Break down barriers to student success.

Student Success Academy

The Student Success Academy consists of live webinars, on-campus inventories, in-person roundtable retreats and virtual consultations that will help you methodically and holistically approach your student success challenges and opportunities.

In the Academy, you’ll examine four key factors to identify your current realities and discover areas of opportunity for improving student success:

Student Populations: Who are your students? What do you know about them?
Initiatives: What are you doing to support student success?
Infrastructure: How do your processes, policies and procedures affect student success?
Engagement: Who is engaged in student success efforts? How is student success promoted and recognized?

HLC is currently accepting applications to join the fall 2025 cohort of the Student Success Academy. Applications are due by June 13, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. CT.

Apply to the Student Success Academy

Academy Experience and Fees

Registration for Academy events is included in the annual Academy membership fees. The first year fees must be paid prior to participation in the orientation workshop. Institutions will be invoiced for all subsequent years’ fees on October 1 of each year.

View the Student Success Academy Fact Sheet for a one-page overview of the costs and travel commitment associated with the Academy.

Engage in an introspection process to promote inquiry and action in areas that factor into the success of your students.

Orientation

A webinar series presented by HLC overviews the Academy’s framework, guidance on building an effective Academy team, and information to prepare your team for initial tasks.

Populations Inventory

Conduct an inventory of available data on the institution’s student populations conducted together with a survey on perceptions at the institution of what student success means to the institution.

Populations and Initiatives Roundtable

At this in-person, multi-day event, review the Populations Inventory findings in order to identify factors that correlate with differences in student success and receive instructions for the Initiatives Inventory.

Initiatives Inventory

Conduct an inventory of current initiatives to take stock of how the institution currently supports it’s various student populations. Explore the context, goals and impact of initiatives that were instituted or have been maintained to support student success.

Initiatives and Infrastructure Roundtable

Scholars and facilitators guide the team in analyzing the Initiatives Inventory and provide next steps for the Infrastructure Inventory at this in-person event.

Infrastructure Inventory

Conduct an inventory of your institution’s processes, policies and procedures and consider how they may be inhibiting or promoting student success.

Infrastructure and Engagement Virtual Roundtable

As preparation for the final inventory, Scholars guide teams to analyze the findings from the Infrastructure Inventory. HLC also presents instructions for the final inventory exploring campus engagement in student success.

Engagement Inventory

Conduct an inventory of level of engagement in student success among faculty and staff, how engagement is promoted and recognized on campus, and the resources are allocated to support meaningful engagement.

Progress Updates and Responses (ongoing)

Document your findings and plans and receive feedback from your Mentor and Scholar.

Year 1 Membership:

$15,000

Includes:

Orientation webinar series
Training and assistance with inventories
Two in-person roundtable events to facilitate the institutional environmental scan and launch Academy work
Online learning and interaction with Academy teams, Mentors and Scholars through SparQ
Responses from the Mentor and Scholar to progress updates

Reflect on gaps in knowledge, processes and services and identify opportunities for systematic improvement.

Engagement and Planning Roundtable

Scholars guide teams in analyzing findings from the Engagement Inventory and support teams as they construct and develop their Student Success Plan recommendations.

Second-Year Mentor Consultation

Consult virtually with your Mentor to review information gathered in the inventories and refine recommendations.

Student Success Proposal

Create a draft plan to address gaps in data, initiatives, infrastructure and engagement that will guide your institution in systematically improving student success.

Validation and Implementation Virtual Roundtable

HLC provides direction on refining a Student Success Plan that integrates your strategic priorities. Initial strategies for implementation will be discussed within the context of each institution.

Progress Update and Response

Document your findings and plans and receive feedback from your Mentor and Scholar.

Year 2 Membership:

$15,000

Includes:

Online learning and interaction with Academy teams, Mentors and Scholars through SparQ
Responses from the Mentor and Scholar to progress updates
In-Depth virtual Mentor Consultation in preparation for drafting the Student Success Plan
Ongoing training and assistance with inventories
Webinar series presenting research on engagement, planning and implementation

Shift toward implementation and engage in structured, expert-facilitated events tailored to your level of progress.

Optional Program Extension

The Student Success Academy is officially a two-year commitment. Equipped with the skills and strategies to begin implementation of the Student Success Plan, institutions seeking additional support may opt to extend Academy participation to a third year.

The third year is tailored for teams interested in receiving additional support and guidance for the development of the Student Success Plan, its approval by executive leadership, and institution-wide implementation.

Contact [email protected] for more information about the program extension.

Year 3 Membership:

$3,000

Note: Academy membership covers registration costs for the specified number of team members for each in-person event. Registration for additional attendees, as well as travel costs, are at the institution’s expense.

Financial Assistance

HLC provides a small number of scholarships to participate in the Student Success Academy at half the cost for institutions. HLC will identify these institutions by evaluating the Institutional Update data of applicants regarding enrollment, degrees awarded and CFI findings.

SparQ

SparQ is HLC’s online platform for project management, resource sharing, discussion and discovery, where participants can be inspired by new ideas and build a community of shared learning. In SparQ, your team will build a record of its progress, track improvements and document analysis, and receive Mentor and Scholar feedback.

Academy Teams

Institutions participate by creating teams to attend Academy events and carry out the on-campus activities. A team is made up of five to eight individuals and should include members of the faculty, staff and administration. HLC gives guidance on selecting members and team leaders during orientation.

Each team is assigned a Mentor and a Scholar who provide support for the duration of the Academy experience.

Student Success Academy Application

Please read the following information before beginning your institution’s application. The Student Success Academy Fact Sheet provides an overview of the costs and commitment associated with the Academy.

Application Submission

The application deadline for the fall 2025 Student Success Academy cohort is June 13, 2025 by 11:59 p.m. CT. Applications will only be accepted through the online form below; please do not send applications via email or on paper.

Please note: Information entered in the form cannot be saved until the form is completed and submitted; we recommend that you enter your responses and submit the form in one continuous session. Required questions are marked with an asterisk (*). You may wish to prepare your responses in advance and copy and paste them into the form.

The application must include contact information for a member of the institution’s faculty, staff or administration who will serve as the primary contact for HLC regarding the institution’s Academy participation. (If accepted, the institution may change its primary contact by providing notice to HLC at any time during its participation in the Academy.) The name and email address of the institution’s CEO are also required so that a confirmation of the application may be sent to the CEO.

Criteria for Selection to the Academy

Institutions applying to the Academy are evaluated and selected according to their demonstrated fulfillment of these criteria:

Need prompted by current opportunities, challenges or barriers to student success.
Evidence that Academy participation would be significant and challenging to the institution and could result in a broad, meaningful impact on student success.
Alignment of Academy participation goals with the strategic priorities of the institution.
Expectations, commitment level and desired results appropriate to the purposes and intent of the Academy.

"*" indicates required fields

Institution name:*

Purpose of Academy participation:*

Open Pathway Quality Initiative

Other institutional initiative

Please describe:*

Application Questions

Each response should be no more than 200 words or 1700 characters.

1. Provide a brief overview of the institution’s student populations.*

2. Provide a summary of the institution’s most recent efforts to improve student success, including which individuals or groups were involved. What data were used to inform decisions to pursue these efforts?*

3. Describe the institutional infrastructure in place to support students, in terms of offices, programs, procedures, and so forth. Who is currently engaged in providing support for students, and how?*

4. Describe the student success issues that led the institution to apply to the Academy. Why did the institution select the Academy as a means of institutional improvement?*

4a. If applicable: If the insitution previously participated in either of the HLC Academies, please indicate which Academy, the dates of participation, and how the institution’s current needs relate to its past Academy work, if at all.

5. How does participation in the Academy align with the institution’s current academic or strategic priorities?*

6. What human, financial and other resources has the institution committed to Academy participation?*

Contact Information

Please provide the name and contact information of the individual who will serve as the institution’s primary contact for HLC regarding the Academy.

Name:*

First Last

Role title:*

Email address:*

Work phone:*

Office address:*

Street Address Address Line 2 City State ZIP Code

Application Confirmation

Please review the entire application for accuracy and completeness before submitting it for review. Amended applications may not be accepted.

Please confirm the following statement:

I confirm that this application represents the institution accurately and that the institution agrees, if admitted, to commit to meaningful and productive participation in the Assessment Academy for the full Academy cycle.

A copy of the application will be sent to the institution’s CEO. Please provide the CEO’s name and email address:

CEO's name:*

First Last

CEO's email address:*

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Questions?

[email protected]