College success advising used to take place over in-person meetings and by phone. But between video chats and texting, more informal ways of communicating have become mainstays of advising in recent years. These channels are often less intimidating for students, not to mention more convenient, making it easier than ever for students to share feedback or reach out when they need support. Social […]
Does your approach to text messaging make it easier for you to do your job? College success advisors are often stretched thin, but texting campaigns can help increase student engagement with your program and even connect you with the information you need to provide effective support. Text messages are easily tailored to different student segments, […]
Throughout the past year, there have been sharp changes in students’ needs, expectations and priorities that have forced higher ed institutions and college success programs to rethink their approaches to supporting and engaging students. Heading into a new academic year, there is now a huge opportunity to embrace new models of learning and engagement, blending […]
Every touchpoint with a student has the potential to impact their level of engagement, and that starts with the onboarding process. Your earliest interactions may have an outsized impact as students develop an understanding of where you fit into their future plans. From the start, it’s important to focus on the relationship-building that will serve […]
When a student is struggling in college, it can take a lot of courage to ask for help. It’s not easy to overcome insecurities and self-doubt to admit that their grades are suffering. Financial difficulties, mental health struggles, and family problems can leave a student feeling vulnerable. Whatever the challenges they are facing, their college […]
Many college students are feeling isolated this school year, whether they are navigating strict coronavirus protocols on campus or tuning into virtual classes from far away. Particularly for first-year college students, this year presents a huge challenge for persistence amid practical challenges and personal upheaval. While in-person meet-ups are off the table, it’s more important […]
In response to COVID-19, many colleges are shifting commencement ceremonies to virtual events, if not postponing indefinitely or canceling them altogether. After all their hard work through college, students graduating this semester may never have the opportunity to wear their cap and gown or walk across the graduation stage. It’s easy to imagine the disappointment […]
From campus closures to virtual learning, to the emotional toll of these uncertain times, it would be difficult to overstate the impact of COVID-19 on our college students. There was certainly no playbook for those supporting students through these unprecedented circumstances, but we’ve been inspired to see so many organizations rise to the challenge to […]
For organizations supporting college persistence, nudges by text message have been heralded as a potential gamechanger. Early on, programs like Georgia State and uAspire demonstrated encouraging results in reducing summer melt and engaging students along the college journey, with Georgia State attributing a 22 percent reduction in students lost to summer melt to a texting […]
Are you still trying to reach your students by email, or worse, by phone? It turns out, actual phone calls are going the way of the carrier pigeon – nearly 3 out of 4 Gen Z and Millennials prefer to connect by text message. And while some things have to be communicated by email, there’s […]