EAB has identified 15 best practices to help institutions take a hard look at their campus culture and systems to erase institutional performance gaps.
Leadership and Campus Climate
01
Train leaders in effective change management
Formal training on the change management skills necessary to lead the substantial changes required to build an inclusive campus.
02
Provide equity-focused professional development
Dedicated training to develop racial literacy and racial equity problem-solving skills to ensure their continued ability to address and confront harmful policies, practices and cultural norms.
03
Conduct campus climate assessments
Understand student, faculty, and staff perceptions and experiences, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and measure year over year progress on critical initiatives.
Access and Enrollment
04
Expand community-based partnerships
Strengthen collaborations with local and regional CBOs to expand institutional diversity recruitment, enrollment, and retention efforts.
05
Offer second chances for adult learners
Remove barriers to re-enrollment and creating flexible learning environments to enable adult students, including those who were formerly incarcerated, complete their degrees.
Academic Policy and Practices
06
Audit registration holds and revise policies
Participate in registration hold audit of to eliminate or revise those that are unnecessary, obsolete, or burdensome holds that prevent student progression and completion.
07
Offer retention grants for in-need students
Help students stay in school and on path to graduation by offering retention grants.
08
Assess and align math requirements
Align Mathematics to programs and embed them in transferable degree maps shared with participating two- and four-year institutions.
09
Offer college-level gateway courses
Redesign courses to support the placement of students in college-level writing and/or math to ensure timely progression to and through their gateway courses. Â
10
Create undergraduate academic degree maps
Establish clear pathways to timely completion of courses that count, reducing the time (and money) to graduate.
11
Leverage meta-majors to ease student pathways
Develop and implement credit-bearing first-year experience courses designed to provide students broad overviews of specific majors within the meta-major or programs of study.
12
Create pathways for transfer students
Streamline transfer pathways to ensure a seamless and success transfer between institutions.
Student Support and Belongingness
13
Leverage technology for proactive advising
Enable proactive academic advising and allow advisors to focus their attention on students who need their support.
14
Make student care a coordinated effort
Create a Coordinated Care Network across offices such as financial aid, career advising, support services, and counseling centers to easily coordinate and collaborate on appropriate next steps for student support.
15
Foster student belongingness
Evaluate best practices and develop support and response plans to ensure that all students, especially those from underserved backgrounds, feel supported and valued by campus community.
