How Faculty Engagement in Navigate360 Boosted Student Persistence

At Louisville, faculty engagement with progress reports* was inconsistent, largely due to uncertainty about how their feedback was used. Without clear visibility into the impact of their efforts, many viewed the process as an administrative burden. As a result, response rates fluctuated, and many students did not receive feedback.

*Progress Reports are short, structured forms that faculty complete to share updates on a student’s academic performance, attendance, or engagement.

By aligning faculty-facing systems, clarifying the value of their contributions, and offering visible leadership support, Louisville turned progress reports from a compliance task into a tool for scalable student impact. First, the university tackled a major logistical barrier by integrating midterm grading systems. Faculty could enter grades in Blackboard, which synced directly with Navigate360; eliminating redundant data entry and simplifying the process. To increase accountability and reinforce impact, the team developed interactive and user-friendly dashboards that showed how faculty alerts led to advisor meetings, grade improvements, and stronger persistence.

Louisville transformed progress reporting from a check-the-box requirement into a key part of their student support strategy. Faculty engagement became sustainable, not just through reminders, but through visible impact and embedded support. Faculty participation in progress reports hit a record high, more students received feedback, student outcomes improved, and faculty saw the tangible impact of their engagement.