Driving Towards a Degree: The Evolution of Student Supports in Higher Education

This report follows Tyton Partners’ 2015 two-part series Driving Toward a Degree: The Evolution of Planning and Advising in Higher Education, the 2016 publication Driving Toward a Degree: Establishing a Baseline on Integrated Approaches to Planning and Advising, and the 2017 publication Driving Toward a Degree: The Evolution of Academic Advising in Higher Education. 2019’s publication titled, Driving Toward a Degree: The Evolution of Student Supports in Higher Education, is a two-part series that tracks the progress of student supports redesign from the institutional and supplier perspectives in support of improved student outcomes. The goal is offer insights to help institutions make informed decisions toward redesigning their student supports to improve overall student success, retention, and persistence.

PART 1: INSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVE 

Drawing from the largest national study on student success with insights from 3,300 institutional stakeholders across 1,100 unique institutions, Part 1 measures the extent and impact of various student success practices, products, and services related to undergraduate student supports. It also introduces readers to contextually-relevant benchmarks that enable institutions to gauge their progress and to identify what barriers are preventing institutions from equaling or exceeding best in class.

PART 2: SUPPLIER LANDSCAPE

Part 2 similarly draws from the student success study, as well as from interviews with over 30 institutional decision-makers and product and services suppliers. It allows readers to gain insight into the present and future states of technologies for integrated student supports according to the metrics of market reach, product sophistication, and product breadth.