SUCCESS: Supporting Universities and Colleges Creating Equitable Student Success
Summary
SUCCESS is an initiative led by the Governor’s Office, the Illinois Board of Higher Education, the Illinois Community College Board, the Office of Community College Research and Leadership, and the Office for Academic Programs, Student Success, and Effectiveness at UIC. The program provides support to colleges and universities as they implement, refine, and advance institutional practices guided by their 2024-25 Equity Plans, which were created by campuses in response to the campus equity plans and A Thriving Illinois.
The SUCCESS program aims to support colleges and universities to improve institutional performance to close equity gaps, with a focus on students who are traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary education, including but not limited to rural students, first-generation students, low-income students, parent students, racial/ethnic minorities.
The SUCCESS program offers three interconnected threads of organizational learning to support continuous institutional performance improvements:
1. A limited podcast series on effective data use for equity |
2. Three concurrent communities of practice focused on supporting improvements in holistic advising, meeting students’ basic needs, and reducing D’s, F’s, and withdrawal (DFW) rates |
3. Targeted technical assistance for 19 campuses in the spring of 2026 Meet the Equity Champions:
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SUCCESS Policy Briefs
Making Transfer Policies Clear: Strengthening Communication for Illinois Students
Strengthening Transfer Support Beyond the Classroom: Insights from Pre-Transfer Students in Illinois
SUCCESS Podcasts
Piloting and Scaling Strategies to Reduce DFWs in Community Colleges
With guest Avis Proctor and host OiYan Poon
Improving Advising and Wraparound Services to More Effectively Support All Students in their Postsecondary Education Journeys
With guest Lonetta Oliver and host OiYan Poon
On-Track Data System at UIC to Inform Work and Improve Student Success
With guest Lindsey Back and host OiYan Poon.
Effective Data Use for Holistic Advising
With guest James Minor and host OiYan Poon
Investing in and Encouraging Academic Leaders to Reduce DFW Rates to Improve Student Success
With guest Jay Gatrell and host OiYan Poon
The Power of Basic-Needs Support through Benefits Navigator and HOUSE Liaisons
With guests Valerie Lynch and Deana Schenk and host Gianina Baker
Different Frameworks for Understanding Institutional Data and Using Data to Attain Student Success
With guest Nick Branson and host OiYan Poon