Student Success Through Partnership

Penn State World Campus and Inside Track (ITK) have partnered to provide resources, to collect data, and to share information to enhance student success. The presentation will focus on three specific areas: relationship management, data collection, and best practices. Each area will be explained and examples will be provided to the audience.

Penn State World Campus and ITK have prioritized relationship building between the two institutions as a focus area and foundation upon which the partnership is based.  This idea has manifested itself in multiple ways over the course of the partnership and is rooted in mutual respect and a laser focus on the common goals of student success and persistence.  Some examples of how this relationship has been built and fostered range from monthly team meetings that are attended by core stakeholders in multiple departments at Penn State World Campus and ITK, quarterly meetings between admissions/academic service counselors at Penn State World Campus and ITK’s coaching team, to multiple on site visits each year between the two organizations to meet, collaborate and build upon the personal relationships that have been established.  Another example of this relationship culminated with the addition of two ITK Navigation Coaches who use uCoach to interact with students that were hired and work in State College, PA alongside The Penn State World Campus Academic Advising team.  During this process, ITK and Penn State World partnered extensively not only with uCoach content but in the hiring process of the two coaches.   These examples will be discussed further and in more detail with the audience during the presentation.

Penn State has strict guidelines on sharing of data with other entities to ensure integrity of student information, as well as, to follow FERPA guidelines. Yet, permission has been given to share student data with ITK because of the positive impact that has been proven by creating a strong partnership to work in tangent with students and staff. There are three areas in which data is shared, 1). through Outreach Campaigns by providing academic advisers information on time sensitive student issues; 2). through the uCoach application by sharing student success stories and the modules students are using; and 3). through monthly meetings that include enrollment number updates, research conducted by ITK and shared with Penn State Representatives, and best practices experienced by ITK Counselors. The Outreach Campaign, uCoach, and specific job tasks of the ITK Coaches will be explained and shared with the audience.

Lastly, the presentation will highlight the many best practices that have been learned through the years of work Penn State World Campus and ITK have done together.  These best practices have allowed Penn State World Campus and ITK to seamlessly partner and remain strong despite challenges faced at each respective institution and changes in partnership management/stakeholders over the course of the relationship.  In addition, this has resulted in a positive impact for prospective and enrolled students at Penn State World Campus allowing them to be more engaged with the university and the many support systems that promote success and persistence.  The presentation will conclude with time for a question and answer session allowing audience members space to follow up on areas of particular interest.

In closing, the hope of this presentation is to highlight how by sharing information, focusing on the relationships, and highlighting the best practices learned, Penn State World Campus and ITK have forged as strong partnership that has made each respective institution better at supporting students through their academic journey, allowing them to create positive outcomes for themselves that will last a lifetime.