Sharing Successes and Solutions to Challenges in Student Success and Equity

Althea Counts, TRIO Programs Director, University of South Carolina

This newsletter is the first in a series and introduces the TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) Professional Learning Community (PLC). Convened in August 2022 by the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, the participants of the SSS PLC took part in a series of online and virtual engagements and a one-day symposium to facilitate meaningful connections and conversations between colleagues.

About the Advising Success Network

The Advising Success Network (ASN) is a dynamic network of five organizations partnering to engage institutions in holistic advising redesign to advance success for Black, Latino/a/x, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander students and poverty-affected students. The network develops services and resources to guide institutions in implementing evidence-based advising practices to advance a more equitable student experience to achieve our vision of a higher education landscape that has eliminated race and income as predictors of student success. The ASN is coordinated by NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, and includes Achieving the Dream, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, EDUCAUSE, NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising, and the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.

Participants

To solicit participation in the Student Support Services (PLC), an invitation went out to higher education institutions that host these programs. The invitation framed the PLC as an exchange site for framing, learning, and sharing best practices to maximize advising effectiveness within TRIO SSS programs and outlined the timeframe and proposed topics for each engagement. The selected topics for each engagement were flexible, allowing participants to guide the focus of our conversations. Engagement opportunities were offered over an 11-month period, August 2022 through July 2023, and included a daylong symposium with monthly virtual and online sessions. ASN grant funding supported travel scholarships for one representative from each institution to participate in the symposium. A course management system, Blackboard, served as a medium to share PLC content, share ideas, and model development.

Participants were involved in molding the PLC by sharing best practices in various forms, including presenting a workshop at the daylong symposium and through monthly online sessions, institutional case studies, and reflective narrative write-ups. All engagements highlighted advising work that serves as a tool for student success and equity.

The 30 participants selected for the Student Support Services PLC represent a diverse group of institutions—public, private, two-year, and four-year.

SSS PLC Participants

Michelle Bair, Virginia Commonwealth University

Jacquelyn Banks, Atlanta Metropolitan State College

Chimene Boone, Virginia Commonwealth University

Amanda Brobst-Renaud, Valparaiso University

Kenneth Brown, University of Toledo

Leroy Burroughs, Central State University

Frank Campos, Florida State University

Dr. Caroline W. Canty, York Technical College

Dr. Felita Carr, Johnston Community College

Moira Chacon, Florida International University

Geoffrey Colbert, Prince George’s Community College

Ivanna (Ivy) Colon, University at Buffalo

Dr. Pinkney Epps, University of South Carolina

Danny Giles, Virginia State University

Kimberly Gorman, University of Connecticut

Deatra Greene, University of Cincinnati

Leilani Harjati, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Amber James, Tyler Junior College

Berenice Jau, UC San Diego

Carissa Johnson, Anoka-Ramsey Community College

Kevin Johnson, St. Thomas University

Keyo Johnson, Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University

Jennifer Miller, McKendree University

Karen Mobley, Piedmont Technical College

LaTasha Nix, T. A. Lawson State Community College Birmingham

LaQuita Parker, Northwest Mississippi Community College

Cassandra Smith, Atlanta Metropolitan State College

Ebony Smith, University of South Carolina Upstate

Passion Studivant, Old Dominion University

Danielle Ward, Lone Star College-Kingwood

The variety in institution type fostered an environment that produced a valuable exchange of ideas and practices.

Engagements

All opportunities to engage in the Student Support Services PLC were provided through monthly online or virtual sessions, in addition to the in-person symposium. The National Resource Center sponsored and hosted all activities. In October 2022, participants traveled to the symposium in Atlanta, Georgia, which was co-located with the National Resource Center’s 29th National Conference on Students in Transition. The online sessions were recorded and posted on Blackboard for later viewing.

Professional Learning Community

Recruitment of participants began with soliciting higher education professionals who directed or had responsibility for SSS programs on their campuses. Information was also posted in the SSS private Facebook group.

The five monthly virtual engagements gave participants an opportunity to build community. Although all participants work with TRIO Student Support Services programs, except for two participants, the PLC served as an introduction to the TRIO SSS work. TRIO programs are located at various higher education institutions nationwide.

Virtual engagements allowed participants to showcase programming and best practices used in their SSS programs while introducing them to new content. Those sessions included the following:

• An initial meeting in August 2022 outlined the Student Support Services PLC purpose and expectations, with the overarching goals of the Advising Success Network.

• The September 2022 engagement outlined PLC options for deliverables. Participants could submit case studies, narrative reflections, or plans to engage administrators with the SSS programs on their campuses.

• In October, participants attended the daylong symposium and the 29th National Conference on Students in Transition in Atlanta, Georgia.

• At the symposium, participants were given a book that would be the focus of a virtual book club engagement in November 2022. Authors Dr. Amy Baldwin and Dr. Bryce Bunting facilitated an exuberant discussion featuring their book, Promoting Belonging, Growth Mindset, and Resilience to Foster Student Success.

• Karen Mobley, Director of the Student Support Services program at Piedmont Technical College in Greenwood, South Carolina, led a Diversity Dialogues discussion in January 2023. The session focused on techniques to foster difficult conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• In March 2023, Passion Studivant, Director of Student Support Services at Old Dominion University, facilitated an innovative session on a timely and critical topic for SSS programs, Doing More with Less: Maximizing Resources with Limited Funds.

Symposium

The one-day symposium was held October 2, 2022, the day preceding the start of the 29th National Students in Transition Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. This in-person event served to create a sense of community between participants and a forum to share programs that flourish on their campuses.

Invited speakers included TRIO professionals and administrators for programs that focus on serving first-generation college students. Those speakers included:

• Dr. Charmaine Troy, Associate Director of First-Generation Student Initiatives at Georgia Tech and owner of Troy Education Consulting. Dr. Troy showcased the peer mentoring program at Georgia Tech and its impact on first-generation and limited-income students.

• Mr. Rodney Adams, Associate Vice President for Student Services & Coordinator for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the Technical College of the Lowcountry in Beaufort, South Carolina. Adams presented on Developing a Sense of Belonging for TRIO Students: Campus Initiatives That Work.

The afternoon allowed Student Support Services PLC participants to highlight practices on their campuses through roundtable discussions. The symposium roundtables focused on developing a peer mentoring program, promoting self-advocacy, building a sense of belonging, and developing campus partnerships.

Those presenters and sessions included:

• LaQuita Parker, Northwest Mississippi Community College, Supporting Students on Academic Probation

• Passion Studivant, Old Dominion University, Money Talks: Providing Financial and Economic Literacy Education

• Leilani Harjati, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Building Long-Lasting Partnerships: Exchanging Ideas for Cross-Campus Collaborations

• Moira Lertora Chacon, Florida International University, Helping Our Students Be Career Ready in the 21st Century

• Carissa Johnson, Anoka-Ramsey Community College, Supporting Self-Advocacy in TRIO SSS Participants

• Kimberly Gorman, University of Connecticut, Advising SSS Students for Success in College and Beyond

The opening session was provided by Dr. Jennifer Keup, Executive Director of the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. The closing was provided by Althea Counts, Executive Director of TRIO Programs at the University of South Carolina.

Publications Staff

Lauren Writer, Reviewer

Jamil Johnson, Reviewer

Todd Money, Copyeditor

Krystal Reynolds, Project Manager

Stephanie McFerrin, Graphic Artist

Jennifer Keup, Executive Director