The Office of the Provost has officially launched its Student Success Initiative, which broadly aims to close opportunity gaps between groups of students, such as four- and six-year graduation rates, as well as provide a more holistic experience for students.
The initiative is the product of recommendations from the Initiative Planning Group on Student Academic Success, whose final report has guided the initiative’s development since being charged by Provost Laurie McCauley in 2023.
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The Initiative Planning Group on Student Academic Success included creating an inaugural vice provost for undergraduate education position to lead student success efforts on campus. Angela Dillard has served in the role since January 2024 and coordinated the initiative’s programming pre-launch.
“Realizing these institutional goals is a shared responsibility across the multiple roles that affect the student experience,” Dillard told nearly 100 campus leaders at a launch event Feb. 24. “It includes U-M faculty and staff at all levels and requires engaging in holistic and collaborative approaches, working for and with students to promote well-being, academic achievement and the joy of learning.”
In remarks at the launch event, Provost Laurie McCauley emphasized the importance of data-driven and evidence-based practices in closing opportunity gaps in metrics like four- and six-year graduation rates. While graduation rates are high for students overall, not all students graduate by year four, which can affect affordability.
In pre-launch work, working groups and project teams have focused on early momentum, which encourages students to maintain a full credit load during their first year; strengths-based approaches to academic advising and coaching; and new educational technologies to promote success, especially for first-year students.
The initiative begins with five projects:
- An early momentum partnership with the Center for Academic Innovation.
- Academic advising and coaching co-led with the U-M Advising Council.
- STEM success drawing on resources from the College of Engineering and LSA.
- Emergency funding coordination bringing together CEW+, the Dean of Students, and the Office of Financial Aid.
- Strengthening college-to-career pathways with campus career services professionals.
Future projects will include course demand and registration work with the Registrar’s Office and the Office of Enrollment Management, and early momentum designed for transfer students.
The Center for Research on Teaching and Learning will collaborate with faculty members and departments on pedagogies aimed at decreasing drop/fail/withdrawal rates in gateway courses. The initiative’s first phase will also focus on “data democratization” to make real-time data accessible to faculty, advisers and coaches.
These projects incorporate evidence-based approaches from the national student success movement and ongoing research. Analysis by U-M’s Analytics for Student Success and Equity Transformation, or ASSET, team is available on their website. Community members can join the Student Success Network for monthly newsletters, project updates and research findings.
“Removing barriers to access so students can experience everything a Michigan education has to offer takes a coordinated ecosystem and derives its power from our ability to act in concert across our campus in student-centered ways,” Dillard said.
