A new compilation from Inside Higher Ed offers practical strategies for bridging the gap between what institutions think the student journey looks like and the actual experience of navigating college as a student. “Designing a Connected Campus: From Enrollment to Graduation” makes the case that colleges and universities can no longer afford not to share data across teams, coordinate approaches and strive for a unified, institutionwide view of the student. Institutional case studies start to map this essential change, organized around four imperatives:
Student success systems can’t operate in isolation.Connect recruitment, advising and campus support into a cohesive strategy. Reduce duplication and hand off breakdowns across teams. Create a unified, institutionwide view of the student.
Inside Higher Ed’s own annual survey of more than 5,000 two- and four-year undergraduates indicates that eight in 10 rate the quality of education they’re getting as good or excellent. That’s up from closer to seven in 10 students a year earlier. Yet the same survey indicates that it’s factors outside the classroom that most impact students’ academic success: Their top reported barriers are financial constraints (e.g., tuition and living expenses), needing to work while attending college, and mental health challenges.
