Student success is enhanced by a feeling of community and the related connection students have to their faculty, institution and program. The Marriage and Family Therapy program was the first to implement the Foundations Faculty Model back in April of 2012. We decided early in the process that it would be important to our success to provide wrap around services where our students’ needs are viewed from multiple perspectives and from the vantage point of multiple staff and faculty members. This determination led to the creation of the Student Success Summit– a weekly meeting involving academic advisors, core foundations faculty and administrative faculty to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our students.
Here’s how the process works. Every Tuesday morning, this group of staff and faculty convene in a WebEx. Each foundations faculty member involved in the meeting goes through her or his students and discusses obstacles to their success or provides a report of successes the student has enjoyed since the last meeting. Only those students who stand out in either direction are discussed. Academic advisors or administrative faculty members can also share information about any student on the list.
The intent of information sharing is to identify obstacles to success that become the focus of an action plan developed by all participants. By having the various vantage points represented, a detailed and multifaceted plan is created and implemented. This information is then reviewed the next week as new issues are discussed and new plans are made.
The advantages of this process lie in the coordination of services and collaboration among staff. This enhances the consistency of the messages to students and inter-staff support provided to the students. We have seen increased student, faculty and staff satisfaction, plus greater student retention, which supports this innovative approach.
