Students Told Us. We Just Need to Listen. | 008 | Student Success
Why the student voice matters.
Sometimes one sharp insight is all we need to hold on, reset, or reengage with purpose.
Practical takeaways pulled from the Student Success Podcast, so you don’t have to listen to the whole episode (unless you want to).
Episode with executive and researcher, Dr. Darla Cooper: Show Notes | Apple | Spotify
What Dr. Darla Cooper Reminded Us
I’ve had Dr. Darla Cooper, executive director of the higher education research and planning nonprofit, the RP Group, three times on the Student Success Podcast.1 She never disappoints. I’m highlighting her first episode because every college should be familiar with and inspired by the Six Success Factors. Years before equity dashboards and “belonging” became mainstream vocabulary, the RP Group did something radical: they listened to students. Not just a few. About 900.
Out of that came Student Support (Re)defined, which identified six factors that matter most to student success, no matter their age, background, or goals. The takeaway? They asked for human connection, clarity, and care.
The Six Success Factors (in student voices, not edu-jargon):
Directed: Help me clarify where I’m going and how to get there.
Focused: Keep me on track.
Connected: Make me feel like I belong.
Engaged: Involve me in meaningful learning and activities.
Nurtured: Support me. Believe in me.
Valued: Treat me like I matter.
These are experiences. And they show up (or don’t) in everything from onboarding to office hours to hallway conversations.
Why This Still Matters (Maybe More Than Ever)
We’re in an era of short attention spans and fast fixes. We need to do better than that when higher ed and our most vulnerable students are under attack. The Six Factors still hold up because they aren’t a trend. They’re human needs.
The problem? Too many institutions respond to Student Support (Re)defined with “we already do this,” rather than asking how well they do it or whether students actually feel it.
Reflection:
When’s the last time your team asked: “Do students feel nurtured here?”
Do your policies scream “valued,” or do they whisper, “you’re on your own”?
Is your onboarding process actually directing and focusing students or just exhausting them?
The Six Success Factors didn’t ask colleges to build something new. They asked colleges to become something better.
That’s why the Six Success Factors aligns well with the Guided Pathways framework.
Student Support (Re)defined was, and still is, a mirror. The question isn’t whether your college has the term “student-centered” in its mission statement. The question is: Would students say they feel it?
We’ve heard the students. Let’s work to continually improve our practices to show students that we followed through.
Onward…
Dr. Al Solano
Founder, Continuous Learning Institute | About
Host, Student Success Podcast
A meaningful test of success is how helpful we are in contributing to our fellow human being’s happiness.