Morgan State University, a flagship HBCU in Maryland, has been working closely with Georgia State University for almost a decade. Through this relationship, Morgan State has focused on replicating a number of student success programs developed at Georgia State and has seen overall increases in enrollment, retention, progression, and graduation rates. Morgan State was one of four institutional partners with Georgia State from 2017-2019 as part of a grant provided by the SunTrust Foundation to focus on strengthening financial wellness through the use of analytics and proactive outreach to students. Morgan State University is also participating in the NISS’s inaugural coaching cohort sponsored by the Truist Foundation.

Weber State University serves as an open access two-year and four-year institution to students in and around the state of Utah. They have the distinction of being the very first client of the National Institute for Student Success, having undergone the diagnostic analysis and playbook process. The NISS findings were overlaid with Weber State’s latest strategic plan and will assist in creating a focus on data-driven decision-making processes that provide optimized support to students in need.

The NISS and NCCU project teams identified key challenges in year-to-year progression after the first-year, inconsistent advising supports across the campus, and a lack of systematic processes to support financial wellness. The NISS team provided important, data-informed recommendations around strengthening supports for students to review and select as they transitioned between majors, a more focused and coordinated approach to financial aid through collaboration and proactive outreach to students, and the systematized use of academic data to identify and direct more resources to courses with high non-pass rates, limited availability, or inadequate academic supports.

The NISS partnered with the Detroit Chamber of Commerce to conduct diagnostic analyses on select Detroit Drives Degrees (D3C3) program participants. The NISS team provided Oakland Community College with important recommendations around use of academic data to identify courses with high DFW rates, structured learning opportunities to connect academic programs to career possibilities and strengthening of financial aid services through heightened collaboration with other enrollment services units.

Cowley Community College plays an important role in their region, not only by awarding associate’s degrees, but also by helping many of its students transfer to four-year institutions or find employment opportunities across a range of careers. The NISS worked with Cowley to identify key areas for sustained success, including real-time identification of stop-out students, as well as an enhanced standardization of academic advising and the creation of structured pathways to better guide students into and throughout their first year of study.

In 2019, SSU undertook a substantial revision to its advising model, shifting to a fully professional academic advising structure across the entire undergraduate cycle. As a diagnostic partner, the NISS focused on challenges in academic support for first-year students, enhanced guidance for financial and career services, and great utilization of student outcome data to deliver much needed academic and institutional supports for its student population. Key recommendations included expanded access and utilization of data across the university, improved structured pathways for students in their first year and beyond, and a more coordinated communications strategy to prioritize and direct information to students in a timely, proactive, and personalized manner.

University of Missouri, Columbia, the flagship, land-grant institution located in Columbia, Missouri, worked with the NISS from May until September 2023 through the Diagnostic & Playbook service. While Mizzou has done great work in student success, they knew there was still more work to be done to help better serve their students. Mizzou was able to identify key challenges that are institutional barriers to their overall success rates and they co-constructed with NISS coaches a set of goals to overcome those barriers to help close their success gaps in retention and graduation rates. Moving forward, Mizzou will focus on areas of focus Mizzou improving internal and student-facing communications, streamlining advising processes and procedures, improving first-year support, and refining outcome data around courses to better support students academically.

Average Percentage Point Increase Between Fall 2021 and Fall 2024 Retention Rates

The NISS’s first group of partner institutions—seven public universities in the University System of Georgia, including three HBCUs—launched the 5-month Diagnostic and Playbook process in 2021 and have had more than two years to implement their Playbook recommendations, most with formal coaching support from the NISS.

All seven institutions saw significant gains in retention rates over the last three years, with improvements ranging from 3.1 to 17.7 percentage points.  The average three-year gain of 10.2 points realized by NISS partners was almost five times higher than the 2.1-point gain seen by public universities nationally.

Source: USG by the Numbers Retention Rate Reports

The NISS now has three years of outcome data for its initial cohort of partner institutions in Georgia. The first-time freshman retention gains realized by these partners have averaged 2.5 times the change for institutions in the USG that were not NISS partners. Retention rates have improved across the cohort each year. ​While partner retention rates began below their peers at 64.6%, rates surged by 10.2 percentage points to 74.8% in just three years.

Source: 2019-2020, IPEDS; 2021-2024, USG by the Numbers Retention Rate Reports

•  – New Proactive Academic Interventions increased student engagement levels from 27% to 99%
•  – Redesign of First-Year Experience Course allows students to develop and apply information literacy skills and to engage with their degree program focusing on career growth, campus resources, and the university community
•  – Eagle Engage Program: Connects students intentionally to right-fit co-curricular programs, provides easy links to student/advisor resources, and allows programs to easily invite targeted students to specific events

“We intend to increase retention levels above pre-pandemic record rates by implementing NISS recommended retention initiatives such as adopting predictive analytics, introducing the Keep HOPE Alive program, and developing infrastructure to support coordinated, comprehensive student care. Georgia Southern’s retention goal for 2026, with the guidance and support of the NISS, is 81%!”

Kyle Marrero

President

•  – Redesigned Enrollment 101: Equips students with the tools to navigate enrollment.
•  – Targeted SAP Proactive Coaching: Targeted, data-informed support to help students at risk of losing eligibility for Federal Financial Aid hold on to their Pell Grants and Federal loans.
•  – Advising Redesign: Is helping more students schedule advising appointments and register on time; Group Advising sessions at the Jones Student Center and library have shown a positive impact in retention.
•  – Coordinated Communication Channels: Redesigning the use of email and text messages has played a pivotal role in fostering a more connected and informed student body.
•  – 5.9% One-year increase in overall Fall enrollment

“The implementation of a comprehensive set of strategies has significantly contributed to the improvement of student retention and success within our academic community….By ensuring timely and relevant information reaches students, we have empowered them to make informed decisions about their academic journey, scheduling advising appointments, registering of classes in a timely manner, reducing uncertainty and enhancing their overall experience.”

President Paul Jones and Dr. Timothy Hatchett

The Diagnostic and Playbook process is a 5-month analysis that precedes the formal launch of implementation work. It engages dozens of campus stakeholders, ranging from faculty and student-success staff to the institution’s president and cabinet. NISS partners report that positive changes to their institution’s student-support systems begin during this initial diagnostic phase.

To learn more about our services, please visit our Diagnostic and Playbook services page.

“NISS provided a holistic and data informed assessment of my institution’s current student success strategies. It was a thorough campus-wide effort which supported meaningful dialogue and follow-up….and served as a reminder to everyone involved of the greater good and importance of our collective work.”

Dr. Raymond Clarke

Vice President of Student Affairs Savannah State University

•  – Restructured ADVISING: Centralized management and reporting; Developed advisor dashboards to track engagement and initiatives; Adopted new advising technology
•  – METRICS Dashboard: Resulted in 4% growth in student credit hour intensity 
•  – Early Alerts: 40% of faculty submitted mid-term grades for at least one course, totaling 38% of courses offered (2023)
•  – uHoo Analytics: D2L-based faculty alert system being developed to facilitate student-success interventions during a semester
•  – FLIGHT Program: First-year student engagement and identity program created under student affairs
•  – BLOCK Scheduling: Redesign first-year experience; students select 2 blocks (15-16 credit hours) simplifying registration and ensuring a strong academic start

“Our partnership with the NISS has been a catalyst for change….[There are] six major student success initiatives in progress at KSU that are outcomes of our work with NISS.”

Ivan Pulinkala

Provost