Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS)

WHAT IS SUCCESS?

SUCCESS is SMSU’s program designed to provide holistic, hands-on advising and support for students from historically underserved populations beginning with their admission to SMSU through their degree completion.  By advising and supporting students in this manner, we advance our purpose of helping students achieve their goals, save money and graduate on time!

One of four designated pilot sites across the Minnesota State system, SUCCESS is possible thanks to support from both Minnesota State and MDRC, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization leading the national SUCCESS network and its research.   As an added benefit, SUCCESS also aligns with Minnesota State’s Equity 2030 initiative to eliminate equity gaps in educational outcomes by race, generation, and socioeconomic status by the year 2030.

IMPACTS OF SUCCESS

Data from our fall 2021 cohort (86 students) is already showing the impact of SMSU’s SUCCESS program.  Compared to first-year students not enrolled in SUCCESS, our fall 2021 cohort achieved the following:

Learn more about what our team is doing in this February 2022 episode of “Southwest Connections” as well as this February 15, 2022 radio interview with KMHL’s Heath Radke and SMSU’s Director of Communications and Marketing Jim Tate.    

BENEFITS

• Dedicated Support –  An assigned SUCCESS Coach to meet with participants twice a month.  We invest in our students with personalized coaching and encouragement based on what they individually need academically, personally, and professionally. 
• Recurring Financial Incentives – A monthly financial incentive ($50) for participating students who meet program requirements.  These monies are awarded securely via the University’s direct deposit system.
• Academic Momentum - Students will have access to activities and events designed to network with other SUCCESS participants and maximize their success.  Collectively, these will help students stay on track to earn their degree.
  
  

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

• New first-year or new transfer student (60 or fewer earned college credits at the time of your enrollment)
• Identify as at least one of the following: a student of color, first generation college attendee, or Pell-Grant eligible (based on FAFSA completion)
• Not actively participating in one of the following SMSU Programs: College Now, Bridge to Scholars, or AOS Scholars 

JOIN US TO ENHANCE YOUR SUCCESS!

We are currently recruiting for our fall 2022 cohort; fill out the form below to confirm your spot and to receive additional information regarding next steps: 

 SUCCESS PROGRAM SIGN UP Form


CONTACT

Jeet Sausen
SUCCESS Program Coordinator
Jeet.Sausen@SMSU.edu 
507-537-6257

Nicole Schwing
SUCCESS Program Coach
Nicole.Schwing.2@SMSU.edu
507-537-6360