Driving student success through personalization

Many higher education institutions continue to measure success through the lens of what is best for the traditional undergraduate student who enrolled for a face-to-face academic journey right out of high school. In many cases, conventional institutional metrics for success have been based on serving the needs of those students, placing a heavy emphasis on retention and graduation rates. However, this may not be the way of the future.

Increasingly, institutions are aiming to serve older learners who view college educations differently. For them, the college experience may not be about dorms and campus life; they may want an experience that is more transactionally based, exchanging money for courses that help them pursue their next promotion or find their next job. These students may not take a full course load and often take a semester off as they balance work, home, and educational needs. Institutions must think about how their retention tactics differ for these students.

The University of Mary, for example, supports roughly 3,800 students, of which half are traditional students and half are pursuing accelerated or distance programs. The university uses a variety of digital strategies specific to the different segments of its student body to support students as they strive to meet their academic goals. Let’s look at some of the lessons learned and unique strategies that the University of Mary applies to support retention and student success.