Transform your institution’s approach to student success with the Retention, Persistence, and Student Success Academy. This academy equips your institution with the expertise and tools needed to implement a research-backed, equitable student retention plan designed to minimize disparities and enhance student outcomes. Join us and redefine what student success means for your institution.
At the Gardner Institute, we are driven by a deep commitment to social justice and student success. By participating in the Retention, Persistence, and Student Success Academy, you’ll gain insights and strategies to foster an inclusive environment where every student has the opportunity to succeed. Don’t miss out on the chance to make a lasting impact on your campus community.
Be a catalyst for positive change at your institution by joining us in building a brighter tomorrow where every student has the opportunity to flourish.
Begin work towards understanding and closing retention and persistence gaps at your institution.
Acquire a theoretical and practical background concerning equitable retention and student success . Enhanced understanding of unjust design in higher education. Initiate a student focused analysis of institutional retention and completion evidence that addresses all areas of the institution and students.
Employ a retention framework to identify solutions linked to your student retention analysis
Identify internal resources, address barriers, and suggest needed practices that are in alignment with the Retention Framework.Use your institution’s publicly available Integrated Postsecondary Data System (IPEDS) data to help institutional teams see disaggregated outcomes for your students.
Institutional teams receive data visualizations that allow them to compare their own outcomes to those of their identified institutional peers as well as to examples from institutions that have a similar enrollment profile.
Peer comparison cohort so they can speedily explore themselves in relation to their peer institutions and student success
Our team is dedicated to supporting institutions in developing and implementing plans that work in their unique context. We provide guidance on establishing your team, offer feedback throughout the plan-to-plan process, and support implementation to promote sustained student retention.
An experienced and dedicated Gardner Institute team of facilitators will guide and lead the Academy.
Draft an Equity in Student Success Mission statement for your institution.
Understand what shapes inequities in student outcomes and equity in student success
Find and understand the quantitive and qualitative evidence that shape your campus climate and impact equity in evidence.
Identify the people, principles, and evidence needed to plan for equity in student success at your institution.
Fees are based on undergraduate enrollment as determined by College Navigator. Fees are assessed per institution, not per individual
Undergraduate Enrollment:
Applications are currently being accepted for the Fall 2024 cohort. You can apply at this link.
Applicants are accepted on a rolling basis; subject to approval. Early registration is recommended. Applications for the Fall 2024 Cohort should be completed by October 16, 2024.
• Academic Affairs
• Student Affairs
• Enrollment Management
• Institutional Research
• Financial Aid Services
• Student Success
• Faculty
• Advisors
• Students
Your Institution has the option to create a team or utilize an existing team or committee. The individuals will vary by institution, a successful team is one most likely to design and create an equity-focused retention process at your institution.
The Academy will be held October 22-November 19, 2024. The synchronous meetings last 90 minutes.
Dates to be announced.
Depending on the size of your team and how the work is divided we estimate approximately 3 -5 hours per person per week for the 5-week Academy.
You will receive an application confirmation email within 1 week of applying. An agreement will be sent to the person completing the application. Once the agreement has been signed you will receive further information from the Academy facilitators. Please contact info@gardnerinstitute.org
The academy is divided into the following four core content modules and an introductory overview:
Module 0: Start Here – Introduction
Module 1 Developing an Antiracist and Equitable Retention Mission
Module 2: Causes of Attrition/Inequities in Retention
Module 3: Analyzing Your Retention/Attrition Evidence through an Anti-racist/Anti-poverty Lens
Module 4: Connecting Evidence to Interventions: Creating Your Equitable Retention Planning Process
Module 5: Developing/Presenting Your Equitable Institutional Planning Process
This process will help your team work through data. You will be able to to compare your student retention with other similar institutions and discover inequitable patterns at your institution.
"The Equity in Retention Academy came at just the right time for us to have equity built in from the start and now it is a given when we talk about the retention of students. You need to do it, everyone needs to do it and the academy gave us a platform and a schedule and a way to start doing it. The task is so huge and there's a lot to answer but having the academy as a starting point was a way to get the ball rolling."
Dr. Alexandra Fitts
Vice Provost and Accreditation Liaison Officer, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
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The Gardner Institute’s Equity in Retention Academy has undergone rebranding and will now be known as the Retention, Persistence, and Student Success Academy.
This change reflects our evolving mission and comprehensive approach to support transformation through student success, retention, and persistence for all students.
