Break down barriers to student success.

Student Success Academy

The Student Success Academy consists of live webinars, on-campus inventories, in-person roundtable retreats and virtual consultations that will help you methodically and holistically approach your student success challenges and opportunities.

In the Academy, you’ll examine four key factors to identify your current realities and discover areas of opportunity for improving student success:

  • Data: Who are your students? What do you know about them?
  • Initiatives: What are you doing to support student success?
  • Infrastructure: How do your processes, policies and procedures affect student success?
  • Engagement: Who is engaged in student success efforts? How is student success promoted and recognized?

HLC is not currently accepting applications to join the Academies, but we open the application each spring. Sign up to be notified when the application opens.

Academy Experience and Fees

Registration for Academy events is included in the annual Academy membership fees. The first year fees must be paid prior to participation in the orientation workshop. Institutions will be invoiced for all subsequent years’ fees on October 1 of each year. 

Engage in an introspection process to promote inquiry and action in areas that factor into the success of your students.

Orientation

A webinar series presented by HLC overviews the Academy’s framework, guidance on building an effective Academy team, and information to prepare your team for the next task.

Populations Inventory

Conduct an inventory of available data on the institution’s student populations conducted together with a survey on perceptions at the institution of what student success means to the institution.

Populations and Initiatives Roundtable

At this in-person, multi-day event, review the Populations Inventory findings in order to identify
factors that correlate with differences in student success.

Initiatives Inventory

Conduct an inventory of current initiatives at your institution supporting student success, the resources they require and their documented impact.

Initiatives and Infrastructure Roundtable

Scholars and facilitators guide the team in analyzing the Initiatives Inventory and provide next steps for the Infrastructure Inventory.

Infrastructure Inventory

Conduct an inventory of your institution’s processes, policies and procedures and consider how they may be inhibiting or promoting student success.

Progress Updates and Responses (ongoing)

Document your findings and plans and receive feedback from your Mentor and Scholar.

Year 1 Membership:
$15,000

Includes:

  • Orientation webinar series
  • Training and assistance with inventories
  • Two in-person roundtable events to facilitate the institutional environmental scan and launch Academy work
  • Online learning and interaction with Academy teams, Mentors and Scholars through SparQ
  • Responses from the Mentor and Scholar to progress updates

Reflect on gaps in knowledge, processes and services and identify opportunities for systematic improvement.

Infrastructure and Engagement Virtual Roundtable

As preparation for the final inventory, Scholars guide teams to analyze the findings from the Infrastructure Inventory. HLC also presents information on how to create institution-wide engagement in student success efforts.

Engagement Inventory

Conduct an inventory of level of engagement in student success among faculty and staff, how engagement is promoted and recognized on campus, and the resources are allocated to support meaningful engagement.

Engagement and Planning Roundtable

Scholars guide teams in analyzing findings from the Engagement Inventory and support teams as they construct and develop their Student Success Plan recommendations.

Second-Year Mentor Consultation

Consult virtually with your Mentor to review information gathered in the inventories and identify challenges and opportunities.

Implementation Webinar

HLC provides direction on creating a Student Success Plan that integrates your strategic priorities.

Student Success Plan

Create a draft plan to address gaps in data, initiatives, infrastructure and engagement that will guide your institution in systematically improving student success.

Year 2 Membership:
$15,000

Includes:

  • Online learning and interaction with Academy teams, Mentors and Scholars through SparQ
  • Responses from the Mentor and Scholar to progress updates
  • In-Depth virtual Mentor Consultation in preparation for drafting the Student Success Plan
  • Ongoing training and assistance with inventories
  • Webinar series presenting research on engagement, planning and implementation

Shift toward implementation and engage in structured, expert-facilitated events tailored to your level of progress.

Optional Program Extension

The Student Success Academy is officially a two-year commitment. Equipped with the skills and strategies to begin implementation of the Student Success Plan, institutions seeking additional support may opt to extend Academy participation to a third year.

The third year is tailored for teams interested in receiving additional support and guidance for the development of the Student Success Plan, its approval by executive leadership, and institution-wide implementation. 

Contact [email protected] for more information about the program extension.

Year 3 Membership:
$3,000

Note: Academy membership covers registration costs for the specified number of team members for each in-person event. Registration for additional attendees, as well as travel costs, are at the institution’s expense.

Financial Assistance

HLC provides a small number of scholarships to participate in the Student Success Academy at half the cost for institutions. HLC will identify these institutions by evaluating the Institutional Update data of applicants regarding enrollment, degrees awarded and CFI findings.

SparQ

SparQ is HLC’s online platform for project management, resource sharing, discussion and discovery, where participants can be inspired by new ideas and build a community of shared learning. In SparQ, your team will build a record of its progress, track improvements and document analysis, and receive Mentor and Scholar feedback.

Academy Teams

Institutions participate by creating teams to attend Academy events and carry out the on-campus activities. A team is made up of five to eight individuals and should include members of the faculty, staff and administration. HLC gives guidance on selecting members and team leaders during orientation.

Each team is assigned a Mentor and a Scholar who provide support for the duration of the Academy experience.