Dear Colleagues, 

Reaching an 80% graduation rate by 2030 is a key component of the University of Utah’s Impact 2030. To meet this goal, we are collaborating with the National Institute for Student Success (NISS) to identify and address institutional barriers to student completion by implementing proven, evidence-based student-success interventions and state-of-the-art data systems.

In May, NISS Founding Executive Director Dr. Timothy Renick of Georgia State University, shared a comprehensive report of NISS’s findings with the U’s campus community. The insights provided by the NISS playbook are valuable and inspiring and focused on three main objectives:

The good news is that this work is already well underway at the U! The Navigate U project and its accompanying data and software infrastructure are transforming how we understand, strategize, and implement intervention efforts across our campus. Through this careful, coordinated, and strategic project, we are bringing previously disparate and competing efforts together to achieve the goal of an exceptional educational experience for all undergraduate students at the U. As a result, we are beginning to make significant headway in addressing issues such as student retention, time to graduation, student belongingness, performance gaps, high-demand courses, and gateway courses.

Beginning this summer, we are engaging the NISS recommendations, which include:

Please share the NISS presentation with colleagues. We have already begun hosting weekly "Activate Meetings" to launch the playbook projects. Associate deans, directors of advising, directors of undergraduate studies, etc., will constitute the core group of participants and project leaders. Our collective engagement through shared responsibility will be critical to our success.

Thank you for your continued dedication to student success at the U!

Please visit navigate.utah.edu for additional resources and updates or feel free to reach out to me directly at t.chase.hagood@utah.edu.

And as always, Go Utah! 
Chase

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Episode 163: The Competency-Based Approach to Validating Learning in Higher Ed

The 2024 Indigenous Storytelling Camp, organized by Native Communities Outreach & Engagement in collaboration with the Marriott Library and College of Fine Arts, was held on campus this month and was a fantastic experience for everyone involved! To watch a video recap of the event, click here.

Pictured on the left: Markus Mendez, Rian Manning, and Baduke Cesspooch.

In May, the Undergraduate Studies Education Pathways team attended the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) Family and Community Engagement Summit. 

The team discussed leveraging resources to enrich students in predominantly Title I schools, emphasizing the transformative potential of collaboration between institutions and communities.

A highlight was Elizabeth Montoya, the Education Pathways Program Assistant, receiving the inaugural USBE Togetherness Award for exceptional family and community engagement.

Congratulations to Elizabeth Montoya on her outstanding achievement!

Jessica spoke with U of U Communications Specialist Matilyn Mortensen about her role as the Native American Outreach and Community Engagement coordinator in the Office of Undergraduate Studies. 

Read the full story in @theU.

The Utah Prison Education Project (UPEP) at the University of Utah is admitting its first cohort of fifteen degree-seeking students incarcerated at the Utah State Correctional Facility.

Read the full story on KSL.com.

Dr. P. Brandon Johnson, senior associate dean of Student Success and Transformative Experiences in the Office of Undergraduate Studies, has been elected as vice president of the 2024 International College Learning Center Association (ICLCA) Executive Board. ICLCA represents educators who are dedicated to promoting excellence among learning center personnel.

Congratulations, Dr. Johnson!

The winner of the 2024 Ivory Community Leadership Award is Jennifer Rodela. Throughout her time at the University of Utah, Rodela has demonstrated exceptional leadership and a firm commitment to service by working to ensure that students at the U have access to the resources they need to be successful.

Read more about Rodela's work with the Basic Needs Collective in @theU. 

The University of Utah is offering 10 courses at the Herriman Campus this upcoming fall semester! Registration is currently open. To learn more about the Fall 2024 Herriman courses, visit herriman.utah.edu.

Have something you'd like US to highlight in the newsletter? Email marketing@us.utah.edu