CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU), a private non-profit Historically Black University ranked as one of the top HBCUs in North Carolina by U.S. News & World Report that serves over 1,000 students, 78% of which identify as Black or African American, today announced initial results from a new holistic student support initiative designed to boost first-year retention and persistence. Through a collaboration with national student success nonprofit InsideTrack and UNCF (United Negro College Fund), the university provided a dedicated success coach to every member of the first-year class, leading to a 3% jump in persistence among those who had a student success coach from Fall 2023 to Spring 2024.
“Despite the current challenging economic environment for higher education, HBCUs are experiencing a period of growth and renewal: a growing number of students are choosing HBCUs because of the rich educational experiences, lifelong bonds, and deep sense of community and belonging that they provide,” said Dr. Valerie Kinloch, president of Johnson C. Smith University, which recently observed its 151st commencement exercises. “This work is reflective of our commitment to ensuring that students not only have the opportunity to access higher education, but also the high-touch support needed to achieve their education and career goals.”
While HBCUs account for just 3% of all four-year nonprofit colleges and universities, they enroll 10% of all Black college students and produce almost 20% of all African American graduates. In the last few years, there has been a resurgence in interest from donors, prospective students, employers, and communities in HBCUs. HBCU graduates can expect to earn an additional $927,000 in their lifetime, or 56% more than they could expect to earn without a degree or certificate from an HBCU.
JCSU’s student success coaching initiative is an extension of an ambitious multi-year effort designed to improve student enrollment and retention rates through a focus on creating seamless student pathways from enrollment to career entry.
To help achieve this impressive improvement in student success and persistence among its diverse first-year class, JCSU engaged InsideTrack, whose innovative methods have been proven to increase student persistence and graduation, to provide one-on-one success coaching to all of its first-year students. The university was the first of ten campuses to receive Coaching Development & Training from InsideTrack, which will enable JCSU to build an in-house coaching program over time. The coaching partnership was made possible with support from the HBCU Transformation Project, a collaboration between UNCF (United Negro College Fund), Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), and Partnership for Education Advancement (Ed Advancement) for both public and private HBCUs.
Throughout the initial partnership, which began in June of 2023, 95% of first-year students met with a student success coach at least once, and 80% of students met with success coaches at least twice. First-year students who received success coaching also maintained strong GPAs, with 47% of freshmen engaged in coaching earning a GPA of 3.0 or higher, while 80% earned a GPA of 2.0 or higher. Six coaches were trained in the initial stage of the partnership during the summer of 2023, and four additional coaches were trained during the fall semester.
Through one-on-one meetings and multichannel outreach that meets learners where they are and when they need support, the coaching program empowers JCSU students to clarify their academic, career, and personal goals and create a plan for achieving them, as well as identify potential obstacles and ways to overcome them.
“Today’s HBCU leaders are proving that these engines of economic mobility are in many ways uniquely equipped to provide the kind of highly-personalized support that their students are often seeking,” said Malika Clinkscales, senior associate vice president at InsideTrack. “The program’s impressive success in just its first year is a testament to the comprehensive and forward-looking approach of the JCSU leadership team.”
The success coaching initiative is an extension of the university’s commitment to utilizing a comprehensive and multi-pronged approach to improving student outcomes. Leaders from the university are using data from a range of sources to derive a better understanding of the complex factors that influence student success. This partnership was an extension of a long-running initiative between InsideTrack and UNCF, which is now in the third year of a multi-year, multi-campus partnership that is focused on boosting HBCU student enrollment and success through the power of coaching.
