Student Success

At Michigan State, we believe every student we admit can thrive and graduate. We feel a sense of urgency to improve graduation rates, because a college degree is the best route to individual opportunity, and an educated workforce strengthens Michigan and the nation. By 2030, we will increase the six-year graduation rate to 86%.

Student success is the measure of an institution’s ability to provide a relevant curriculum and empathetic environment that supports all students’ psychological, social, emotional, physical, cultural and financial well-being to enable all students to learn, thrive, graduate and succeed after graduation.

Understood this way, student success is not solely a measure of the academic achievement of individual students or students collectively; rather, measures like academic standing, persistence, graduation, sense of belonging, time to degree and placement rate indicate how well an institution supports its students.

MSU has been a leader in student success initiatives for well over a decade. Through national partnerships including the University Innovation Alliance and our own research, we have identified five critical areas to help students thrive in their Spartan experience: self-discovery of purpose, educational success, a sense of belonging, contributing to an empowered community and developing well-being.

Faculty, staff and students are working together to align and connect curricular, cocurricular and extracurricular programs as we ensure access that leads to opportunity. Another way we’re expanding access and growing the pipeline that produces talent for Michigan is with enhanced support for transfer students and expanding relationships with community colleges. We’re also working with business leaders to ensure our programs and curricula meet the needs of students and their future employers as work changes.
 

Goal: Provide an exceptional experience for all students that prepares them for postgraduate success, achieving high graduation rates with reduced opportunity gaps 

No. 1

Strengthen MSU’s ability to attract and meet the curricular and cocurricular educational needs, goals and aspirations of all undergraduate students

Strategies/Actions

• Decrease average student debt and maintain access to a high-quality MSU education by increasing scholarship opportunities
• Strengthen current and grow future academic programs in which MSU graduates are leaders for Michigan and beyond
• Ensure all students have high-quality academic and career advising that includes career exploration, planning and preparation that adapts with them from admission through graduation
• Enhance academic programs through improved Academic Program Review, refreshing and aligning Undergraduate Learning Goals and outcomes, and modernizing the General Education Curriculum
• Redesign gateway courses to improve learning outcomes and address barriers to completion
• Create a First-Gen Center as a cornerstone of a coordinated student success effort to ensure all students thrive and graduate
• Support on-time graduation by creating academic maps, strategic course scheduling and smart room utilization
• Make MSU a transfer-ready institution: reform policies and practices, improve credit evaluation and transfer student communication, expand credit for prior learning, grow Envision Green and create a Transfer Student Success Center

No. 2

Increase access to and successful completion of highly ranked graduate and professional education

Strategies/Actions

• Increase the number and percentage of high-quality doctoral and master’s programs by improving existing programs and eliminating programs of insufficient quality through regular Strategic Program Assessment overseen by the Graduate School
• Increase the number of high-quality online master’s programs to enhance access to and flexibility of graduate education
• Broaden access to graduate programs
• Increase the level of support for university fellowships to improve graduate recruitment
• Support high-impact mentoring for all graduate students and training for all faculty mentors to fully implement the Guidelines for Graduate Student Mentoring and Advising 
• Increase support for graduate student placement (jobs or further educational opportunities), improve communication about varied career pathways and options, and monitor placement rates into these alternative careers
• Elevate recognition of exceptional graduate and professional student achievements by establishing university-level awards and visibility initiatives that highlight their contributions and impact

No. 3

Advance an online learning strategy that expands access and increases the breadth of learners served through development and delivery of targeted, high-impact programs

Strategies/Actions

• Establish a dedicated academic unit to lead development, delivery and continuous improvement of online programs, ensuring robust academic oversight, instructional excellence, operational coherence and alignment with institutional priorities for access, innovation and impact
• Expand targeted, market-driven postbaccalaureate and post-master’s degrees and certificates that include coordinated continuous-learning programs and alternative credentials, operational coherence and alignment with institutional priorities for access, innovation and impact
• Develop online and flexible pathways for some-college-no-degree students and prospective students already in the workforce as an alternative to a traditional course delivery structure, including evaluation of opportunities for credit for prior learning
• Partner with key international institutions to enable students to earn an MSU degree by leveraging online learning opportunities

No. 4

Strengthen each student’s educational experience to support success through graduation and beyond

Strategies/Actions

• Ensure access and provide institutional supports to encourage every undergraduate to complete at least two high-impact learning experiences
• Foster curricular and cocurricular innovation to equip graduates for the current and future workforce
• Elevate and enhance the undergraduate Honors experience for Honors students
• Transform the intellectual, leadership and entrepreneurial habits of students by instilling ethics and the arts into curricular and cocurricular experiences
• Redesign the academic advising model to include peer, group and supplemental advising and technological improvements to provide an exceptional experience for students
• Continue to standardize and structure a record for curricular and cocurricular activities aligned to the five areas of student success to allow students to better demonstrate the value of their college experiences
• Increase alumni engagement in student mentorship, internship opportunities and career development
• Create policies and procedures that support a student-centered digital learning strategy that meets the needs of instructors

No. 5

Provide a supportive climate and holistic support throughout the student experience, understanding that high-quality curricular and cocurricular experiences are essential to student success

Strategies/Actions

• Establish comprehensive belonging initiatives that support growth for each student
• Regularly implement campus well-being and climate assessments and engage in reflection and action based on the results
• Support implementation of the Okanagan Charter, including embedding health into all aspects of campus culture
• Establish an integrated digital-experience initiative that makes it easier to navigate university systems, supports academic achievement and streamlines communication and access to digital resources 
• Provide resources, training and staff support to student groups to increase reach and resources, and improve policies and practices in alignment with best practices
• Ensure policies, procedures and practices related to student organizations and student gathering spaces align with the five areas of student success