OHIO leaders, staff, faculty gather to discuss student success

Earlier this summer, administrators and staff took advantage of the change in the academic rhythm to examine OHIO’s efforts to foster student success during the first Student Success Summit.

The summit, a collaborative effort by the Division of Student Affairs, the Division of Diversity and Inclusion, the Center for Advising, Career and Experiential Learning, and University College, provided an opportunity for staff and faculty to share experiences, examine best practices, and discuss future goals to advance collective efforts to bolster student success. 

“The summit is about showcasing and celebrating those things we are doing to support student success, aligning our efforts and nourish student success,” said Dr. Carey Busch, interim vice provost for student success. “This is an opportunity to pause and think about how we align and orient our work to increase retention, persistence, graduation rates, and post-graduation outcomes.”

Presentations at the summit included topics such as ways to engage students to foster belonging, career readiness, ability for AI to support student success, and empowering students in pursuit of their own success.

Dr. Kristen Renn, dean of undergraduate education and Mildred B. Erickson Distinguished Chair and Professor of Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education at Michigan State University, served as the event’s keynote speaker. Renn discussed “Closing Opportunity Gaps: focusing on institution and its responsibility for supporting students.”

“Collaborating is about more than programs. It acknowledges interconnectedness and builds synergy, requires organizational alignment. It centers and values student success over sub-organizational identities and territory,” Renn said.

Renn provided examples of barriers to student success, presented case studies, and shared strategies for addressing the barriers.

As the summit concluded, Busch and Dr. David Nguyen, University College dean, discussed how the organizers plan to continue the work discussed at the summit.

“Today was a starting point,” Nguyen said.  “Moving forward, we will come together in an intentional and collaborative way. We will build on the incredible work already taking place at Ohio University.”

Specifically, the focus moving forward includes:

• Support systemic changes by reducing friction in systems and align policies practices and values to reduce the barriers
• Find ways across different divisions to come together periodically and assess the work and systems in place or created
• Create strong systemic experiences to benefit that system
• Come back together on the next steps to create the system to move the work forward.

“More than one unit or one entity responsible for student success,” Busch said. “As a university, we have an inherent belief that every student we admit we believe in their success. And we each have a responsibility in helping them succeed.”