HOW DO YOU DEFINE STUDENT SUCCESS?

Jeff Vermeulen Assistant Vice President for External Relations, Executive Director, J.D. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship and York College’s Knowledge Park

For me, defining student success is not a “one-size-fits-all” exercise. Since every student is different and on their own unique educational journey, it would not be possible to gauge what success means for one versus what it might mean for another. That said, commonalities exist among successful students across academic disciplines, student interests, and educational pathways. Those commonalities, in my opinion, begin and end with a student becoming a more engaged scholar and citizen. While there is no playbook for what engagement and responsible citizenship may look like for anyone individually, those students who invest the time and energy in one or more of the opportunities afforded to them by YCP to find themselves, their people, and their purpose tend to be among the most successful students, who invariably find themselves poised for success post-graduation.

“Students who invest the time and energy in one or more of the opportunities afforded to them by YCP to find themselves, their people, and their purpose tend to be among the most successful.”  — JEFF

Perri B. Druen, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology

I have two daughters on the precipice of attending college, so student success is on my mind. What do I want them to get out of their college experience?

Fundamentally, students succeed if they have built skills for a fulfilling life—a life of internal integrity and one in which they can make valuable contributions to others. I would ask: did they confront challenges and in so doing, develop courage and fortitude? Did those challenges build so they came to tolerate ambiguity and learn the importance of continued discovery? Were they given the support they needed to examine their principles deeply, and then to stand on those principles while remaining open? Were their experiences varied enough that they can appreciate diverse views and recognize the strength that comes from harmonizing many voices? We already have York College in mind, because I know my children will have these opportunities here!

Beverly Ehinger Evans

Assistant Dean for Career Development

Many look to numbers, awards, and great stories when thinking about student success. While these can be valuable, I believe student success is about developing a better understanding of who you are and then beginning to determine who you want to become—inside and outside of the classroom, personally, and professionally. Being successful takes daily, weekly, and monthly steps that each student defines and it absolutely includes using all of the opportunities, resources, services, and people on campus to help you along the way as you experience, reflect, explore, and set your own path. The amazing thing about York College is that it is filled with all of these things, and most importantly filled with the people that will coach, challenge, support, and celebrate with you along the way as you define student success for yourself. College is about learning and figuring out what that learning means to you, and I thoroughly enjoy accompanying students on that journey.