A growing number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities are hiring student success coaches to increase retention.
The initiative is part of a collaboration between the United Negro College Fund and a coaching organization called InsideTrack. The partnership currently has two student success training cohorts that include 25 HBCUs across the U.S.
The first university to participate in the training program was in North Carolina — Johnson C. Smith University. The private HBCU in Charlotte has a student body of over 1,100 undergraduates.
Last fall, the school assigned a success coach to each of its first-year students for the 2023-2024 school year. The coaches helped guide freshmen through everything from classes and career goals to finances and mental health.
“Instruction in classrooms might not always be personal to the students,” said Valerie Kinloch, the university’s president. “One-on-one allows a success coach to work with our students and to be able to really make those extra connections and touch points available. And I think that's the beauty of having all of our students having access to success coaches — having access to adults who fundamentally care about their academic well being.”
The additional support has already improved student outcomes, according to Kinloch.
Students in the program had high GPA rates, with about half of the freshmen class earning a 3.0 or higher. The class’s persistence level, or how many students continued to stay enrolled at the university, also increased by 3% from the previous year.
“Having a coach (helps students) map out their trajectory,” Kinloch said. “They identify potential obstacles that can get in the way of students really engaging in academic success. And as they identify those obstacles, the goal is to help our students have a safe welcoming space on campus.”
Malika Clinkscales runs the HBCU Center of Coaching Excellence at InsideTrack. She said HBCUs are uniquely equipped to provide student success coaching, because of the “familial connection with their learners.”
This additional support, according to Clinkscales, can especially help underrepresented students feel like they belong in higher education.
“It's important for all learners, but particularly Black learners at HBCUs across the country, to realize their goals and to realize that their contributions matter,” she said. “Particularly in a world where they're often told that they don't matter, and they're often told that they cannot — that they have that extra level of support that furthers them towards social mobility and economic development.”
The second cohort of the student success coach training program will start this fall. Fifteen institutions, including two HBCUs from North Carolina — Fayetteville State University and Elizabeth City State University — will participate.
Johnson C. Smith University will continue to offer student success coaching for its students. The university has hired ten student success coaches within the last year.
