student success

Hispanic-serving community colleges targets student success


Pima Community College District partners with Hobsons to provide students with real-time, individualized support

Beginning in Fall of 2017, all 70,000 students enrolled in the Pima Community College District of Tucson, Arizona will have access to Starfish by Hobsons, a technology platform that aims to make it easier to identify academic and career goals, collaborate with advisors and faculty, and make better informed decisions about courses and majors.

“We chose Starfish to have a tool that will help advisors, counselors, and faculty individualize support for students and assess which services and interventions are working,” said Ms. Irene Robles-Lopez, Vice President for Student Development at Pima Community College District. “Our objective is to be more responsive to our students, to help support them at every point in their educational career, and help them reach their goals.”

The Pima Community College District, which is spread over six campuses, the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Education Center, and four community centers, is one of the 10 largest multi-site community colleges in the United States. The District plans to use Starfish to establish important networks of communication across the entire district, allowing instructors, academic counselors, and tutors to collaborate with students – and each other – to provide direct support, and refine their approach in real-time.

Starfish technology is designed to be intuitive for students, who will be able to log in from a mobile phone or computer to get real-time support. Starfish is used by about 250 clients across the country and globally, helping to scale student success programs so that more students can achieve their academic and life goals.

“We know that students arrive to college with hopes and aspirations for their future. Our mission is to help connect the dots between learning and life so success isn’t left to chance,” Stephen M. Smith, President of Advising and Admissions Solutions at Hobsons. “We’re looking forward to working with the administrator, faculty, and advisors at Pima Community College District to provide students with better insight into what academic pathways can lead to achieving their goals.”

Pima Community College District offers both occupational and traditional college courses, and is a designated Hispanic serving institution accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of North Central Association of Schools and Colleges.

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Laura Ascione

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