Student Success
Depending on where you look or who you’re talking with, student success has many definitions. Historically, it was often viewed as student retention, graduation rates, academic achievement, or student advancement. But here at WVU, our students are more important than retention or graduation numbers, and student success incorporates far more than just academic success.
"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated." - Robert Collier
We believe student success incorporates the whole person and that student progress has as much to do with socioemotional, physical, and financial factors as it does with intellectual skills. This is reflected in the WVU mission statement as we commit to “prosperity for all” and “creating a diverse and inclusive environment”. We see this across campus in student programming for health and wellness; diversity, equity, and inclusion; academic support; food insecurity; recovery; and more. We recognize that college students are new adults finding their place in the world, with lives outside of the classroom that ultimately impact their success in the classroom.
As instructors, we can promote student success by prioritizing student engagement, learning, and progress towards student’s own goals - both inside and outside our classrooms. And while there are many factors related to a student’s ability to complete a course or program that we cannot address, we can refer students to countless campus resources for help.
TLC Recommended Reading
Research into how we learn can help facilitate better student learning—if
we know how to apply it. Small Teaching fills the gap in higher education
literature between the primary research in cognitive theory and the classroom
environment.
Read more...
View Small Teaching on Amazon