher education. Borrowing from business practices like talent planning and executive coaching, success coaching is focused on helping students navigate academic and personal challenges to improve retention and overall success.

The University of Utah is a prime example of this approach’s effectiveness. Personalized coaching has significantly boosted retention for Pell-eligible students from 75% to 93% and first-generation students from 77% to 84%. Overall retention reached 99%, with the most significant improvements among students with lower GPAs and those still exploring their majors.

In Fall 2024, the university plans to assign a success coach to every incoming student, further demonstrating the impact of coaching on student outcomes. This growing trend shows how success coaches are transforming student experiences and helping them succeed academically.

Who are student success coaches?

• Success coaching focuses on several parts of a student’s life that influence their path.
• Success coaching is described as “assisting students in making the most of their college experience and working through their concept of success.”
• The success coach’s mission is to “assist students in identifying resources to enhance their college experiences.”
• Students collaborate with success coaches to design and implement personal, career, and academic objectives.
• Success coaches provide students encouragement and assistance as they continue to write their stories while attending university.
• Coaches conduct purposeful and strategic inquiries about the student’s experiences to develop a tailored plan that focuses on their current and future objectives.

How does student success coaching work?

Success coaching has become a widely used type of assistance that several institutions, including Georgia Tech, Arizona State University, Old Dominion University, the University of Denver, Clemson University, and the University of Washington, employ to provide comprehensive support to their students.

Students are contacted by the student success coach via email, text, social media, and phone calls. Following the initial contact, the student meets with their coach to establish goals that the student will work toward. Each student meeting is unique based on the kid’s requirements.

The following is an example of an appointment structure:

1. The coach will present themselves and describe what coaching is and their position entails.
2. Students will talk about why they picked the institution, their major, where they are meeting (home, apartment, dorm, etc.), and get to know the Success Coach better.
3. Coaches will go over the emphasis areas with the student and decide whichever one they would like to target during the meeting.
4. The coaches will also have a strategic discussion with the student regarding their area of concentration.
5. The Coach and the student will collaborate to determine the best course of action and to set goals for the student.

The Student Success Program follows a holistic support strategy, empowering students to:

1. Assess the obstacles to academic success objectively.
2. Set achievable educational objectives.
3. Create and stick to pleasant daily habits.
4. Improve your time management and organizational abilities.
5. Improve self-esteem and self-advocacy abilities.
6. Create individualized study plans.
7. Make an effort to become an active learner and class participant.
8. Take good lecture notes.
9. Exams, quizzes, and presentations must all be prepared for.
10. Maintain a balance between academic and social obligations.
11. Develop relationships with instructors and critical campus partners.
12. Utilize and construct campus support systems.

Some questions to consider for universities considering adopting a student success coaching program are:

1. Do you already have procedures to launch a coaching program, or would you have to start from scratch?
2. Do you need to hire new employees? Do you have any existing employees who can fill a coach’s job?
3. What financial limits must you consider?
4. Who should be engaged in the design and execution of coaching?
5. Do you wish to cater to specific student groups or all students?
6. What departments will be impacted by this initiative?
7. Who are your prospective detractors, and who are your supporters?
8. Find individuals who will support your plan and campaign for it. Use your champions to persuade your detractors.
9. Do you have the support of upper management?
10. Maintain the importance of this endeavor at the forefront of the program’s or project’s the development and implementation.

Benefits of student success coaches

1. Make it to graduation: In collaboration with the counselor, the success coach will assist students in meeting their educational criteria to graduate. They will assist students in registering for classes, and if students are considering altering their major or minor, the success coach will assist them in determining all of their possibilities.
2. Connect to valuable resources: Your success coach can link you to the appropriate school resources if you have any queries regarding financial assistance, scholarships, or work-study options.
3. Navigate college life: The success coach may help students develop objectives, improve their organizational skills, register for classes, drop a class, use WebAdvisor or Blackboard, and even cope with test stress.
4. Make the most out of the college experience: Students at colleges have access to a plethora of options. There is something here for everyone, whether it’s getting engaged in a registered student group, taking on a leadership role like a commissioner or a resident assistant job, enrolling in a leadership training program, or deciding where to study away or abroad. Students might benefit from the assistance of a success coach in learning about all of the options available at colleges.
5. Prepare for life after college: A success coach may assist students in putting together a CV, starting a job search, polishing their LinkedIn page, and setting some realistic goals for after graduation.
6. Talk through things: Students can rely on their success coach to be attentive listeners. They may discuss any issues or difficulties with them and celebrate their victories and achievements.

Conclusion

1. The goal of success coaches is not to train specialists in learning or even in childhood socio-emotional development; instead, it is to equip adults with the skills they need to establish a secure and positive environment in which children may learn.
2. According to Poonam Borah of the Forum for Youth Investment, “young people require a healthy emotional environment that transmits warmth and respect, promotes mutual accountability, and demonstrates active involvement.”
3. Borah believes it is critical to “start with ourselves and our self-awareness to develop successful coaches.”
4. This entails performing the problematic work of wrestling with our social identities and how components of our identities like race, class, gender, and ability shape how we engage with students.
5. To form excellent and trustworthy connections with youngsters, successful coaches must become more aware of the complexities of power and personality to create an accessible and culturally appropriate coaching environment.