There is no standard curriculum or approach that applies for everyone; instead, the coaching is personalized to each student’s needs. Coaches ask questions about different aspects of students’ lives, including their career goals, financial concerns, and their level of engagement on campus. Then, coaches ask: What’s the most important thing we should focus on in this conversation, so that you leave with a few steps to move forward?
“A lot of students think they don’t need help,” says Rainey. “Our message is that this is about enhancing your experience and getting the most out of your time.” Student goals range from improving their GPA to meeting someone new—or even exploring the city.
“Our intent is to keep them on a path to graduation, but we know that so many other factors are part of that journey. So, the space is really for any of those conversations to take place.”
An immediate payoff
Before the student coaching program was in place, the university’s retention rate from a student’s first to second year averaged just under 80 percent. This fall, 85 percent of students returned for their second year—an all-time high for the university.
“That’s a jump of 5 percentage points in a year,” Rainey says. “I attribute a lot of this success to student coaching.”
Related: Can coaching help college presidents to cope?
Coaching all first-year students marks a shift in mindset, but officials have found that it’s “significantly more effective” to offer services to everyone up front.
“We’re teaching students how to solve problems and advocate for themselves, so if there is a stumble, that support is already in place,” says Rainey. “It’s a different way of talking to students that builds autonomy and helps them succeed. Often, students know what they need to do. You just have to ask the right questions to help them pull that out for themselves.”
A former eCampus News editor, Dennis Pierce is now a freelance writer with more than 20 years of experience in writing about educational innovation.
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