Reimagining the Student Experience

Students’ overwhelming desire to connect and belong can serve as a guiding light for college leaders seeking to reshape the student experience. The goal: to make students’ time on campus more engaging, more worthwhile, and more successful.

As more colleges seek to raise graduation and retention rates and counteract declining enrollment trends, it has become clear that to make meaningful strides in student success, they must look at the whole student. That means colleges are taking on more responsibilities than ever, often with leaner budgets: They’re helping first-generation students navigate the mysteries of financial aid. Figuring out which students might need assistance finding affordable housing, enough food, a loaner laptop, a bus pass. Connecting students with faculty and peer advisers who can guide them through the hard work of figuring out who they are and what they want to do. Laying the groundwork for academic achievement by showing a genuine interest in students’ lives.