Student success comes in many forms, and UCF's eponymous department takes just as many approaches to putting students on the right path.
Senior Professor Rais Guimarães has personally benefited from the recently launched Academic Advocate Program, which provides targeted support to students at risk of falling behind academically. Originally from Brazil, Guimarães chose to double major in International and Global Studies and Creative Writing in order to pursue a career in the field of international aid.
Guimarães' online classes went well until her final semester, but in order to complete her degree, she needed an intermediate French course that was offered only in person. If that happens, graduation will be postponed beyond the four years covered by the scholarship. It was impossible to drive two hours from St. Augustine, Florida to Orlando.
“I felt helpless,” Guimarães said.
A direct phone call from academic advocate Emily Asaro changed everything. Asaro worked with Guimarães for months to find a solution and eventually found an alternative source for the class. Regular communications from Asaro reassured Guimarães.
“She was very attentive and kind,” Guimarães said.
After graduating in August, Guimarães returned to pursuing a career in international aid. Asaro says that is the biggest reward.
“These students have such big goals and dreams. I see their potential,” she says. “Any role that I and my supporters can play in smoothing the path to achieving these goals is valuable.”
Individual success stories are a great source of motivation, and the data supports the anecdotes.
UCF continues to set new records for student retention rates, including a new record of 98.3% return rate for first-year undergraduate students from summer/fall 2023 to spring 2024. More than 7,000 students continued their first year at UCF, a promising sign for their future senior years. – Annual graduation rates and final employment.
“This new record shows that the university’s commitment to student success and well-being, a top priority in its strategic plan, is paying off,” said Paul Dorsal, senior vice president for student success. . “This high retention rate from fall to spring is a credit to our faculty and staff, who work tirelessly to help students grow academically and socially at UCF.”
Students also benefit from Knightbot, a chat bot that can answer questions on more than 1,200 topics, including financial aid, admissions, registration, housing, contact searches, policy information, and more. Currently, the chatbot answers 3,100 questions a week across dozens of her UCF websites and provides students with access to her 24/7 information.
Additional text features provide targeted reminders to students about financial aid updates and deadlines, registration announcements, and other important opportunities.
More recently, UCF has redefined student support by combining traditional advising with success coaching, allowing for more active and ongoing relationships with students. Under UCF's new academic success coaching model, each student is assigned an academic success coach. They work together toward academic, career, and personal goals, and coaches help students strengthen the skills needed to achieve those goals.
“We focus on the starting line to improve the bottom line and help students reach the goals they set,” said Davidson, assistant vice president for Academic Success Coaching and UCF Higher Education said Jenny Sumner, Executive Director of the Coaching Academy.
Academic advocates like Asaro use data to provide targeted support to students who are falling behind. Conversations with students reveal the barriers that are holding them back, such as financial aid, housing, and academic challenges, and advocates connect students directly to available resources. This expansion of a relational approach to advising will bring a university the size of his UCF and a greater sense of community, said Lucas Novoa, senior director of academic advocacy.
“UCF’s size is an advantage for us because it allows us to provide our students with multiple tools to overcome any obstacles,” Novoa says. “Our current focus is to increase our personal and interpersonal support, providing unique plans tailored to students’ needs.”
