Provide Essential Academic and Career Support to Students
This audit page is reflective of one section of a larger 360-degree audit.
Return to the Main PageLow-income, underrepresented, international, and first-generation students may be especially struggling as they pivot to learning and academic planning in a remote environment.
During this period of heightened instability and uncertainty, some students may decide they need to pause their education, international students may face new challenges with visa requirements or travel, and students will be highly vulnerable as they graduate into an economic crisis.
Though students are no longer on campus, institutions must be proactive about identifying struggling students and connecting them with the resources and support they need to be successful.
Is my institution prepared to deliver academic and career support to students, including those graduating into an economic crisis?
Use this audit to evaluate the policies and practices in place at your institution to support historically underserved students. Please note, across the entire audit, “student success staff” refers to any individual charged with supporting students and may include advisors, financial aid staff, or student workers.
Consider which practices your institution has already adopted as you go through the statements below. If many of the statements are not reflective of your institution’s current practices, we recommend you focus your efforts in this area by downloading the PDF or sharing this page with colleagues to start implementing change on your campus.
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Provide Essential Advising and Registration Support
Quick wins
See EAB’s expert advice, read this case study, and watch this webinar
All emergency grant applicants are Student success staff have optimized virtual advising by scheduling a series of short, focused appointments to engage in academic planning or connect students with needed support services.
See EAB’s expert advice and watch this video on virtual advising
Student transcripts will include a marker for terms affected by COVID-19 so future employers and educators are aware of the disruption.
Learn more about evaluation and grading policies
Our institution has introduced a non-letter (or non-numerical) grading system to ensure student degree progression and have enabled advisors to help students make informed decision about their grading choices.
See EAB guidance on revising grading policies
Our institution has excluded terms and courses affected by COVID-19 from academic standing calculations to prevent penalizing students for unavoidable conflicts and stressors.
Read section two of this resource for more information
Our institution has adjusted deadlines for major declaration and dropping courses to allow students more time to consider important academic progress decisions.
Read section three of this resource for more information
Longer-term strategies
See how you can track LMS activity, triage student outreach, and strategically deploy staff
Learn about on-time degree plans and promoting timely degree completion
Create re-approach campaigns, engage stop-out students, and help update academic plans
Learn how to encourage re-enrollment and registration
Our institution has developed a coordinated care network of faculty, mental health counselors, tutoring staff, and advisors with procedures in place to facilitate information sharing and ensure holistic support.
See EAB’s expert advice and this webinar with implementation guides
Meet Students’ Academic and Career Support Needs
Quick wins
Use these templates developed by the University of Virginia
Our career services office has moved upcoming career fairs and other employer engagement opportunities to a virtual environment.
See section three and four of EAB’s expert advice and learn from the University of Toronto Scarborough
Our career services office has created a one-stop self-service resource page to promote career development opportunities and resources students can use to learn new skills.
Learn more from Boise State University, University of Virginia, and University of South Florida, St. Petersburg
Our career services office has enlisted volunteer support from alumni to conduct virtual resume reviews, identify internship and job opportunities, mentor students, and share career journeys.
Our institution is proactively doing outreach to graduating students/new alumni to identify where they are in their job search and how we can best help.
Our career services office actively seeks out alumni and employers with different backgrounds and identities to participate in career services events.
Be sure to consider race, gender, sexual orientation, industry, and geographic location
Longer-term strategies
Learn more from Wayne State University
Learn more about improving peer-to-peer support programs
See EAB’s expert advice and learn more about virtual internships
Our career services office provides guidance on professional dress and access to no-cost or discounted professional clothing for students participating in interviews.
Learn more from UNC Charlotte
Our institution is proactively doing outreach to graduating students/new alumni to identify where they are in their job search and how we can best help.
Learn more from Claremont McKenna College and work with your advancement office to help secure and sustain grant funding
To capture your responses and complete the implementation planning exercises, download the full 360-Degree Student Equity Audit.
This resource requires EAB partnership access to view.
Access the tool
Learn how you can get access to this resource as well as hands-on support from our experts through Strategic Advisory Services.
Learn More