Improving success coaching for college students

As colleges and universities become increasingly aware of the barriers to academic success and completion, providing personalized support and engagement through one-on-one coaching has become a strategy to increase student success.

More than half of colleges and universities (58%) offer success coaching to students, according to a 2023 survey by Tyton Partners.

Success coaches are often specialized staff housed in Student Affairs and trained to support different groups of learners such as first-generation students, minority students, or those on academic probation. These professionals can make a significant difference in the student experience, but only when the coaching is effective and rooted in research.

What is success coaching? A 2014 study sought to understand the emerging role of student success coaches on college campuses and found, through survey data, that the average success coach focuses on a student’s ability to:

• Develop skills,
• Improve performance,
• Plan and set goals, and
• Browse campus resources.

Additionally, coaches provide individualized, ongoing support, but they are distinct from advisors or advisers because they primarily focus on questioning students and identifying areas where other departments could help them with this work .

In recent years, more and more success coaches have acquired the added responsibility of serving as referrals to basic resources, including mental health support or housing, for learners facing external pressures on their academic success. .

Best practices: Inside higher education has compiled seven evidence-based practices that college leaders should consider in their success coaching interventions for maximum impact.

1. Train staff comprehensively. Today’s students experience greater mental health challenges and often turn to staff and faculty members for help with issues in their personal lives. Providing trauma-informed training and creating a supportive work environment can ensure that staff are equipped to meet all of students’ needs without harming their own well-being.
2. Prioritize quality. A November MDRC report found that students’ success scores were linked to their perceptions of the quality of support they received. Students rated quality based on their overall satisfaction, accuracy of information provided, availability of coaches, sufficient time allocated for meetings, and coaches’ follow-up on urgent information.

3. Understand that frequency is important. The MDRC study also found that students who interacted regularly with their coaches, including through in-person and video meetings, phone calls, text messages, emails and social media interactions, accumulated more credits than their peers.
4. Invest in sustainable financing. Many colleges and universities partner with outside groups to assist or provide success coaching, but this may set up temporary services that only last for the duration of the contract, according to a study by InsideTrack. Instead, colleges should find sustainable sources of funding to ensure the continuity of resources needed for this work.
5. Collect student data. Understanding who the learners are and what challenges they may face is key to identifying college needs and readiness, according to InsideTrack. Administrators can collect feedback through surveys or focus groups.
6. Consider data sharing. For colleges that partner with external nonprofit organizations or groups to coach students, sharing institutional data and knowledge can help coaches provide more referrals to campus resources, which impacts student success, according to a report from Success Boston. Therefore, administrators should consider data sharing agreements or the inclusion of coaches on college mailing lists that provide updates on resources, according to the report.
7. Create consistency across the institution. According to research from InsideTrack, coaches should be trained in a shared student support methodology to ensure that students have similar experiences between coaches, aligned with common language and goals.

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