The philosophy of the student success team is to be caring professionals who engage students in challenging and holistic conversations to help them articulate their goals, problem solve, develop action plans, and provide accountability to enhance their success. When we ask students questions, we are assessing their knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs in eight areas that are shown to impact student success: academics, connection to the university, effectiveness, finances, managing commitments, career, health and support, and commitment to graduation.
Because we work with students every day, we know what that philosophy looks like lived-out day-to-day. However, students themselves are the best equipped to articulate what it feels like to experience success coaching. When we asked students what coaching feels like, what it looks like, and what it has meant to them over the past year, this is what they shared.
“A student success coach is a friend, a mentor, and a tool as well as a hundred other things, but what is most important is that they want you to succeed... You can really trust your student success coach and leave each meeting feeling fulfilled in knowing a path to follow to increase confidence, solve problems, and become the best you can be so that your time at The University of Tulsa is the best time that it could possibly be.”
“My coach was the social contact with school I needed to get back on track. As a commuting student, I don’t have the ability to hang out at school to socialize. They became a great person in developing me this semester.”
“Student Success Coaches are really just there to look out for you and they want you to succeed, having that support is extremely helpful when you are going through a big transition. They know all the resources available on campus and they can help you get in touch with those resources. They have a vast pool of knowledge themselves and they can give you the tips to succeed in college. For example, some tips on how to talk to your professors or how to write your notes more effectively. They give you breathing room; you don’t have to know everything about college immediately, they can slowly help you figure it out.”
“Student Success Coaches are helpful in numerous ways, both academically and socially. I have gone to my success coach numerous times with a general idea of what I needed to do with no idea of how to get there and they have been able to direct me to where I needed to go.”
“A student success coach is needed because they keep your mind focused and on track. Having someone like my coach wanting me to succeed also gave me all the motivation I needed to push forward and try my best to reach the goals I had set at the beginning of the semester.”
“Her constant words of encouragement always helped push me through what I was doing, and knowing I had someone that believed in me, even when I did not, helped me more than I can really say.”
“I feel more confident and supported with my decisions at TU.”
If you do not yet have a Student Success Coach or you are unsure who your success coach is, you can request a meeting by emailing successcoaches@utulsa.edu.
To learn more about student success coaching, watch this video!